Dream Theater New Album - September

Mushy

Ok so the info is slowly being rolled out. James has recently said that they are starting to mix/master from the 30th May, so thats next Monday. It is being mixed by Andy Wallace, who has done a few albums of note ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Wallace_%28producer%29 )

John Myung is writing lyrics, and it was quoted as songs, so maybe multiple songs.

Mike Mangini hasn't done any writing, but has finished his drum parts, which Jordan has described as "killer".

There are at least 6 songs. Mike has described the 6th song as the most difficult:

Mike Mangini wrote:

The one where I put the most amount of psychotic, two-things-at-the-same-time type of drumming would be track six [still unnamed as of press time]. While multi time signature shifts were going on, I was playing in a time signature that was completely different from those with one limb on one side of my body. And I was really hitting the drums. I’m very proud of it, but they liked it musically. I wouldn’t do it just to throw it in. I didn’t do it for that reason. I did it because I had a mathematical joy out of it. Oh, my gosh, it would be amazing to play in 7/16 here, but yet it’s changing time signatures 18 times or something.

So everything is all finished and ready to go. Big change in the band, will be great to see what they come up with.

No name or song titles yet, give it a small while.

Somnus

Mushy wrote: »

John Myung is writing lyrics, and it was quoted as songs, so maybe multiple songs.

:eek:

He hasn't written lyrics since Scenes from a Memory!!

Personally I can't wait to hear the album and I'm hopeful that it will be a much better album than more recent efforts now that MP is gone. I suspect it will feel a lot more natural and flowing.

Looking forward to hearing more info on it

Passenger

John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater recently sat down with [URL="ttp://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-dream-theaters-john-petrucci-jordan-rudess-on-the-bands-future-442741"]Music Radar[/URL] and gave a long and in-depth interview in which they cover lots of topics, including the new album, Mike Portnoy's departure, Mike Mangini's arrival and a host of other things.

One of the most interesting bits, excerpted below, is when Petrucci and Rudess talk about how Portnoy asked to rejoin the band, and why Dream Theater turned down his request.

This is particularly interesting when read adjacent to Portnoy's comment's on the matter, and taken together seems to be a classic case of trying to win the breakup.

Metalunderground.com

Music Radar: He went off with Avenged, but in December, when it became clear that he wasn't staying in that band, he came to you guys and asked if he could rejoin.

Rudess: "Yeah, that was a very challenging time. It was several months later, and what basically happened was… [pauses] You know, just to give you an idea of how deep this was to lose him, how difficult it was… after we got off the phone with him, when he told us what was going to happen, that he was leaving… I literally sat on the steps of my studio and cried. This is a guy who's a friend of mine, who we all love and admire. We didn't want to see it come crashing down. The whole thing brought me to tears.

"But we all realized that we had to find a way to keep going. This is our business. We enjoy it, we love it – how do we keep doing this? So we went into motion. Through us putting our heads together, we decided, OK, we've got to find another drummer. And that resulted in us finding these seven amazing drummers to check out. And that, too, was also very emotional: How do you bring a new guy into a situation where you've been with somebody else for so long? It was a very heavy thing."

Petrucci: "It was sort of like when somebody dies. After you're done crying, the planning kicks in: 'OK, we've gotta do this, we have to arrange the funeral and put everything in order.' Even though we were in shock and were filled with a lot of emotions, we knew we had to carry on."

Music Radar: But still, Mike asked to rejoin…

Rudess: "Yes, well, OK, so we put everything together. We got the drummers in, which everybody knows, and we filmed the audition process and put a lot of care into the documentary. So after that whole process, we found somebody who we thought was great - Mike Mangini. 'Oh my God, this guy is fantastic! This can work. We can do it.'"

Petrucci: "And something I should point out – Mike Mangini's life changed dramatically. He was a professor at Berklee, and he had to give notice that he was leaving. He's got a wife and two kids – the whole thing. So he came down and we started making a record. Everybody was supportive at the label. Things were feeling good. We had our feet on the ground again. And then Mike asked if he could get back in..." [He shakes his head]

Music Radar: It was too late.

Rudess: "Yeah. You know, Mike Mangini resigned from Berklee. You can't just tell him… We were in motion with him. We were invested in Mike Mangini and our future. Everything was going full steam. So Mike Portnoy came to us and asked to rejoin: 'Hey, guys I've reconsidered, I've made a… a mistake.' It was like, 'Oh my God, you can't do this to us. You can't pull the rug out from under us like this.' It was... [sighs] it was hard. Here we went through this whole drama, and we finally found this new guy who we were happy with. At a certain point, you just throw up your hands and go, 'This can't be happening!'" [laughs]

ThunderApple

Can't wait to hear the album. DT is one of my favorite bands. I'm very excited about the new CD.

JBnaglfar

Looking forward to it too. It will be interesting to see if/how their sound changes. Just hoping it will be better than the last couple of albums, although Black Clouds and Silver Linings was an improvement over Systematic Chaos.

silent sage

When I get a hankering for Dream Theater I tend to stick on Train of Thought (which always cures the itch), and as a result I haven't ventured further into their catalogue. I'll give this new album a listen though; I'm looking forward to it. I'm very interested in their choice of album/track titles.

Joe_Dull

silent sage wrote: »

When I get a hankering for Dream Theater I tend to stick on Train of Thought (which always cures the itch).

It is a phenomenal album, to be fair. Give Black Clouds & Silver Linings a go - it's in a similar heavy vein.

200motels

Yeah Black Clouds is an excellent album well worth a listen and if you can get your hands on the 3 CD set one go for it the cover version of Larks Tung In aspect by King Crimson is amazing.

silent sage

Joe_Dull wrote: »

It is a phenomenal album, to be fair. Give Black Clouds & Silver Linings a go - it's in a similar heavy vein.

That's today's listening sewn up then, thanks lads.

EDIT: Got myself the 3 CD set.

Passenger

Dream Theater have revealed the title and tracklisting of their upcoming new album.

The album has been given the title of "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" and will feature 9 tracks. Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess commented on the album, which is planned for a September 20, 2011 release through Roadrunner Records, by saying;

"We have poured our hearts and minds into the creation of this album. All the life changing events that surrounded us before, as well as during the whole process, fueled our desire to dig deep within ourselves and create the best music we possibly could."

The album's track listing is as follows;

1. On The Backs Of Angels
2. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
3. Lost Not Forgotten
4. This Is The Life
5. The Shaman's Trance
6. Outcry
7. Far From Heaven
8. Breaking All Illusions
9. Beneath The Surface

spiderjazz

200motels

Can't wait for it.

Somnus

New song just up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasnbzEMV08

Edit: Just finished listening to it... It's boring really. Sounds like a Black Clouds B-side. I'm fairly disappointed.

Oh and Mangini's drumming isn't very noticable/interesting

Passenger

Gonna be a good few more listens before I fully digest the song and can reflect on it with an objective opinion.

On first listen, however, the song doesn't appear to be a departure from the Portnoy-era DT sound. This song could be at home on any of the previous few albums.

Joe_Dull

I'm really enjoying it - sounds to me like the Dream Theater I know and love I wasn't really expecting the sound to change much with the loss of Portnoy and addition of Mangini, apart from those songs the former would write (which were pretty good in fairness).

As an aside, that is an AWESOME album cover

triggermortis

Dr.Poca wrote: »

Oh and Mangini's drumming isn't very noticable/interesting

You thought so? You can't have thought much of MP either then because this slips seamlessly into the DT sound I know and love

Jemmaa

Dr.Poca wrote: »

New song just up!
Just finished listening to it... It's boring really. Sounds like a Black Clouds B-side. I'm fairly disappointed.

Yeah, boring indeed.
But for me they can be what they want to be and do what they like to do and we'll see. I feel happy enough with what they gave me already - Train of Thought or Misunderstood or Panic Attack

Somnus

triggermortis wrote: »

You thought so? You can't have thought much of MP either then because this slips seamlessly into the DT sound I know and love

No, I wasn't a huge fan of MP either. He got the job done, but the drums never really stuck out to me much, and they're often something I find myself noticing a lot with bands.

Joe_Dull wrote: »

As an aside, that is an AWESOME album cover

I don't like the cover at all really. A clown? Not that I think the imagery should be "metal" or anything.
Also, what would you consider the albums you know and love? Are you a fan of their newer stuff? (Not trying to snipe at you btw, just cause if you like their later stuff I can understand liking the new song)

I'm not intentionally trying to be negative by the way, all though I know it seems like that.

Joe_Dull

Dr.Poca wrote: »

I don't like the cover at all really. A clown? Not that I think the imagery should be "metal" or anything.
Also, what would you consider the albums you know and love? Are you a fan of their newer stuff? (Not trying to snipe at you btw, just cause if you like their later stuff I can understand liking the new song)

No it's not the fact that it's a clown, just the scene on a tightrope above the clouds with the plane below, and the colour of the sky... just sort of wistful or something, it really struck me. Plus I think it makes a nice change from the usual "menacing" covers metal albums have.

The Dream Theater albums I know and love, in order of preference, would be Images & Words, Train of Thought, Scenes, A Change of Seasons, Octavarium, Black Clouds, Awake, Six Degrees and Falling into Infinity (haven't warmed to Systematic Chaos). So I think that's a pretty even mix of old and new? I've never really discriminated between new and old when it comes to DT; I don't think there's a point or particular album where they "changed", I just love all their work. So perhaps me liking the song can be explained by me simply being a big fan :pac:

Oral Slang

Anyone going to see them this month? I'm going to see them amongst others at High Voltage, can't wait. Off this day 3 weeks!

Mushy

High voltage for me

Oral Slang

Might see you there so! Only festival for me this year, so really looking forward to it!

Joe_Dull

Oral Slang wrote: »

Anyone going to see them this month? I'm going to see them amongst others at High Voltage, can't wait. Off this day 3 weeks!

Me! Going to see them in Leeds on the 22nd

JBnaglfar

Bumping this as there's a preview of another track on Dream Theater's youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGrrapMGIx8

Somnus

Yeah, I saw that yesterday. I'm not pushed on it. Again, it's got a sound that reminds me of Black Clouds (both in terms of production and the vocal melody + "metal riff #5")

It's just uninspired, bland stuff... I know it's only a preview, but I just get the feeling the album will be a bit "meh".

That said, I listened to On the Backs of Angels a few more times since it was released and it grew on me a bit. So we'll just have to wait and see

GLaDOS

Really not expecting much from this album, based on what I've heard so far =/

Mushy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEbQZpcM75E

Can't see the embed stuff on the video....another new song. I'm liking it, but can't see it being played live much.

And here be a snippet of a newer song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4_5svB7Jpk&feature=youtu.be

JBnaglfar

Meh wasn't too impressed with the song but that snippet of Breaking all Illusions sounds great.

Somnus

My mate put up the new album here.

http://www.youtube.com/user/EpicTrollKing?feature=mhee#p/u/18/FBSjnM2dbK8

Also has the new Opeth album

Mushy

Is this out in the morning? Hope dont waste a journey.

Mushy

Aaaargh uk tour dates early february. Dont think can go cos may be seeing Clutch days before.

Mushy

New album is good, nothing groundbreaking. I'll give it 6/10 for now.

devildriver

Full stream available here:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.de/page/webwheel+DreamTheater

silent sage

I think it sounds good, I had been listening to more Dream Theater than I usually would leading up to the release and this new album doesn't seem to veer in any radically changing direction but it's what I'd come to expect from them at this stage. It strikes me as a solid 'does what it says on the tin' Dream Theater album. It's going well with a game of Texas Hold'em anyway .

Somnus

I got this over the weekend and I have to say I like it a lot more than I was expecting to. It's more interesting than Systematic Chaos on Black Clouds. A real melting pot of sounds.

Part of Build me up remind me of Rammstein - Mein Teil. And there's other parts that range from reminding me of earlier DT (6 Degrees for example) to Camel, to Final Fantasy style themes. Overall it's definitely a decent album. It does suffer from some generic choruses, which is something that plagues their later stuff, but there's enough good moments to outweigh the boring.

waltersobchak

So far i really like the album, but honesty im not too sure yet if im a fan of how the band has taken the structure's of songs from Images and Words and basically "Reimagined" them. Especially since I&W's is my favorite Dream Theater album..

On the Backs of Angels is basically Pull Me Under, Lost but not Forgotten is Under A Glass Moon (the solo is shockingly similar, which is especially usual since its Petrucci's most famous solo) Outcry is Metropolis. And Breaking All Illusions is Learning to live, which also are the only 2 songs on both albums with John Myung lyrics..

I dont think the similarities are coincidental either,obviously the band was dong something that long term fans would (hopefully) appreciate.. But im not sure what to make of it yet, its definitely not an instantly gratifying album at all, i just hope it wont take years to appreciate :pac:

padr81

Certainly there best imho since 6 degrees and possibly best since Sfam. Not a patch on the first 2 after 2 or Sfam after 3 listens but still its in there better output. The loss of Portnoys backing vocals is much appreciated though.

nix

Joe_Dull wrote: »

No it's not the fact that it's a clown, just the scene on a tightrope above the clouds with the plane below, and the colour of the sky... just sort of wistful or something, it really struck me. Plus I think it makes a nice change from the usual "menacing" covers metal albums have.

:

I like how the artwork from Black clouds leads into the artwork for this album, with the kid going through the door, with clouds on the other side

Currently giving it my first listen, typical DT so far, no songs standing out as usual, but DT albums always take a few listens for me, the recent ones anyway..

weisses

Love Bridges in the sky .... :eek:

Passenger

What immediately grabs me about the sound of the album is the apparant lack of that percussive backbone that permeated every album Mike Portnoy recorded.

I was enamoured with Mangini's appointment as I think his audition was superb and as a live performer his passion and power is immence behind the drumkit. But on A Dramatic Turn of Events the drums appear to be mixed merely as an afterthought. Even his overall sound is reletively damp. It lacks the passion that he manages to play with when he performs live.

If the band could replicate Mangini's live performances on the album I think it may have more oomph so to speak. I read that the drum parts for the album were written before Mangini came on board using Software that the band programmed themselves. So Maybe when Mangini arrived in the studio he had the drum templates already worked out for him and had little to contribute in the aftermath. Which is rediculous when you think about it.

The album just lacks a spark that lit up previous albums. Was that spark Portnoy? Looks like it.

Also I think employing outside talent to produce their work would bring another prespective to the bands sound. Petrucci produced this album and the overall sound seems, as I've been saying, damp or lacking power.

I'm still listening to it and giving it it's time to grow but so far I'm just not being grabbed so to speak.

Richy06

As far as the drum mixing goes I'd have to agree. It's pretty buried in the mix and the attack of the snare is nice but there's **** all resonance off it and the drums seem to peter out as soon as they get hit.

Musically it's good but it could do with some remixing fo' sho'!

GLaDOS

Passenger wrote: »

The album just lacks a spark that lit up previous albums. Was that spark Portnoy? Looks like it.

Personally I think the last DT album with "spark" was Train of Thought. New album sounds about the same as Octavarium or 6 degrees for me (Haven't listened to SC or Black clouds).

iroced

waltersobchak wrote: »

So far i really like the album, but honesty im not too sure yet if im a fan of how the band has taken the structure's of songs from Images and Words and basically "Reimagined" them. Especially since I&W's is my favorite Dream Theater album..

On the Backs of Angels is basically Pull Me Under, Lost but not Forgotten is Under A Glass Moon (the solo is shockingly similar, which is especially usual since its Petrucci's most famous solo) Outcry is Metropolis. And Breaking All Illusions is Learning to live, which also are the only 2 songs on both albums with John Myung lyrics..

I dont think the similarities are coincidental either,obviously the band was dong something that long term fans would (hopefully) appreciate.. But im not sure what to make of it yet, its definitely not an instantly gratifying album at all, i just hope it wont take years to appreciate :pac:

Don't know if you were referring to this article ( => https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150771825130184).

About the album, I'm not too impressed but that's not new. I feel, since 6DOIT, Dream Theater has entered some kind of routine 2 years cycle composition/album/touring/DVDs (almost like a "music factory") that never produced a crap album nor a great one. I'm quite often under the impression that if they had spent more time working and/or finalising some parts/transitions etc.. or just took bigger gaps in between albums to try and question themselves about the musical direction to adopt, we could have had a great album. Instead I always felt that they were applying a recipe they invented and they do well but nothing more. And I never liked their "inspiration corner" way of composing (that has been the source of countless debates about their influences/plagiarism...).

Well, to come back to this album, I quite like the start of the title track but not too much the vocal lines and I enjoy Lost Not Forgotten and Breaking All Illusions (despite the last minute that spoils a bit all the pretty good build up of the song, a bit like the cheesy ending of Octavarium that "ruins" for me the finale...). Also the 2 ballads at the end are... quite useless.

So very mixed feelings in the end...

waltersobchak

iroced wrote: »

Don't know if you were referring to this article ( => https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150771825130184).

No i didn't see that article. But im glad that i wasn't just taking B.S and that Dream Theater actually did reuse I&W's song structures

OakeyDokey

I'm quite happy with it, I thought for a while there was something lacking but this album as restored my faith. I need to have a check for the tour dates.

Joe_Dull

OakeyDokey wrote: »

I'm quite happy with it, I thought for a while there was something lacking but this album as restored my faith. I need to have a check for the tour dates.

My thoughts exactly. It's seriously growing on me.