Dream Theater "the astonishing"

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DREAM THEATER "the astonishing"

supposed metal heads, but this isn't metal IMO....
its got a definite Progressive Rock thing happening...
a concept album spread over two discs over two hours...
heres the Wiki take on the concept of the album:

The Astonishing is a two act concept album that, as described by Rolling Stone, "centers around a band of rebels trying to defy an oppressive empire, with music playing a central role."[SUP][2][/SUP] The story has eight main characters: Emperor Nafaryus, Empress Arabelle, Daryus, and Faythe of the Great Northern Empire and Evangeline, Gabriel, Xander, and Arhys of the Ravenskill Rebel Militia.[SUP][11][/SUP] It was inspired by Petrucci's love of franchises such as Game of Thrones and Star Wars, as well as his observations on the role of technology in modern-day society; in an interview with Billboard, he explained, “I was thinking of all of the things now that people used to do that they don’t do anymore because they’re automated or done by robots: lots of jobs, self-driving cars coming right around the corner ... My thought was, ‘What would happen if with all the advances in technology in music that music [became] all artificial?’”

theres genuine rock on here, rock ballads and ballads...
I like this one after one listen via Spotify...

from the album:

"dystopian overture" (opening instrumental track)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBzIU6Mi7IE audio

"a better life"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIQnX67ETM audio

probably worth listening to the whole album to appreciate it rather than a couple of tracks IMO.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

Jerome/Ruby/SteveO/MH and anyone else ....give this album a listen and let us know what you think guys(and gal)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

amazon.com's review of the album:

The Astonishing is undisputedly the most ambitious undertaking by a band whose cerebral compositions already define the vanguard of progressive hard rock.

The Astonishing is enriched exponentially by the integration of a real orchestra and choir, arranged by conductor David Campbell, whose work graces over 450 gold and platinum albums, including watershed releases from Adele, Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park, Evanescence, Beyoncé, and his son, Beck. The Astonishing was produced by Petrucci with engineering and mixing by Richard Chycki, whose resume includes work with Rush, Aerosmith, and Mick Jagger. Other organic sounds are more abundant than at any point in the band's history, with Rudess in particular relishing the tones from a grand piano and Hammond organ.

Like Tommy or The Wall, the songs on The Astonishing work as both singular compositions and overall story components. Writing the music as a duo, Petrucci and Rudess venture into unexplored corners of their sound without sacrificing their musical identity.

[SteveO]

I will give it a listen Crazy mate! Thanks for the recommendation! Dream Theater are so perfect in every way!

[R_burke]

I have it and have listened to it twice now. Musically it is very good, conceptually it is pretentious. Since I am more of a music/instruments guy the pretentiousness doesn't bother me much. IMO musically this is one of the best Dream Theatre releases in a while. There are times for each member to shine, but in general it is a band release and they are all playing well together.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I bought it also as it impressed me so much...
and I also bought a five cd set of the following albums for $20
"images and words", "awake", "falling into infinity", "metropolis pt II" and "train of thought"

do you have those ones R_burke?
if so, how do they rate compared to "the astonishing"???

[R_burke]

I bought it also as it impressed me so much...
and I also bought a five cd set of the following albums for $20
"images and words", "awake", "falling into infinity", "metropolis pt II" and "train of thought"

do you have those ones R_burke?
if so, how do they rate compared to "the astonishing"???

No I have four others, but they are all newer than the ones you got. So now I'm waiting for your comparison to Astonishing

[CRAZY-HORSE]

I really am going to be in the dark with any material of theirs, but I figured ive albums,$20 bucks...that's $4 an album,
and surely over those five discs that must be enough music to like.

[Ruby]

For some reason that I can’t quite fathom, DT’s music does not appeal to me. It’s too big, I think – they chuck everything single thing they have at you and the fact that they are highly proficient in doing so is not what is in question. At the end of the day, it always just comes down to personal taste I guess. I would like to like them, and keep on trying to, but find all the showiness exhausting and it doesn’t seem to make a lasting impression. Too rich a feast for me – overwhelming. That said, I have only listened to those two clips – not the entire album and they clearly have a huge and loyal following so maybe I’m missing something?!

Will give the whole thing a listen when I have time. Who knows – may change my mind! It’s a Venutian prerogative.

[R_burke]

For some reason that I can’t quite fathom, DT’s music does not appeal to me. It’s too big, I think – they chuck everything single thing they have at you and the fact that they are highly proficient in doing so is not what is in question. At the end of the day, it always just comes down to personal taste I guess. I would like to like them, and keep on trying to, but find all the showiness exhausting and it doesn’t seem to make a lasting impression. Too rich a feast for me – overwhelming. That said, I have only listened to those two clips – not the entire album and they clearly have a huge and loyal following so maybe I’m missing something?!

Will give the whole thing a listen when I have time. Who knows – may change my mind! It’s a Venutian prerogative.

Understand what you mean, you might try listening via a good set of headphones, ones that can easily separate the instruments. I find a lot of progressive rock sounds better via headphones versus speakers.