Dream Theater - The Astonishing review
| Band: | Dream Theater |
| Album: | The Astonishing |
| Style: | Progressive metal |
| Release date: | January 29, 2016 |
| Guest review by: | Ahov |
Disc I [Act I]
01. Descent Of The NOMACS
02. Dystopian Overture
03. The Gift Of Music
04. The Answer
05. A Better Life
06. Lord Nafaryus
07. A Savior In The Square
08. When Your Time Has Come
09. Act Of Faythe
10. Three Days
11. The Hovering Sojourn
12. Brother, Can You Hear Me?
13. A Life Left Behind
14. Ravenskill
15. Chosen
16. A Tempting Offer
17. Digital Discord
18. The X Aspect
19. A New Beginning
20. The Road To Revolution
Disc II [Act II]
01. 2285 Entr'acte
02. Moment Of Betrayal
03. Heaven's Cove
04. Begin Again
05. The Path That Divides
06. Machine Chatter
07. The Walking Shadow
08. My Last Farewell
09. Losing Faythe
10. Whispers On The Wind
11. Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
12. Our New World
13. Power Down
14. Astonishing
Truly special. There are complex feelings I get from The Astonishing and no other album makes me feel this way.
The production value on this album is extraordinary. Everything sounds clean, clear and remarkably easy to discern details.
This two-hour epic concept album involves the following premise: hundreds of years in the future, music has been banned and lost in most of society. There's a quite gifted young man named Gabriel whose music and voice draws large crowds and unites the common folk around him, including a rebel militia.
There are many compelling characters in the story, who are provided ample room and time to develop. It would not have worked very well in a traditional one-hour album.
Don't expect a traditional metal album or metal album at all. While there are small sections of shredding guitar solos, the vast majority of The Astonishing is a stellar progressive rock opera, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
James LaBrie is immensely ambitious here. He voices many distinct characters and his range and expertise are on full display. The mixing is awesome. You can hear the lyrics clearly, unlike most albums. I still recommend you listen to this while reading the lyrics, just in case. You don't want to miss out on the story.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Ahov | 18.01.2022
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
7.5
7.5
|
Rating: 7.5 |
One of the pioneering bands of progressive metal, the iconic Dream Theater, unleashed their new opus at the end of January. As is the case with all their releases, The Astonishing is going to draw all kinds of comments from "this is the worst thing ever" to "album of the year material". One thing is for certain, with more than 2 hours of music, their latest record is a demanding listen drawing inspiration from many musical and dramatic influences. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 8
Visited by: 103 users
| tludmetal Posts: 15 |
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| Ellrohir Heaven Knight Posts: 8674  |
I quite like this album as well, but I'd doubt giving it the absolute rating. Compared to (IMO) the trully greatest conceptual prog album of all time - The Human Equation by Ayreon - it is losing in everything. Generally the "problem" of this album is, that it is too much melodic and lacking that 'thrashy' part of Dream Theater, which is what many (probably most) fans of DT want to hear. Power metal-ish cheesiness over heavy guitar riffing. Works for me, but not for many others.
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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| Robdog Posts: 167  |
I hear what you're saying and perhaps I agree with you. In my case I have never been a reader of novels, my imagination is impatient and all I ever see is words on a page plus I am insensitive so emotional heartfelt music bores me to death. I have ADHD and will never be able to see things the way you do. Although a lot of effort went into this so-called masterpiece, to me, The Astonishing is just a big book I am not prepared to read, it is a musical journey I am not prepared to ride. I would prefer me to have instant gratification on a plate rather than to try and find a treasure hidden deep within a haystack. It just takes too much effort to enjoy.
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| John_Doe Posts: 5209  |
I thought for a second this is a troll review. I disagree with most things written there.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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| SoUnDs LiKe PoP Posts: 1060 |
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| Roman Doez Hallucigenia Posts: 993  |
You did not talk about the songwriting, and that's a shame because that's what most people dread in this album. The major problem (to me at least) is that everything sounds incredibly similar and boring and there are just too many ballads that do not distinguish themselves from one another. The album can reach some pretty good highs but they're so rare in that sea of boring music that the album ultimately feels like a big waste a time. At least for me.
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| RaduP CertifiedHipster Staff Posts: 9124  |
Wow, thanks for reminding me this exists. I went back and lowered my rating even more because of how much I dread remembering how I had to sit through this album.
---- Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking One day there will be no heart at all?
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| John_Doe Posts: 5209 |
Written by RaduP on 19.01.2022 at 18:01 I feel your pain.  Having read this glowing review, I was thinking to write my own review, but that would mean listening to this album again, which is not worth it.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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