# Dream Theater Full Album Stream!



## rifft (Sep 16, 2013)

Go listen now 

Dream Theater Channel Prog Metal in 'Dream Theater' - Premiere | Music News | Rolling Stone'

Edit: DT's smarturl which will hopefully redirect non-US people to the right site: http://smarturl.it/dreamtheaterpremiere


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## Xiphos68 (Sep 16, 2013)

Intro...


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## Goro923 (Sep 16, 2013)

Lots of 7 string action from what I can hear


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## Petie (Sep 16, 2013)

If you're outside the US, this smartlink will take you to the site for your territory. 

Dream Theater


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 16, 2013)

Goddamn, Truch tuned the .... down for that intro. 

Enjoying it quite a bit so far, although I'm 3 songs in. Actually liking The Looking Glass more than The Enemy Inside, it's givivng me a WD&DU/I&W vibe.

EDIT: 4 songs in and still liking it. Definite improvement over anything they released in the passed decade.


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## Andromalia (Sep 16, 2013)

The owner of this track has not made this sound available for streaming in your location.

....

.....


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## Ralyks (Sep 16, 2013)

Ok, The Looking Glass screams "Rush" to me... Not a bad thing.


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## TheDivineWing22 (Sep 16, 2013)

At work and the player is blocked by the companies filter. I want to listen to it now!


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## Goro923 (Sep 16, 2013)

Ralyks said:


> Ok, The Looking Glass screams "Rush" to me... Not a bad thing.



Wait 'till you hear the dirty bass break in Surrender to Reason


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## Webmaestro (Sep 16, 2013)

Sweeeeeeet


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 16, 2013)

It's the little things that get you going... Like being able to hear Myung.


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## DLG (Sep 16, 2013)

sometimes I feel like there's something not right with me.  

I guess I'm asking too much of dream theater in 2013. 

This is formulaic, uninspired, rehashed dreck. It's almost unbearable to listen to. Ever riff and idea on this album sounds like it was grifted from a "prog metal for beginners" textbook.

the 'epic' song at the end is basically '4 mediocre songs pasted together with the help of orchestral interludes.'

the intro and "behind the veil" sound like songs symphony x threw away. 

might set a record for neg-rep with this, but these are my honest thoughts after one spin of this album. dreadful.


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## Xiphos68 (Sep 16, 2013)

DLG said:


> sometimes I feel like there's something not right with me.
> 
> I guess I'm asking too much of dream theater in 2013.
> 
> ...




This is honestly the biggest disappointment Dream Theater has given us.

Fans complain about Mike Portnoy did with Dream Theater... But something tells me if Portnoy was still in Dream Theater, not this bad of an album would release. 

I love Mike Mangini was able to play some crazy-cool stuff, but his full talent was still not used. 

Though I will listen to this album again when it is released and make sure I am not going crazy.

*Huge Dream Theater Fan, Initial Reaction*


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## Uncreative123 (Sep 16, 2013)

Listening now. Waiting to reserve judgement....going to try not to read any other comments 'til afterwards.


Edit: Wow, correction. Just got to "The Looking Glass" and was appalled. Jesus Lord Almighty is that song awful. There's always one on every album I can't stand- and I hope this is the only one. This song should not be third on the album.


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## SjPedro (Sep 16, 2013)

Enigma Machine isn't the most elaborate instrumental to date but GOD DAMN that's some heavy stuff


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 16, 2013)

Loving this so far! The enigma machine reminds me of that six degrees era, when their long instrumentals were just so tight!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Sep 16, 2013)

I guess I'm easy to impress, because I thought this was their best album since Six Degrees.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 16, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I guess I'm easy to impress, because I thought this was their best album since Six Degrees.


Getting into the bigger picture I'm starting to agree! Labrie is ....ing killing it on this song!

EDIT: Into illumination theory. I swear dream theater has had Nobou Uematsu's number for awhile now. XD


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## Nats (Sep 16, 2013)

No 8 strings, no care.


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## Rock4ever (Sep 16, 2013)

Nearing the end of the cd, and I agree it's kind of a bummer.

It's missing that one song that each of the last several albums had (examples- Nightmare to remember, Panic Attack, Bridges in the Sky, In the Presence of enemies, TGP) that just sets my brain on fire and puts it in a hyperactive state for the first couple hundred times I listen to it.

The 3rd part of illumination theory gets it close but it's short and the song goes back to where it was.


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## Volteau (Sep 16, 2013)

Dream Theater Streams New Album - in Metal News ( Metal Underground.com )

The people in this site need to update their DT pic. At first I was like "MP is back? WTF?", but alas, no, no he is not. The only thing I will say about the album is that it is very loud. Sounds like something out of Fascination Street Studios.


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## RevDrucifer (Sep 16, 2013)

Just finished "Behind The Veil" and I'm ....ing love it.

I haven't dug much since SFAM, I don't mind 6 Degrees but once ToT came out, the formulaic mode kicked in. This new stuff has a lot of Falling Into Infinity/Awake feel, which is ....ing great. Haven't heard much of Rudess' carnival sounds, which killed so many songs before...

I think Mangini is kickin' ass on this! Really love the drum sounds on this and GODDAMN it's awesome to finally REALLY hear Myung. 

I wasn't a fan of "The Enemy Inside" and I only listened to "Along For The Ride" as backgound noise, but nothing stuck out about it to me so I figured the rest of the album would follow suit, I'm glad it's not.


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## SjPedro (Sep 16, 2013)

has anyone noticed that Along for The Ride takes the same position (second to last song) on this album as did Beneath the Surface? 

and they kinda sound alike


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## TheDivineWing22 (Sep 16, 2013)

^^Beneath the Surface was the last song on ADTOE.

EDIT:

Just finished listening to the whole album. IMO its a very solid album. As with any DT album, I need to listen to it a few more times to fully grasp everything in it. A few of the standouts for me were The Looking Glass, The Bigger Picture, and Surrender to Reason. Overall I think it has potential to be one of my favorite DT albums.

Also good to hear that Along for the Ride is the weakest song on it.


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## SjPedro (Sep 16, 2013)

yeah you are right! Winamp kinda placed Beneath the Surface wrong!

Illuminaton Theory really satisfies me so far (12 min in so far) pretty cool stuff and the orchestra part really stands out...sounds like an epic movie soundtrack...would fit perfectly on Lord of the Rings for example


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## piggins411 (Sep 16, 2013)

So far the only song I wasn't a fan of is Behind the Veil.


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## Dayviewer (Sep 16, 2013)

Maybe it's just that I'm not in the mood right now, but apart from the intro I found everything absolutely not interesting, all the same old stuff I've been hearing from them imo.
Absolutely nothing grabs me or keeps my attention, I think I'll come back to this later but right now I think it's absolutely boring, sorry, just my opinion, I know.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 16, 2013)

You know instead of Rush I'm getting a very Paul Gilbert feel from The Looking Glass.


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## brutalwizard (Sep 16, 2013)

False awakening suite is an amazing intro.

only a few songs in. digging it.


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## Asrial (Sep 16, 2013)

False awakening was epic. Kind of quirky, but allright.
The enemy inside is a bomb single, and dig it.
The looking glass... Eh?
Enigma machine is NICE. I liked the Train of Thought-album, so a nice throwback really. Got some really heavy atmosphere to it too.

And that's as far as I've got so far.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 16, 2013)

Guys i think ive figured out Along for the rides true meaning.

Clearly petrucci's planet and moon controlling rack unit was stolen, and the song chronicles how petrucci brought (forced) the band to accompany him as he hunted down the thief. The part about faith are from the thief's veiw point as he realized that his demise would be coming soon from the hands of the man bear.


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## TheDeathOfMusic (Sep 16, 2013)

On the last track and it's become background noise by now.


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## SjPedro (Sep 16, 2013)

i liked the album as a whole. I am going to go through it again later tonight to get better insight on it...one listen doesn't really give it justice I guess


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## Genome (Sep 16, 2013)

I ....ing LOVED Enigma Machine!


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## Kurkkuviipale (Sep 16, 2013)

DLG said:


> might set a record for neg-rep with this, but these are my honest thoughts after one spin of this album. dreadful.



"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone."

I kinda see where you're coming from. There's a lot of incoherency in the songs and the riffing gets boring every once in a while. However, normally people like to see the positives anatomized from the negatives instead of the other way around. So maybe there's something wrong with you, or then there's something wrong with people. Or then we're all just not alike. (Newsflash!)

So instead of coming at it prejudiced negatively, try to pick up the best parts and points from the album. If there are none, fair enough. It's not for you. If there are, you've possibly gotten some hedonistic part of you satisfied and that's always great, right?

As for the album, I really can't talk about DT objectively. Their style has grown on me and I can't help it. The album made me smile enough times for me to say it's a "good album" so there.


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## Rock4ever (Sep 16, 2013)

1st and Last song on the cd come off as very TSO-ish to me, especially from their Night Castle album. 1st song reminds me of Symphony x also.


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## 7soundz (Sep 16, 2013)

Its amazing.....every song is soo good. Not common on any album out there today. Can't wait to buy this!

I have often used the word "epic" to describe certain songs..but this entire album gives new meaning to the word.


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## shikamaru (Sep 16, 2013)

Well, I can see really great compositions in here, Mike&#8217;s drumming is great, lots of polyrhythm everywhere, JP and Jordan both have awesome lead parts, JM has a really punchy sound which is maybe a reason why some think it sounds like Rush, but somehow I feel the mix is overly compressed, I hope it&#8217;s because of the stream that&#8217;s really not high quality, it&#8217;s especially noticeable on the bass drum and snare, and the orchestral part in Illumination Theory.

I&#8217;ll get this album though, chances are high that it won&#8217;t leave my car for the next months. I do hope they didn&#8217;t go the loudness war route, the whole album is really loud to me, but then again, I might blame the streaming, you can have it now, you can have it right, but you can&#8217;t have it right now


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## Aevolve (Sep 16, 2013)

Been listening to this.. Sounds absolutely _*hyyooooooooooge*_.


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## Varcolac (Sep 16, 2013)

Okay, I like this. "The Looking Glass" is _very_ Rush, from the opening riffs onwards to about a minute in, and that's a pretty good thing, then goes a bit "Images and Words" for the chorus, before returning to Rushy glory and then a bit of Mangini showboating. The bass groove in that song at about 3:00 to 3:40 is headbangable syncopated bliss. Only thing I don't like is the bit of petering out at the end.

Four tracks in and I like this album much more than their last four or five efforts. Bit of a return to form in my opinion.


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## raze8000 (Sep 16, 2013)

whats wrong with people? or whats wrong with me?

i absolutely loved the looking glass.
i dont care that much for behind the veil/along for the ride.

but illumination theory, enigma machine, bigger picture and all---pretty solid album....some sfam moments i can definitely hear!! better than the last album by miles


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## thedonal (Sep 16, 2013)

I got a few sound bytes and stopped.

I want to hear the CD first, on the hi fi.

I like to do first listens to favourite bands' new albums properly.

Gosh that was an unwieldy sentence.


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## The Uncreator (Sep 16, 2013)

This was awesome. Definitely a top 2013 album for me, Dream Theater continue to make absolutely amazing music.

The bass and guitar tone are phenomenal, and I love how LaBrie's voice sounds as well. The solo in Bigger Picture reminds me of some moments in Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence.

...., I loved what I heard. Listening again.


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## RevelGTR (Sep 16, 2013)

Okay, I love DT. Awake will always be my favorite, but I thought Black Clouds was their best album since Awake (not a popular opinion, I know.) After listening to both The Enemy Inside and Along for the Ride, I was stoked for this. I am so disappointed in what I heard. It just continues the color-by-numbers prog-rock/metal that ADTOE was. Unbelievably drab and dull.


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## Jonathan20022 (Sep 16, 2013)

Album is honestly decent at best, gave it a fair shot and I enjoyed most songs on it. But I enjoyed A Dramatic Turn of Events more than I did this album.

Also, John's tone sounds quite dry. Not sure if I'm the only one hearing this, but it's definitely not reflecting his analogy for his sound. I'll give it another few spins to see how I feel about it.


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## Yimmj (Sep 17, 2013)

I thought this guitar tone was great, i liked enigma machine and the looking glass, and of course the single


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## Slunk Dragon (Sep 17, 2013)

At 'the Bigger Picture'; so far I like it. 'The Looking Glass' was okay, but 'Enigma Machine' was just total awesome badassery to me. I think this album stacks up very well against a lot of Dream Theater's other work.
IDK what people are saying, but while Mangini's no Portnoy, I think he suits the rest of the band very well and I say he deserves being in the drummer's chair.

And I didn't care for Portnoy's growly vocals on the past couple of Dream Theater albums. The downvotes just mean that you care.


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## wankerness (Sep 17, 2013)

Where's the bass solo? I listened to the album 1.5 times and didn't notice it, though I wasn't paying that close of attention to it. There were a couple short bass breaks in one of the instrumentals but I sure hope those aren't what they were talking about!


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## Yimmj (Sep 17, 2013)

Slunk Dragon said:


> And I didn't care for Portnoy's growly vocals on the past couple of Dream Theater albums. The downvotes just mean that you care.



this! i hated those vocals, they seemed so out of place, and incredibly unnessesary


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## ihunda (Sep 17, 2013)

SjPedro said:


> yeah you are right! Winamp kinda placed Beneath the Surface wrong!
> 
> Illuminaton Theory really satisfies me so far (12 min in so far) pretty cool stuff and the orchestra part really stands out...sounds like an epic movie soundtrack...would fit perfectly on Lord of the Rings for example



^Hey, we found the last winamp user, let's try not to frighten him


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## s4tch (Sep 17, 2013)

DLG said:


> ...





Xiphos68 said:


> ...



I tend to agree. I gave the record two listens last night, and I thought just what DLG wrote: there must be something wrong with me. If I had to pick one record to take with me to a deserted island, it would be Awake. I love the band, Petrucci has been one of my main inspiration for over 20 years. I loved every record until Octavarium, I bought every single one of them even if I didn't love it initially. I cannot even say that I only love the early stuff: Breaking all illusions off the last album is easily on my DT Best of. 

But this time, I just don't like what I hear. There's not a single inspired moment on the whole record. It's not even bad, it's just plain boring.  Mangini is a monster, and I still like Petrucci's chops though, so I'll give it some more listens later.


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## s4tch (Sep 17, 2013)

ihunda said:


> ^Hey, we found the last winamp user, let's try not to frighten him



 

[offtopic]
I still use winamp, too: familiar interface, best library, easy iPod sync, etc. I gave a chance to multiple softwares (iTunes: slow, fancy but dumb library, won't work well with an android phone; JetAudio: great tone, but forgettable otherwise; foobar: great player, tremendous feature list with all those plugins, but too complicated to get it working properly; vlc: dumb library), and while winamp is not perfect by any means, it remains the best player 'out-of-the-box' for me.
[/offtopic]


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## TheDivineWing22 (Sep 17, 2013)

Well, I've listened to it three times now. I'm really enjoying it. Even some of the weaker songs (Behind the Veil, and Along for the Ride) are growing on me.

I'm pretty sure my favorite track is Surrender to Reason.


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## Malkav (Sep 17, 2013)

s4tch said:


> [offtopic]
> I still use winamp, too: familiar interface, best library, easy iPod sync, etc. I gave a chance to multiple softwares (iTunes: slow, fancy but dumb library, won't work well with an android phone; JetAudio: great tone, but forgettable otherwise; foobar: great player, tremendous feature list with all those plugins, but too complicated to get it working properly; vlc: dumb library), and while winamp is not perfect by any means, it remains the best player 'out-of-the-box' for me.
> [/offtopic]


 
Same here, I'm totally still rocking winamp, also I think the version I'm using is either 3.1 or 5.2, not 100% sure, I do know that I had to install support of flac files seperately  /offtopic

Not gonna listen to this, dug Enemy Inside, not mad about the ballad that followed but I feel like this band after the last 8 years of zealot fandom at least deserves to be listened to on the best quality you can possibly muster...

Also my coutry sucks and my internet connection isn't fast enough to stream it anyway


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## wankerness (Sep 17, 2013)

So...the bass solo thing was a joke and it doesn't exist?


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## Winspear (Sep 17, 2013)

Read the entire thread with no intention to listen until I receive my preorder next week. Why


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## TheDivineWing22 (Sep 17, 2013)

wankerness said:


> So...the bass solo thing was a joke and it doesn't exist?


 
Maybe DT believes that being able to actually hear Myung is the same thing as a bass solo?

I haven't found it either.


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## SjPedro (Sep 17, 2013)

ihunda said:


> ^Hey, we found the last winamp user, let's try not to frighten him



that made me laugh!  
I guess I am a creature of habits. winamp is one of them  as said above, it's the best out-of-the-box player out there. as for mobile using I just sync my songs on Google Music and sync the phone up.


now that the off-topic is out of the way, I've listened to this album a solid 3-4 times and I really believe that the False Awakening Suite is a very suiting opening track with some Symphony X vibes (Oculus Ex Inferni style maybe?)
The Enemy Inside kinda makes sense coming from the opening track of the album. Sounded too sudden when listened to isolated from everything else. 
The Looking Glass is a nice hip modern styled rock song. Probably good enough for the "masses" of non prog lovers and casual listeners.
And then we come to Enigma Machine, which is just so badass, so awesome very much "balls to the wall". If I were to sum up this track in one word that is sweet and everybody loves I would say TITS 
I liked the Bigger Picture, I thought it had a bit of Spirit Carries On vibe to it.
Behind the Veil is a very good one as well. Sounds like a crowd pleaser in a show for everyone to sing along with the chorus 
Surrender to Reason I am still trying to decide what this track transmits to me...I just like it lol 
Along for the Ride didn't captivate me that much. it's a nice song, love the melodies but it sounds as if it were "Beneath the Surface part II" . the keyboard solo doesn't help in that matter. 
And then we come to the epic Illumination Theory which I just loved and something I expected Dream Theater to do and haven't in the past 2 albums. So glad they finally did this. They sound better and "fresher" when songs are past the 15 min mark if that makes any sense. 


The downside of this album would probably be the mixing, sometimes the vocals sounded muffled and the keyboards really low and shy. Maybe that's Soundcloud's fault...I guess we will have to wait for the actual release to finally judge this album as it deserves

All I know is that I loved it and have been playing it in loop everytime I turn on my computer. I just want to buy my copy of the album, make some mp3's and have it on Winamp (yes Winamp!  ) and my phone


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## Kurkkuviipale (Sep 17, 2013)

I recall there was a short "bass solo" in one of the songs. Was only the following riff played only with bass as far as I remember, though.


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## TheDeathOfMusic (Sep 17, 2013)

While the album had some good moments and certainly didn't offend my listening sensibilities in any way, it was just the same old shit that DT have been doing for years. Say what you like about Portnoy's questionable growling, but at least the band were doing something _different._


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## Goro923 (Sep 17, 2013)

Winamp users, have you met foobar? 


I think the closest thing to a bass solo would be that break in Surrender to Reason. Also am I the only one hearing very obvious distortion in a lot of the snare hits in general? 





But seriously, foobar is the shit. It takes a while to customize, but mine looks like this:


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## wankerness (Sep 17, 2013)

That program is like, for linux users. It's a huge pain in the ass to set up and has almost no features "out of the box." Some people really like having to customize junk for hours, I am not one of them. I used it for a while and had it looking pretty sweet but when I had to reinstall windows I just was like "...nope" and switched to mediamonkey (basically lightweight itunes).


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## TheShreddinHand (Sep 17, 2013)

raze8000 said:


> whats wrong with people? or whats wrong with me?
> 
> i absolutely loved the looking glass.
> i dont care that much for behind the veil/along for the ride.
> ...



I'm digging the album for sure as well. And on my first listen through The Looking Glass was one that stood out as a great track for me as well although it ended too abruptly, but great track. (Maybe not as good as Sy X's Looking Glass though )

Overall good album that certainly deserves multiple listens before coming to huge opinions. I'll be spinning for a long time!


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## Goro923 (Sep 17, 2013)

wankerness said:


> That program is like, for linux users. It's a huge pain in the ass to set up and has almost no features "out of the box." Some people really like having to customize junk for hours, I am not one of them. I used it for a while and had it looking pretty sweet but when I had to reinstall windows I just was like "...nope" and switched to mediamonkey (basically lightweight itunes).



Yeah, I had it for close to a year and didn't even know it could be morphed to such lenghts. Luckily I stumbled upon a tutorial on a rainy day. I export every little adjustment I make to not have to go through setting it up again though .

But if you're willing to sacrifice half a day of your life you can get a really good looking interface with tons of different tools & information.


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## InHiding (Sep 17, 2013)

The last track has a few really strong ideas, but it is a bit disjointed and too long IMO.


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## wankerness (Sep 17, 2013)

I liked what I heard, but I said that about the last three albums too and never listened to them again after the first time. The only track that seems really skip-worthy is that ballad that was released about a week ago. "Enigma Machine" is legitimately awesome. I'll probably at least listen to that in guitar pro form when I try to learn it some time down the road!

The bass is silly level of loud, it's like spiral architect level almost. I think this is the single biggest change to their sound on this album, which is kind of sad since it's not a compositional thing, but man is it striking. I think it's seriously louder than the guitar on many of the distorted riffs. I guess it's cause Myung is using some weird rush-sounding distortion instead of his usual clean tone. It's kind of awesome. There was even one guitar solo where Petrucci didn't play over the bass part with the same thing in rhythm guitar like he did behind 99.9% of the guitar solos on previous albums! It was a shock hearing the bass by itself behind a guitar lead on anything other than a song intro.

I also noticed the rush influence on a couple songs, which wasn't a bad thing at all imo.


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## wat (Sep 17, 2013)

Nats said:


> No 8 strings, no care.



Sound logic there. This reminds me I need to check in with some of the bands I'm listening to and make sure they aren't using any less than 8 strings.


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## tbb529 (Sep 17, 2013)

I've listened to it once in full last night, and then The Looking Glass thru Behind the Veil on the way to work this morning. As a huge Portnoy fan (and someone who didn't really enjoy ADTOE) part of me really wanted to dislike this album because DT can't possibly be good without Portnoy...or so I thought.

They really found their way home on this one, aside from a few puzzling moments here and there. I really enjoyed it overall, and Mangini SLAYS! (he probably slayed on the last album too but the drums are far too buried to properly hear what's going on)

Definitely need to catch them next US tour. Guess I am as much a DT fan as a MP fan!


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## Estock (Sep 17, 2013)

It's the best thing they've gone in quite awhile in my opinion.


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## shikamaru (Sep 17, 2013)

SjPedro said:


> And then we come to Enigma Machine, which is just so badass, so awesome very much "balls to the wall". If I were to sum up this track in one word that is sweet and everybody loves I would say TITS


Lol made my day 



wankerness said:


> That program is like, for linux users. It's a huge pain in the ass to set up and has almost no features "out of the box." Some people really like having to customize junk for hours, I am not one of them. I used it for a while and had it looking pretty sweet but when I had to reinstall windows I just was like "...nope" and switched to mediamonkey (basically lightweight itunes).


Idk, on the one side linux users dont care about reinstalling, all their settings are stored in /home which is usually on a separate partition. Its crazy to think that after all these years windows still doesnt ask you if you want C:\Users\ (which includes Application Data) on a separate partition when you install it On the other side, my players far from the screenshot a couple of posts above. Indeed, I use mpd which has no gui at all, I just connect a client app to it whenever I want to control it. A music player is made for playing music, not display fancy distracting stuff on screen, that is the UNIX philosophy, do one thing, and do it well 



InHiding said:


> The last track has a few really strong ideas, but it is a bit disjointed and too long IMO.



Yeah, the worst of it is probably the huge silence before the last piano part !


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## Goro923 (Sep 17, 2013)

shikamaru said:


> A music player is made for playing music, not display fancy distracting stuff on screen



But, flashing lights!!! I enjoy that kind of stuff though


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## lemeker (Sep 17, 2013)

This album is another Systematic Chaos type album for me.........this ones going to take some time to get into. A lot of juicy riffs.....I will say that though.


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## Aris_T (Sep 17, 2013)

Gave it a full listening and I'm intrigued to listen to it more.

I found it less heavy than ADTOE but I don't mean this as a bad thing. 
The Illumination Suite is probably my favorite track so far, but that is just from this first streaming on laptop speakers while writing a paper. I too was waiting for DT to do something like this.

Bottom line, as a fan I wasn't disappointed. It's a solid work and I'm waiting for the CD for a thorough listening.


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## ilyti (Sep 17, 2013)

This thread is amazing. I can't believe we are all listening to the same album, getting all these different things from it. 

First listen: Now, I've been a DT fan for 10 years, but this felt a lot like what normal people feel like when listening to DT. "I like this! oh wait, what was that? Why so heavy all of a sudden? Oooh this is cool, I can see this getting stuck in my head. Woah, that's a lot of notes, not sure about this... where is this song going? Don't know what's going on here but I like it. THAT keybord tone, really? Great riff! Is this still the same song?"
That was quite a strange experience for me. I thought I knew the band, and yet they manage to surprise me. I really don't see how anyone can accuse them of being on auto-pilot on this album, compositionally it's just so all over the place. I can definitely see that album being pretty divisive, but I don't think it'll get that many stray fans back on board. 

In another way it felt a little like when I first heard Octavarium. I was really stoked for that album when it was coming out, but when I heard it I LOVED half of it and HATED the other half. Over the years the things that annoyed me, I eventually got over and now I enjoy the album as a whole very much. With this album my initial reaction is not quite as love/hate, but I'm expecting it'll grow on me; if not after a few listens then at least over the years.

Still really excited about this. Of the first few listens, I like The Looking Glass a lot. That classic Fates Warning/Queensryche/Rush vibe but with some twists and turns that make it uniquely Dream Theater. Illumination Theory has so many cool parts, but (at least for now) I feel like the orchestral bit in the middle stops it dead in its tracks. How are they gonna do that live without an orchestra? Just leave and have it play over the PA? A bit anti-climactic if you ask me. It's a nice piece, but compositionally it feels like over-progging it to put it right in the middle of the song, only to start right back up again the way it lelt off. On the other hand I can not express how gratifying it is to hear James sing high again. I've been waiting 10 years for those screams in Illumination Theory.


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## Alimination (Sep 18, 2013)

Enigma Machine and Looking Glass \m/ Best album in a long time imo


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## AliceLG (Sep 18, 2013)

I gave it a 7/10 after only listening to it once. It has solid songs with great riffs and leads, but nothing too memorable. I remember the first time I listened to Metropolis I spent like 3 days humming the intro. I can't for the life of me hum any riff from any song on this one. So, good songs but not memorable.

I will listen to it again after work, with studio headphones this time and as loud as I can.


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## Workhorse (Sep 18, 2013)

I am not the biggest dream theater, huge part due to labries vocals. opening my mind to this, lets go.


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## Petie (Sep 18, 2013)

I've had it for about a month now (for my interview with JP) and on the first listen the main thing that stuck out to me was the immediacy of some of the melodies. But I wasn't really grabbed overall at first. It took a good three or four listens before it worked its way under my skin and once it did I couldn't stop listening to the damn thing and now, after living with it for a month and listening to it a whole bunch of times I'd put it up there with Awake, Images & Words and Scenes From A Memory as my personal favourites. I guess it depends on what you hope to get out of a Dream Theater album.


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## ddtonfire (Sep 18, 2013)

Welp can't stop listening to Illumination Theory interlude.


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## Lord Voldemort (Sep 18, 2013)

Digging this!


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## SjPedro (Sep 19, 2013)

speaking of new album.... what's wrong with these guys?


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## Kwirk (Sep 19, 2013)

I, for one, welcome our new DT over lords. If I had to complain about one thing, it'd be the one or two parts where the autotune on James' voice is really obvious. And where the fuk is that bass solo.


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## Nyx Erebos (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm pretty disappointed due to the lack of memorable parts, namely in the Enigma Machine which is a bad instrumental imo, it feels too random to me in comparison with the mighty Dance of Eternity. There's only Behind the Veil that speaks to me. The overall album is "dull" in comparison with their previous work. I'm quite surprised that some of you guys seem to like it.


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## ihunda (Sep 20, 2013)

Kwirk said:


> I, for one, welcome our new DT over lords. If I had to complain about one thing, it'd be the one or two parts where the autotune on James' voice is really obvious. And where the fuk is that bass solo.



Autotune on Labrie's voice? Man, now that you say it, it could explain some of the weird sounding parts on recent albums...

I always though it was a weird chorus/flanger and non tasteful layering but autotune, WTF???


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## wankerness (Sep 20, 2013)

Nyx Erebos said:


> I'm pretty disappointed due to the lack of memorable parts, namely in the Enigma Machine which is a bad instrumental imo, it feels too random to me in comparison with the mighty Dance of Eternity. There's only Behind the Veil that speaks to me. The overall album is "dull" in comparison with their previous work. I'm quite surprised that some of you guys seem to like it.



I'm not saying you're wrong about Enigma Machine, but Dance of Eternity seems like a pinnacle of Random to me!  I liked Enigma Machine a lot, it's just as silly and entertaining as their old instrumentals.


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## RagtimeDandy (Sep 20, 2013)

Aaaaand yet another album ruined by Labrie's vocals. I don't know why I can't stand them but it unfortunately takes away from the music for me


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## Nyx Erebos (Sep 20, 2013)

wankerness said:


> I'm not saying you're wrong about Enigma Machine, but Dance of Eternity seems like a pinnacle of Random to me!  I liked Enigma Machine a lot, it's just as silly and entertaining as their old instrumentals.



Maybe my brain works in a weird way but I remember watching two times the live version of the Dance of Eternity and remembering almost perfectly the layout. I'm not saying random in the way of odd rythms/sounds but in Enigma Machine I just hear notes that go nowhere, even after listening to it for the 10th time (as a huge fan of DT I really want to like it but it's hard).

I feel the same way for the other songs, they're solid but in no case as "mythical" as their previous work. The only standout to me is Behind the Veil that reminds a lot of their early albums with a touch of their new sound. To a lesser extent I like the Enemy Inside. And to end with some trolling, although Mangini is a killer drummer I prefer the feeling of Portnoy.


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## TheDivineWing22 (Sep 20, 2013)

wankerness said:


> I'm not saying you're wrong about Enigma Machine, but Dance of Eternity seems like a pinnacle of Random to me!  I liked Enigma Machine a lot, it's just as silly and entertaining as their old instrumentals.


 
I was going to say this exactly. I think Dance is better song, but, I think Enigma Machine seems much more cohesive and has less sections that seem to come out of nowhere.


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## WhiteWalls (Sep 20, 2013)

My favourites are The Looking Glass, Behind The Veil and Surrender To Reason, which are also the kind of melodic songs that Labrie is more suited at singing well, in my opinion.
For the same reason I hate the vocals on most of Illumination Theory, which would be a pretty good song otherwise (the orchestral part was maybe unnecessarily long, but I can't complain)

I think the average quality is about on par with ADTOE, which was less consistent but had a standout song, nothing to be extremely excited about but I'm really enjoying it.


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## wat (Sep 20, 2013)

ihunda said:


> Autotune on Labrie's voice? Man, now that you say it, it could explain some of the weird sounding parts on recent albums...
> 
> I always though it was a weird chorus/flanger and non tasteful layering but autotune, WTF???



Pretty sure that it's impossible to release an album with any major label without the voice having some auto-tune anymore, regardless of if it "needs" it or not


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## RevDrucifer (Sep 20, 2013)

Anyone else notice that "Enigma Machine" is "Erotomania" on steroids? There's several riffs that are killer variations on the original riffs. I know half the people that pick up on it will see it as ripping themselves off, but I think it's badass. THAT is an Easter Egg for fans.


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## wankerness (Sep 20, 2013)

Time for a great story! I linked a youtube video of enigma machine to a friend who hasn't liked anything dream theater has done in a while, and he was like "whoa, this is actually good, I haven't heard them do anything this harmonically adventurous before!"

Then, I realized I linked him a fake leak that was actually an instrumental by some other band, and corrected my mistake. He didn't think the actual Dream Theater one was nearly as good! Sad times when someone thinks the fake leaks are better than the actual album 

FOOTNOTE: I listened to it and it's actually pretty cool! It is more interesting than the dream theater song in some respects (the bass runs more counter to the guitar in more interesting ways, for example) but the Dream Theater one is still good imo!



Sounds sorta like shadow gallery - the crusher, combined with dream theater and spiral architect, haha. (A New Day for Heaven - Darkest Hole).


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## Kwirk (Sep 21, 2013)

Surprised no one has mentioned the djenty riffs in Illumination Theory. (inb4 negs)

Anyway, the fan boy in me is loving this more and more every time I listen to it.


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## wankerness (Sep 21, 2013)

Kwirk said:


> Surprised no one has mentioned the djenty riffs in Illumination Theory. (inb4 negs)



What riffs are you talking about? I fast forwarded through it quickly. You mean the one that's played by the bass first at 11:20? That just sounds like the second verse on Learning to Live to me. Or do you mean something in the first section? They've had odd-time heavy riffs since 1992 so odds are it's probably very much their style, but then again I know they referred to that one low B chug section in "Dance of Eternity" specifically as "The Meshuggah Riff" so who knows.


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## mgh (Sep 21, 2013)

gotta say i'm enjoying this one a lot; they really have gone back to a more classic DT sound and mostly put those boring B string riffs away; i love how JP has added quite a few powerchords to keyboard led riffs, and certainly the keyboard sounds are a nod to classic Sherinian...and the string section in the last song, wow, I wish Jordan would do more of that!


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## Kwirk (Sep 21, 2013)

wankerness said:


> What riffs are you talking about? I fast forwarded through it quickly. You mean the one that's played by the bass first at 11:20? That just sounds like the second verse on Learning to Live to me. Or do you mean something in the first section? They've had odd-time heavy riffs since 1992 so odds are it's probably very much their style, but then again I know they referred to that one low B chug section in "Dance of Eternity" specifically as "The Meshuggah Riff" so who knows.


There's a riff around 2:00 as well as 5:13 that are pretty djenty. I don't just mean the odd time stuff, more the tone.


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## wankerness (Sep 21, 2013)

Kwirk said:


> There's a riff around 2:00 as well as 5:13 that are pretty djenty. I don't just mean the odd time stuff, more the tone.



The 2:00 riff is basically the same as the riff 34 seconds into "Honor Thy Father," just with an even shriekier tone, but you're definitely right about the 5:13 riff. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did that consciously, I think they're usually pretty up-front about copying other bands (ex that Muse part on Panic Attack).


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## Kwirk (Sep 21, 2013)

wankerness said:


> The 2:00 riff is basically the same as the riff 34 seconds into "Honor Thy Father," just with an even shriekier tone, but you're definitely right about the 5:13 riff. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they did that consciously, I think they're usually pretty up-front about copying other bands (ex that Muse part on Panic Attack).


Well yeah, but the low tuning + tone makes it more that. Petrucci really praises Periphery and the stuff they're doing, so the influence would obviously come from that.


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## Force (Sep 22, 2013)

Picked up the CD today. After just one spin, I think it's their best album. The songs are more like actual songs now still with plenty of prog porn. I love the guitar tone & it really stands out instead of being buried in a muddy mess. 

The only gripe so far is the snare, with a horrible cut off after each hit. Sounds like a sample gate closing on a cheap Casio keyboard.

It's all a matter of taste but this sounds like euro powermetal in a lot of places too me which is my fave genre. My interest in DT has been revived.


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## fps (Sep 22, 2013)

How are the bass and drums in the mix?


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## Kaickul (Sep 22, 2013)

I just heard the full album earlier, a really solid album, I really like The Looking Glass.


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## wankerness (Sep 22, 2013)

fps said:


> How are the bass and drums in the mix?



Based on the leaked version, the bass is by far the loudest it's been since their debut album. Myung has some fuzzy tone that sounds like Rush or something and it's really, really present. Drums, I dunno, I think they're a little bit tinny and compressed but it didn't bug me at any point other than the ballad.


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## Thasman (Sep 22, 2013)

With Dream Theater, the best thing to do is to listen to the album a few times. Having not yet done this, my opinion is not yet that valid, but the album seems a very solid effort from the band, with stand out tracks for me being false awakening suite, the looking glass, the enemy inside.
Illumination Theory is interesting, but I am disappointed by the lack of any clean guitars on the track as versitility is one of the things i love about DT, but the riffs are decent and the solos are good, so who am I to complain. Good track, but not hitting the heights of songs such as octavarium, a change of seasons or the count of tuscany


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## Osorio (Sep 23, 2013)

Pretty bad impression in general. I liked A Dramatic Turn of Events more, even though I can barely say I LIKED that album. In time, most of it annoyed the hell out of me, but some songs were fantastic, like "Breaking All Illusions"&#8230; I was excited for this album, about what "road" they would take with it. I remain disappointed. It is very formulaic, much like ADToE sounded to me, but without the spark of possibility&#8230; If this is their sound going forward without Portnoy, I can't say I'll be listening to their future releases.

Personally, I have a huge problem with the whole "this sounds like X" deal. I hear a lot of people going "The Looking Glass sounds like Rush!" like it is a compliment, and while they could have certainly chosen worse bands to imitate, if I wanted to listen to Rush, I would. I have a very similar issue with Periphery's "Scarlet"&#8230; Dream Theater has been doing this for a while now, and I for one think it is a damn shame. I hoped they get back to more subtle nuances instead of screaming where they are coming from. Alas...



Goro923 said:


> Also am I the only one hearing very obvious distortion in a lot of the snare hits in general?



I hear it as well... It has been bothering me for a while now. There is some very weird cut-off as well... Like the snare is being played on a completely different, absolutely dead, room. I'm finding the overall production of this album absolutely terrible. So freaking loud. So absurdly compressed. And I hear LOTS of clipping almost everywhere. I could just barely get through "The Bigger Picture" because of the ridiculous amount of clipping.

Also: I'm not hearing the much louder bass. Maybe comparatively, but I'm still finding it completely muffled. But it may be because I'm running this album very low. The production is just too loud and gives me a massive headache on even slightly below-average volume levels. At this level I almost can't hear the bass at all. If the music has to be loud for the bass to be noticeable, it really isn't noticeable as far as I'm concerned. 

[disclaimer: everything above concerning production may very well be the version of the album that I managed to get. Take it with some large grains of salt.]



DLG said:


> the 'epic' song at the end is basically '4 mediocre songs pasted together with the help of orchestral interludes.



I have such huge problems with this as well&#8230; I was expecting something majestic and powerful and it just screams "meh" at me. The composition is so disjointed... Really disappointing.



s4tch said:


> There's not a single inspired moment on the whole record. It's not even bad, it's just plain boring.



Pretty much this&#8230;


*The good:*
Even though he still gets his way a lot, I fell like someone must have been keeping checks on Rudess, because he doesn't sound 1/3 as annoying as he usually does to me. Both in timbre selection and in keyboard wankery.


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## fps (Sep 23, 2013)

wankerness said:


> Based on the leaked version, the bass is by far the loudest it's been since their debut album. Myung has some fuzzy tone that sounds like Rush or something and it's really, really present. Drums, I dunno, I think they're a little bit tinny and compressed but it didn't bug me at any point other than the ballad.



Cool yeah I just got it, like the bass tones, drums sound very replaced, and pretty dull a lot of the time, so far not impressed with this, sounds very pompous and pretentious, and lacking inspiration.


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## Genome (Sep 23, 2013)

I dunno about you guys, but I swear I can hear bad fret buzz on Petrucci's guitar during the intro to Illumination Theory... around 1:05, on the left side.


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## ilyti (Sep 23, 2013)




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## fps (Sep 24, 2013)

K listened some more, really like the spacey feel as a whole, snare distorts a bit, lyrics are just crushingly bad, but you suspend your disbelief on that and it's really nice. Except one part of the final *track* (it's just a load of bits pieced together) where the lyrics are so bad they can't be ignored. 

Petrucci's tones are beautiful, and hearing Myung in the mix is great. Great sounding album, some very satisfying stuff here.


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## teamSKDM (Sep 24, 2013)

hm, i thought their labum before this was their best ( imo it was just so intense and beautiful with awesome climaxes and crazy instrumentals, as well as some of jp's best solo's and riffs.) but this album, i listened through the whole thing,and there isnt really much i can say. if you asked me to hum out some parts of a song, i couldnt because it just wasnt as catchy. unlike the last album where every song had me hooked.


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## fps (Sep 24, 2013)

The last song is so disjointed, it's not a song at all.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 24, 2013)

Picked up the new album today.






Sounds great. After the DT Q&A is over I'm going to jam the 5.1 disk.


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## Webmaestro (Sep 24, 2013)

Didn't John produce this one? I can't remember where I heard this, but if it's true... it could explain some of the odd stuff we've all mentioned. My only complaint as far as the production goes is the drums. I would've liked to hear them more/bigger/better (can't really articulate what I didn't like... I just know something sounded off to me).


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## Kurkkuviipale (Sep 24, 2013)

John has been producing Dream Theater since SfaM. All the oddness is due to lack of a certain co-producer leaving the band.

E: Yes, I'm implying that Portnoy was really the better producer of the two. (At least to me) Despite him apparently being dominant in what he did, he still got stuff sounding really great, especially the drums.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 24, 2013)

Webmaestro said:


> Didn't John produce this one? I can't remember where I heard this, but if it's true... it could explain some of the odd stuff we've all mentioned. My only complaint as far as the production goes is the drums. I would've liked to hear them more/bigger/better (can't really articulate what I didn't like... I just know something sounded off to me).


"Produced by John Petrucci, Mixed by Richard Chycki" per the back of the cd.


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## ilyti (Sep 24, 2013)

JP on Guitar World for November






MP on Modern Drummer for October






When JP looks like a douche and MP doesn't, my world is turned upside down. JP needs to start caring about what magazines will potentially do to his image.


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## Sephiroth952 (Sep 24, 2013)

Hey guys heads up. If you scan the code in the booklet of the album it will allow you to download a free pdf of the enemy inside tab.


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## Vhyle (Sep 24, 2013)

JP looks like Sylvester Stallone with long hair on that.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Sep 24, 2013)

I consider myself a big DT fan, but my initial (based on 2 listens) impression of the self titled album is "come on", it's uninspired stuff, and it feels like I have heard before a gazillion times, sorry.

If I dare say this, but I enjoyed Labrie's latest album much better! Although it had hideous lyrics, the arrangements, pop styling, and riffs made up for it. It sounded fresh and focused. DT, I am not sure what to make of it yet.


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## Alberto7 (Sep 24, 2013)

I'm planning on picking this up soon so I can finally listen to it properly. I listened to the stream and I was extremely excited in the beginning, and really enjoyed the first two songs. I particularly loved the intro. The latter half, however, I barely even remember. I don't know if it was ear fatigue or what, but it was very forgettable. I was EXTREMELY excited for "Illumination Theory," but holy shit what a boring song that was on a first listen. I literally thought that 3 songs had gone by when I realized that I was still on the same one. I was expecting something to rival "A Change of Seasons" (my favorite DT epic, favorite DT song, and arguably my favorite song ever, although it's quite undecided on the latter) or "Octavarium," but alas, it just felt like a sort of disjointed "wall of sound." Three quarters of the way into the album, I just wanted it to end so I could go listen to something else. Of course, that is all a first listen with the streaming quality, which was very meh. I'm still buying the album though, even if just to have a more grounded opinion of it, and to have it good quality. Also because I just like to keep the entire DT discography.


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## Forkface (Sep 24, 2013)

wooow that guitar world cover is pretty badass


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## Mordacain (Sep 24, 2013)

Alberto7 said:


> I'm planning on picking this up soon so I can finally listen to it properly. I listened to the stream and I was extremely excited in the beginning, and really enjoyed the first two songs. I particularly loved the intro. The latter half, however, I barely even remember. I don't know if it was ear fatigue or what, but it was very forgettable. I was EXTREMELY excited for "Illumination Theory," but holy shit what a boring song that was on a first listen. I literally thought that 3 songs had gone by when I realized that I was still on the same one. I was expecting something to rival "A Change of Seasons" (my favorite DT epic, favorite DT song, and arguably my favorite song ever, although it's quite undecided on the latter) or "Octavarium," but alas, it just felt like a sort of disjointed "wall of sound." Three quarters of the way into the album, I just wanted it to end so I could go listen to something else. Of course, that is all a first listen with the streaming quality, which was very meh. I'm still buying the album though, even if just to have a more grounded opinion of it, and to have it good quality. Also because I just like to keep the entire DT discography.



I just picked up the album earlier today and it sounds 10x better than the live stream. It actually sounds like a slightly different mix, but I know its just the crazy amount of compression that put it off.

As to the album itself, I really dig it. As opposed to the folks saying they've heard it all before, this to me is the first real original piece of music I've heard from Dream Theater since SFAM. Granted, it's really their biggest departure from Progressive Metal (if they ever really were in that camp) and I'd say it's solidly progressive rock, but it is all the better for it.

My immediate thoughts from my first full listen was that they finally released an album with no mindless, overly-technical wanking for the sake of wanking anywhere. All of Petrucci's solos are melodic and smooth (almost minimalist) and Rudess seems very restrained and focused. That's all the more impressive when you actually hear what Mangini does for them as a group.

Not be outdone, you can finally hear Myung and he sounds fsckn awesome.

Oddly enough, there really isn't a standout "epic" piece like Sacrificed Sons, Learning to Live, etc but I feel at the moment that the album would have suffered were there one included.

The album to me sounds like the first time I've really heard Dream Theater as a tight band playing off of eachother's strengths and not trying to be something they're not.


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## Alberto7 (Sep 25, 2013)

It's never easy for me the first time I listen to a Dream Theater album. It takes me quite a few spins to really get into it. Hell, it happens to me with most prog albums (rock or metal, but particularly rock). The first listen I gave to Steven Wilson's The Raven That Refused to Sing I was slight disappointed by how little I liked it. Today, it stands as my favorite work by my favorite musician. I feel something similar might happen with this DT album, although I can safely say that "Illumination Theory" will possibly be the hardest one for me to like, simply because it does not feel like a DT epic. 

We'll see. I'll report back with a more solid opinion in probably a few days, after I've acquired the album. If anything, it will be an interesting journey to form that opinion. DT does manage to stay at the center of my musical attention, though


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## Given To Fly (Sep 25, 2013)

Gut Reaction:
Enigma Machine - "The Riff" is one of the better ones I've heard in a while! The rest of the song didn't seem to follow in the "The Riffs" footsteps.
The Enemy Inside - Solid! 
The Bigger Picture - This is one is interesting. It honestly reminds me of Christian Rock; it just has "that" sound only its x1000 better. 
Behind the Veil - Solid! 
(skip to Illumination Theory)
Illumination Theory - I'm not a fan of neo-romantic influences in rock music or 6 minutes of birds on a Dream Theater album. 

Overall, it will take quite a few listens to form a decent opinion. I should state that I think Train of Thought is Dream Theater's best album. I like the songs, the rawness to the album, the virtuosity, the lack of neo-romantic orchestral scores...just 4 guys jammin' and someone who sings occasionally.


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## thedonal (Sep 25, 2013)

Ordered my copy today- special edition with a dvd. Still avoiding the stream. Want to do it the traditional way.

Judgment is reserved- I'm not expecting wonders, but will listen with open* ears.

*and hopefully wax free.


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## Doug N (Sep 25, 2013)

Sounds like a Dream Theater album to me, I like it better than ADTOE by a long margin.


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## protest (Sep 25, 2013)

I'm still waiting to get the album so I can listen to it through my car's speakers, but I've been listening to it on Grooveshark. I'd say it's pretty good. I think it's their best album since Octavarium, which I think I enjoyed more than most people. I'd say it falls middle of the pack as far as their albums go, but when you consider the bottom of their discography is made up of mostly their newest albums that's a definite achievement.


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## TheShreddinHand (Sep 25, 2013)

Has Petrucci mentioned in any interviews yet what tunings he used on this album? Sounds like a fair bit of stuff below E and of course the couple 7 stringers. I gotta sit down with my guitar and try and figure out what key he's in for some of these.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Sep 25, 2013)

Just for the people who buy the Deluxe edition w/ DVD, it's an AUDIO dvd! It has a 5.1 mix of the album, that's about it, no documentaries or video extras.


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## wankerness (Sep 25, 2013)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> Just for the people who buy the Deluxe edition w/ DVD, it's an AUDIO dvd! It has a 5.1 mix of the album, that's about it, no documentaries or video extras.



Good warning, definitely not buying that.


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## Osorio (Sep 25, 2013)

I've been hearing reports that the audio on the DVD-A, the 5.1 mix, is absurdly better than the CD audio, much less compressed and in effect sounds like a complete different mix done by an entirely different engineer (even though it was not). 
I've seen some spectrum shots that certainly look better on the 5.1, even when merged to stereo. So, there is that to keep in mind as well. If you liked the album, the 5.1 mix may be a thing you would want to invest in. Or you can wait for the HDtracks release and see how that goes...


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## thedonal (Sep 26, 2013)

Osorio said:


> I've been hearing reports that the audio on the DVD-A, the 5.1 mix, is absurdly better than the CD audio, much less compressed and in effect sounds like a complete different mix done by an entirely different engineer (even though it was not).
> I've seen some spectrum shots that certainly look better on the 5.1, even when merged to stereo. So, there is that to keep in mind as well. If you liked the album, the 5.1 mix may be a thing you would want to invest in. Or you can wait for the HDtracks release and see how that goes...


 
I think it may be the first version I play tonight . 

I wasn't too keen on the 5.1 mix of Systematic Chaos, to be honest- some of the placement, eq and fades didn't quite work for me. 

But more importantly, the disk is here on my desk in the office and ready for a play tonight. I'm quite excited! There's nothing like getting a new CD by a favourite band.


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## wankerness (Sep 26, 2013)

Osorio said:


> I've been hearing reports that the audio on the DVD-A, the 5.1 mix, is absurdly better than the CD audio, much less compressed and in effect sounds like a complete different mix done by an entirely different engineer (even though it was not).
> I've seen some spectrum shots that certainly look better on the 5.1, even when merged to stereo. So, there is that to keep in mind as well. If you liked the album, the 5.1 mix may be a thing you would want to invest in. Or you can wait for the HDtracks release and see how that goes...



5.1 remixes do sound amazing sometimes, I just personally don't have a 5.1 system cause I live in the stoneage and thus don't get much benefit. But yeah, I have a friend with a system who has those porcupine tree 5.1 versions and some of them sound amazing. Stupid Dream in particular makes it sound like the band is actually in his house. The difference in how great the bass player sounds in particular is almost alarming.


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## Osorio (Sep 26, 2013)

wankerness said:


> 5.1 remixes do sound amazing sometimes, I just personally don't have a 5.1 system cause I live in the stoneage and thus don't get much benefit.



I don't have a 5.1 system either. Kinda don't see the point... I know it's better but I'm ok with what I have. But the point I was trying to make is that, even if you rip the DVD down to a stereo track, the product will be different, and better, than what the actual CD is. So, EVEN IF you don't have a 5.1 system, but you liked the album, it may be worth your while to get the DVD-A, rip it, and burn a new CD with it. It MAKES a difference.


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## Mordacain (Sep 26, 2013)

I gave a few tracks a listen in my limited time before work today and I have to say, the 5.1 mix is fsckn astounding. It sounds much better than the regular album and I think that's most likely because it was chiefly Richard Chycki in charge of the mix. The man knows his shit.

All of the individual instruments sound better and less compressed overall and while the 5.1 space could have been used better (panning and movement) it's definitely a pretty good mix.

Behind the Veil sounds SOOOO much better in particular. Not sure how he did it, but it just sounds utterly massive.


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## Furtive Glance (Sep 28, 2013)

I liked this album a helluva lot.


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## thedonal (Sep 28, 2013)

Two listens in. I'm liking it. Some stuff, sure, is DT by numbers, but generally preferring the keyboard sounds and the guitar is sounding pretty nice too. Some interesting differences too. 

It's a DT album tho- will need lots of listens to take in!


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## Osorio (Sep 28, 2013)

For the people interested in a better version of the release, here is an image comparison between the a CD rip and a HDTracks rip:







*NOTE:* This is not my image. I found it on a tracker. I don't have the HDTracks version personally, so I couldn't check.


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## Minoin (Sep 29, 2013)

That actually explains a lot! I'm not digging the mix and overcompressed feel at all, as the picture suggests.
A couple friends of mine have the 5.1 version and they say the HD 5.1 is an absolute ear-opener. It is a lot less cramped/crowded then the stereo version. Makes you even want to listen through the whole record


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## ilyti (Sep 30, 2013)

Osorio said:


> For the people interested in a better version of the release, here is an image comparison between the a CD rip and a HDTracks rip:
> 
> image
> 
> *NOTE:* This is not my image. I found it on a tracker. I don't have the HDTracks version personally, so I couldn't check.


OK, now that I see it, I need the HD rip. Now I wish I had bought the CD/DVD set.


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## wankerness (Oct 1, 2013)

I bought the CD/DVD version cause it was on sale for the same as the 1 disc. I'm a sellout. I'll have to listen to the DVD version tonight.


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## TheShreddinHand (Jan 28, 2014)

Official tabs available:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/mu...-titled-album-tabs-available.html#post3903823


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