The Astonishing Dream Theater 2016 Roadrunner Records The Astonishing has been 3 years in the making, it is Dream Theater’s 13th album and the follow up to 2013’s eponymous album Dream Theater. Dream Theater are no strangers to concept albums and The Astonishing is another Dream Theater album which follows this format. The Astonishing is an ambitious project, conceived by guitarist John Petrucci and spreads itself over 2 discs covering a mighty two and a half hours music. BEWARTH THE DOUBLE DISC ALBUM! Sonically, The Astonishing is probably the most polished metal album that will be released this year. Petrucci has done on an amazing job producing the album, each instrument is crisp and clear, the acoustic guitar and orchestral parts are particularly impressive. In fact, The Astonishing is so produced that it sounds far too clinical at times and massively calculated. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that there won’t be many pop chart singles released this year that will sound as produced as The Astonishing. The concept of The Astonishing is set in a dystopian future and tells the story of a place where music is only made by machines called NOMACs. The story of The Astonishing can be cut down its bare bones, a man called Gabriel who can sing and play, through the power of love and music, causes the evil tyrant Nafaryus to turn off and shut down NOMACs for good. The Astonishing is quite a difficult album, not only to listen but also to get into properly and relate to. As with all Dream Theater albums, the musicianship is impeccable, Petrucci’s and Ruddess’ playing in particular is fantastic, well thought out and as always, flawless. However, as fantastic as the instrumentation is, the concept seems rather flat and overdone. This transposes into the songs themselves, The Astonishing feels like 2 and a half hours of boring songs that don’t really seem to change dynamic or particularly go anywhere and that’s not what is generally expected from Dream Theater. Vocally, James LaBrie has a fantastic voice. LaBrie has an amazing vocal range that lends itself perfectly to Dream Theater with LaBrie capable of using his voice not just deliver lyrics, but like all good vocalists, LaBrie is able to use his voice as an extra instrument. The concept of The Astonishing seems to constrain LaBrie, forcing him to sing more melodically than he normally. Dream Theater have never shied away from ballads, in fact some of their best work has been ballads; for example, Under a Glass Moon from Images and Words, but The Astonishing seems to have more than its fair share of ballads, making The Astonishing feel more like a 2 and a half hour dirge. However, there are a few gems in amongst this collection of ballads, such as Dystopian Overture, Lord Nafaryus, A Savior in the Square, The Road to Revolution and the title track; Astonishing show glimpses of the Progressive Metal that we know Dream Theater are capable of producing. The Astonishing is best described as a movie soundtrack and at times sounds more a radio-friendly Disney series rather than a serious Progressive Metal album, with a collection of songs that could be dropped in and around the acting. The Astonishing is a rather poor show from Dream Theater, arguably their worst album since 1997’s Falling into Infinity. If you want to listen to a decent album with a dystopian theme, stick with Rush’s 2112 and if you want a decent Progressive Metal album this year, save yourself some cash and time and buy the new Fate’s Warning album instead. 4/10 Adam Our New World (Petrucci/Rudess)
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