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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Dream Theater - The Astonishing + │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jan-31-2016 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2016 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........cd1: 20 cd2: 14 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.dreamtheater.net ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Dream Theater Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : The Astonishing Label : RoadRunner ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ When someone talks about concept albums in ║ │
│║ metal, Dream TheaterÆs æMetropolis Pt. 2: Scenes ║ │
│║ from a MemoryÆ is bound to come up; mainly ║ │
│║ because it was a landmark album that was ║ │
│║ universally admired both for its themes and ║ │
│║ musicianship. Dream Theater havenÆt done a full ║ │
│║ concept album since then; theyÆve done concept ║ │
│║ songs, but havenÆt really dedicated a whole ║ │
│║ album to it. Seventeen years after æàScenes from ║ │
│║ a MemoryÆ, they have decided to create another ║ │
│║ concept album. æThe AstonishingÆ is the result ║ │
│║ of more than two years of work by John Petrucci ║ │
│║ and the band, and they have come extremely close ║ │
│║ to topping æScenes from a MemoryÆ, by taking you ║ │
│║ out of this world and into their fantastical ║ │
│║ land to tell you a tale of struggle, love, ║ │
│║ despair and hope. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed ║ │
│║ this album. It may not be the perfect Dream ║ │
│║ Theater album, but it is their most ambitious ║ │
│║ album to date. Split into two acts, it consists ║ │
│║ of a whopping 34 tracks totaling 2 hours and 10 ║ │
│║ minutes in length. You might think this is too ║ │
│║ long, but the music and the story will keep you ║ │
│║ engaged through most of this duration, much like ║ │
│║ a good movie. I am not going to delve into the ║ │
│║ intricacies of the story here, because that is ║ │
│║ something the listener should understand on his ║ │
│║ own. But I will say the when compared to the ║ │
│║ stories told in other concept albums, it is ║ │
│║ pretty straightforward. I felt that there was ║ │
│║ more emphasis on characters and their ║ │
│║ relationships rather than in telling an ║ │
│║ intriguing story, and evidence of this can be ║ │
│║ found throughout the album in James LaBrieÆs ║ │
│║ passionate performances of the characters. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The album has a lot of soul, and yet shows ║ │
│║ little of the bandÆs technical side. Blistering ║ │
│║ solos on the guitars and keyboard, bass ║ │
│║ gymnastics, and out-of-this-world drumming are ║ │
│║ few and far between in æThe AstonishingÆ, and ║ │
│║ even when they do appear, they do so for just a ║ │
│║ few fleeting moments. This lack of flashy ║ │
│║ playing, however, does not take away from the ║ │
│║ auditory experience of the album; the point of ║ │
│║ this is not fan service, but to achieve the ║ │
│║ grandiose vision of the band. This album is laid ║ │
│║ out like a musical and I can very much imagine ║ │
│║ watching this being acted out on stage while the ║ │
│║ band plays the album in the background (are you ║ │
│║ listening, DT?). ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As I said earlier, this is not a perfect album, ║ │
│║ as it could have been a bit shorter in my ║ │
│║ opinion. The first act spends a lot of time ║ │
│║ setting up the characters and premise, and by ║ │
│║ the end of it, you will be pretty invested. ║ │
│║ However, the pay-off in the second act comes too ║ │
│║ early (much like the second season of æTwin ║ │
│║ PeaksÆ, if you know what I mean) and the last ║ │
│║ few songs seem like they are repeating the same ║ │
│║ idea. When I compare both acts, Act 1 is the ║ │
│║ easily my favourite both in terms of the story ║ │
│║ and the music. Act 2 isnÆt as compelling as its ║ │
│║ predecessor, but still has a few good songs. ║ │
│║ Incidentally, it also contains my favourite song ║ │
│║ off the album: ôMoment Of Betrayalô. I didnÆt ║ │
│║ quite understand the whole thing with the NOMACS ║ │
│║ (the flying spherical robots) though; the album ║ │
│║ has these tracks scattered across both acts ║ │
│║ where you can hear the mechanical-robotic sounds ║ │
│║ of the NOMACS, but I couldnÆt understand how ║ │
│║ they fit into the whole concept. Luckily, these ║ │
│║ breaks do not take away from the experience, but ║ │
│║ neither do they add anything to it. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Dream Theater has pulled out all the stops when ║ │
│║ it comes to the production on æThe AstonishingÆ. ║ │
│║ The sound is perfect right from the guitar ║ │
│║ squeals to the splashes. John Petrucci oozes ║ │
│║ feeling into every note he plays, and you can ║ │
│║ clearly hear it in his solos. His guitar tone is ║ │
│║ much meatier than that of the last album, ║ │
│║ kicking you in the gut in the more aggressive ║ │
│║ sections. John Myung on bass along with Jordan ║ │
│║ Rudess on the keyboards expand the sound-scape ║ │
│║ of the album to create this rich, creamy, ║ │
│║ textured sound that lingers just long enough ║ │
│║ before fading away. RudessÆ keyboard work is apt ║ │
│║ as he lends an important sense of emotional ║ │
│║ depth to the songs, which only James LaBrieæs ║ │
│║ vocals can match. Mike Mangini on the drums ║ │
│║ never misses a beat, and his critics from the ║ │
│║ tail-end of DTÆs Portnoy-era may well be ║ │
│║ silenced by his performance on this album. But ║ │
│║ the real prize goes to LaBrie; portraying 8 ║ │
│║ characters is not an easy task, but he somehow ║ │
│║ manages it without compromising on quality or ║ │
│║ emotion. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ With æThe AstonishingÆ, Dream Theater has ║ │
│║ brought to fruition what they have said is their ║ │
│║ most ambitious project. æThe AstonishingÆ tells ║ │
│║ us a story about the importance of music through ║ │
│║ music, and what better story-tellers are suited ║ │
│║ to this task than Dream Theater? The band has ║ │
│║ given fans, old and new, an album which they ║ │
│║ will cherish for a long time. This is the kind ║ │
│║ of album that people will look back on with fond ║ │
│║ memories; I know I will. IÆll be looking forward ║ │
│║ to seeing this album performed live in some form ║ │
│║ or the other, for that is how this album was ║ │
│║ meant to be heard and seen. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ - CD1 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - Descent Of The Nomacs [01:11] │
│ 02 - Dystopian Overture [04:51] │
│ 03 - The Gift Of Music [04:00] │
│ 04 - The Answer [01:53] │
│ 05 - A Better Life [04:39] │
│ 06 - Lord Nafaryus [03:28] │
│ 07 - A Savior In The Square [04:14] │
│ 08 - When Your Time Has Come [04:19] │
│ 09 - Act Of Faythe [05:01] │
│ 10 - Three Days [03:44] │
│ 11 - The Hovering Sojourn [00:28] │
│ 12 - Brother, Can You Hear Me? [05:11] │
│ 13 - A Life Left Behind [05:49] │
│ 14 - Ravenskill [06:02] │
│ 15 - Chosen [04:32] │
│ 16 - A Tempting Offer [04:20] │
│ 17 - Digital Discord [00:48] │
│ 18 - The X Aspect [04:13] │
│ 19 - A New Beginning [07:41] │
│ 20 - The Road To Revolution [03:35] │
│ - [ ] │
│ - CD2 [ ] │
│ - [ ] │
│ 01 - 2285 Entr'acte [02:20] │
│ 02 - Moment Of Betrayal [06:12] │
│ 03 - Heaven's Cove [04:20] │
│ 04 - Begin Again [03:54] │
│ 05 - The Path That Divides [05:10] │
│ 06 - Machine Chatter [01:03] │
│ 07 - The Walking Shadow [02:58] │
│ 08 - My Last Farewell [03:44] │
│ 09 - Losing Faythe [04:13] │
│ 10 - Whispers On The Wind [01:37] │
│ 11 - Hymn Of A Thousand Voices [03:39] │
│ 12 - Our New World [04:12] │
│ 13 - Power Down [01:25] │
│ 14 - Astonishing [05:51] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [130:3] min │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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