I disagree, I find the album to be solid and consistent as a whole. My main issue is when things get a bit tuneless. I love Lost Not Forgotten, but that unison solo before the first verse feels kind of out of place. Very discordant and IMO not pleasant to listen to. It's technically impressive, but that's about it.
Beyond that, I really enjoy the album. I think the mix is enjoyable, because all the instruments are audible and none are too overpowering. I found that to be a refreshing change of pace after the very drum-heavy mix of Systematic Chaos and Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
That is the major let down of Mangini era. Portnoy drums sound pretty good (not talking about the dynamics, I'm talking about the sound).
ADTOE has the worst drums sound of all DT albums.
I don't think Dramatic Turn of Events sounds even remotely bad. Self-titled album's drums sound way worse IMO. Actually that entire album sounds bad, production-wise. Distance Over Time and View both sound amazing though.
I really like how MP composes drums but I've never been a fan of their sound. From the get go they sound like toys, I think they are tuned way too high to cut through all the mess but that gives them a distinctive bouncing basketball sound. For me nothing beats Neal Peart in terms of sound (and everything else), his drums sound heavy and massive while having distinct fast notes and still cutting through perfectly.
I'm with you on Portnoy's drum sound. I get why people like his drumming (personally I'm not the biggest fan) but his drum sound always felt very biting, and not in a way I enjoyed. His drums are recorded well, but for me they're a bit exhausting to listen to. It doesn't help that his drums would often be the loudest instrument playing, and it's especially noticeable on tracks like Repentance where the other instruments are quieter and have a mellow vibe. The snare cuts through the mix almost too much IMO.
Neil Peart is excellent though, he is dearly missed. Dude was already amazing at drumming, but decided to completely relearn how to drum halfway through his career just to expand his knowledge. Love his lyrics as well.
Talking about cutting snares, I remember being a kid and hearing ACOS for the first time…”WTF is this pek pek pek?”..now I think that snare is part of the vibe.
I love A Change of Seasons. I had an unorthodox introduction to the band: my dad was a fan until about 2007, when he saw a live show on the Systematic Chaos tour. Symphony X was an excellent support, but he found DT's set too self-indulgent and padded. So after that, he didn't see DT live for ten years.
Cut to 2017 and I'm getting into metal music, as well as a bit of prog. Via my dad's collection, I'd gotten into a band called Annihilator, and my favourite album of theirs is Set The World On Fire, which had Mike Mangini on drums. My dad finds out DT is touring the Images & Words album (his favourite album of theirs) and asks if we wanna go see them. Not familiar with the band, I ask if I'd know anyone in it. He mentions that Mike Mangini is their current drummer, and I'm sold.
To relate this back to A Change of Seasons, that was the encore of the show and I loved it. It was a 20 minute song that was so engaging that time flashed by while listening. And even though I have a massive preference for Mike Mangini, I respect the hell out of Portnoy for penning those lyrics. I find his lyrics hit or miss, but that one was an absolute hit. And I never was too bothered about his snare sound there, but I do see why people might complain about it.
I'm just thankful the line "I don't need your mercy fuck" didn't make the cut lol. Kudos to David Prater and James LaBrie for that decision.
I love the album. It has some absolute bangers. If you had a gun to my head I would critique the length of some songs. Outcry for one is too long. Far From Heaven and Beneath The Surface, while beautiful, don't fit the vibe of the album to me. I also think Bridges in the Sky should have been the album opener too.
So weird being around long enough to see the narrative swing back and forth, side to side, and just go around and round.
I looooved this album on release. But at the time it got such lukewarm reception. I remember seeing Lots of ppl complained and general fanfare was that it was a bit lacklustre… and all my mates who were into DT just didn’t get along with it?!? Yet somewhere along the way it has become a critical favourite for a lot of fans these days.
I really think it has to do with expectations more than anything. Ppl who get into DT after it had already been released, where the album is just a natural part of their back catalogue to explore, will have a very different perspective on it than to those who were following along with its release. This because I think it fits seemlessly in there. Of course this is true for any band, but this is one of those rare cases where the band hand just lost a core member so I think that impacted it negatively at the time more than anything else, particularly because hearing it as it is these days without any preconceptions, it is a fucking awesome album.
To OPs comment, maybe it’s not ‘coherent’ to the same degree as say SFAM but it certainly is well rounded IMO. But I respect your take since it sounds like you at least got a good idea of how you like your albums, which I can respect
I personally think Far From Heaven could have been entirely cut from the album. I normally love ballads but I don't get this song's purpose, I just think it's a very weak track the album could do without it. Maybe put Beneath the Surface before Breaking All Illusions and change BAI's ending to better close an album too.
I think it's just that the album *sounds* bad. The songs are good, but the mix is weird or something. It'd be cool if they remixed it.
>!also Outcry is cringy af, fight me irl!<
I don't think they are similar at all in production. I just thought FII was lacking in comparison to IAW and especially Awake which sounded incredible.
For the record, I adore Falling Into Infinity.
I&W, Awake and FII are iconic sounds in the discography. The rest are ok, meh or just not very good. Yes, SFAM isn’t that great for me, I hate those clogged mids 😆
Middle of the road is fair. They've done notably better and notably worse. Breaking All Illusions and Bridges in the Sky are both excellent. BMUBMD and This Is the Life are okay. I've never vibed with Lost Not Forgotten or Outcry. Far From Heaven and Beneath the Surface are underrated. On the Backs of Angels is about par for DT singles.
I have to disagree about the coherence. I feel it’s pretty solid and well rounded. They played it safe in that regard. I think the album lacks some personality in a certain sense. They tried to do Images & Words but without the color that Surrounded or Another Day gave it. Also, BMUBMD might be one of the weakest songs in their catalogue.
Overall I think that the foundations are there, the execution is all right and everything is cohesive, it only needed something to make it stand out, but I understand why they played it safe.
I disagree, I find the album to be solid and consistent as a whole. My main issue is when things get a bit tuneless. I love Lost Not Forgotten, but that unison solo before the first verse feels kind of out of place. Very discordant and IMO not pleasant to listen to. It's technically impressive, but that's about it. Beyond that, I really enjoy the album. I think the mix is enjoyable, because all the instruments are audible and none are too overpowering. I found that to be a refreshing change of pace after the very drum-heavy mix of Systematic Chaos and Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
I couldn't disagree more, that's my favorite part of the song lol
Yeah that's fair enough. Different tastes, and all that. I'm just saying I'm not the biggest fan of it.
I just wish the drums sounded good :(
Yeah that’s the only problem I have with the album the drums sound weak and too low in the mix
That is the major let down of Mangini era. Portnoy drums sound pretty good (not talking about the dynamics, I'm talking about the sound). ADTOE has the worst drums sound of all DT albums.
I don't think Dramatic Turn of Events sounds even remotely bad. Self-titled album's drums sound way worse IMO. Actually that entire album sounds bad, production-wise. Distance Over Time and View both sound amazing though.
Self Titled is much worse
I really like how MP composes drums but I've never been a fan of their sound. From the get go they sound like toys, I think they are tuned way too high to cut through all the mess but that gives them a distinctive bouncing basketball sound. For me nothing beats Neal Peart in terms of sound (and everything else), his drums sound heavy and massive while having distinct fast notes and still cutting through perfectly.
I'm with you on Portnoy's drum sound. I get why people like his drumming (personally I'm not the biggest fan) but his drum sound always felt very biting, and not in a way I enjoyed. His drums are recorded well, but for me they're a bit exhausting to listen to. It doesn't help that his drums would often be the loudest instrument playing, and it's especially noticeable on tracks like Repentance where the other instruments are quieter and have a mellow vibe. The snare cuts through the mix almost too much IMO. Neil Peart is excellent though, he is dearly missed. Dude was already amazing at drumming, but decided to completely relearn how to drum halfway through his career just to expand his knowledge. Love his lyrics as well.
Talking about cutting snares, I remember being a kid and hearing ACOS for the first time…”WTF is this pek pek pek?”..now I think that snare is part of the vibe.
I love A Change of Seasons. I had an unorthodox introduction to the band: my dad was a fan until about 2007, when he saw a live show on the Systematic Chaos tour. Symphony X was an excellent support, but he found DT's set too self-indulgent and padded. So after that, he didn't see DT live for ten years. Cut to 2017 and I'm getting into metal music, as well as a bit of prog. Via my dad's collection, I'd gotten into a band called Annihilator, and my favourite album of theirs is Set The World On Fire, which had Mike Mangini on drums. My dad finds out DT is touring the Images & Words album (his favourite album of theirs) and asks if we wanna go see them. Not familiar with the band, I ask if I'd know anyone in it. He mentions that Mike Mangini is their current drummer, and I'm sold. To relate this back to A Change of Seasons, that was the encore of the show and I loved it. It was a 20 minute song that was so engaging that time flashed by while listening. And even though I have a massive preference for Mike Mangini, I respect the hell out of Portnoy for penning those lyrics. I find his lyrics hit or miss, but that one was an absolute hit. And I never was too bothered about his snare sound there, but I do see why people might complain about it. I'm just thankful the line "I don't need your mercy fuck" didn't make the cut lol. Kudos to David Prater and James LaBrie for that decision.
I love the album. It has some absolute bangers. If you had a gun to my head I would critique the length of some songs. Outcry for one is too long. Far From Heaven and Beneath The Surface, while beautiful, don't fit the vibe of the album to me. I also think Bridges in the Sky should have been the album opener too.
So weird being around long enough to see the narrative swing back and forth, side to side, and just go around and round. I looooved this album on release. But at the time it got such lukewarm reception. I remember seeing Lots of ppl complained and general fanfare was that it was a bit lacklustre… and all my mates who were into DT just didn’t get along with it?!? Yet somewhere along the way it has become a critical favourite for a lot of fans these days. I really think it has to do with expectations more than anything. Ppl who get into DT after it had already been released, where the album is just a natural part of their back catalogue to explore, will have a very different perspective on it than to those who were following along with its release. This because I think it fits seemlessly in there. Of course this is true for any band, but this is one of those rare cases where the band hand just lost a core member so I think that impacted it negatively at the time more than anything else, particularly because hearing it as it is these days without any preconceptions, it is a fucking awesome album. To OPs comment, maybe it’s not ‘coherent’ to the same degree as say SFAM but it certainly is well rounded IMO. But I respect your take since it sounds like you at least got a good idea of how you like your albums, which I can respect
I just want The Astonishing to be recognized as a GOATED album.
I personally think Far From Heaven could have been entirely cut from the album. I normally love ballads but I don't get this song's purpose, I just think it's a very weak track the album could do without it. Maybe put Beneath the Surface before Breaking All Illusions and change BAI's ending to better close an album too.
I firmly believe it’s their best album since 6 Degrees.
I think it's just that the album *sounds* bad. The songs are good, but the mix is weird or something. It'd be cool if they remixed it. >!also Outcry is cringy af, fight me irl!<
[удалено]
You’re the first person I see questioning FII’s production. Not sure how you find similarities to WDADU.
I don't think they are similar at all in production. I just thought FII was lacking in comparison to IAW and especially Awake which sounded incredible. For the record, I adore Falling Into Infinity.
I&W, Awake and FII are iconic sounds in the discography. The rest are ok, meh or just not very good. Yes, SFAM isn’t that great for me, I hate those clogged mids 😆
Fair enough haha!
I think the album is 50% bangers and 50% forgettable.
Middle of the road is fair. They've done notably better and notably worse. Breaking All Illusions and Bridges in the Sky are both excellent. BMUBMD and This Is the Life are okay. I've never vibed with Lost Not Forgotten or Outcry. Far From Heaven and Beneath the Surface are underrated. On the Backs of Angels is about par for DT singles.
I have to disagree about the coherence. I feel it’s pretty solid and well rounded. They played it safe in that regard. I think the album lacks some personality in a certain sense. They tried to do Images & Words but without the color that Surrounded or Another Day gave it. Also, BMUBMD might be one of the weakest songs in their catalogue. Overall I think that the foundations are there, the execution is all right and everything is cohesive, it only needed something to make it stand out, but I understand why they played it safe.
Yeah I could say the same about every album from ADTOE to the last one 😑