They Can’t Stop Thinking Big: Dream Theater’s “The Astonishing”

On By Kevin WilliamsIn progressive rock4 Comments

In a time when attention spans are such that some artists are abandoning album-length efforts in favor of EPs – or even releasing one or two songs at a time – Dream Theater decided to double down with a 34-track, two-hour play set to their brand of heavy, progressive rock with “The Astonishing.”

Such an effort almost demands that a willing listener block out all distractions, don a pair of headphones, and, with the lyric sheet in hand, attempt to make sense of this massive body of music that Dream Theater created on this, their 13th studio album, in one shot.

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They surely deserve our attention. Since forming in the mid-1980’s and finding commercial success with “Images And Words” in the early 90’s, the group’s formidable talent pool – no matter who has left or subsequently joined – at times almost seems unfair to other bands in the genre.

Think you have a singer?  James LaBrie’s voice and operatic training makes him better prepared to execute the demands of a progressive rock/metal group than most others. Think your prog band boasts the best keyboardist, bass player, guitar player, or drummer around?  Sorry, but your band is outmatched at every position by Jordan Rudess, John Myung, John Petrucci, and Mike Mangini – four of the most talented people to ever play their respective instruments.  That’s not to say that there aren’t other prog groups making wonderful music on par with Dream Theater – we all know that’s untrue – but there aren’t too many bands out there with the collective ability to play nearly anything they can conceptualize, which makes Dream Theater impossible to ignore.

I began this column shortly after the release of “The Astonishing,” but it was clear that after a thousand or so words (with tons more to type before even wrapping up Act I), the review was far more a commentary on each track and how it moved the story along than a review of the album….such is the effort to write about such a huge amount of music! Additionally, the sheer amount of distractions that come with family and work matters was such that I just couldn’t give “The Astonishing” full and repeated listens, so I’ve had to break up the album into “acts within acts” to get through it.

The album begins in predictable epic form with an overture containing melodies and themes we’ll no doubt hear throughout this play, but once we hear from LaBrie for the first time on “The Gift of Music,” the album steers towards the realm of theater. All of the band members deserve props for dialing back the shredding – or at least strategically picking their spots – in favor of keeping focus squarely on the story.

That story, which is well covered in reviews elsewhere and on the band’s website, represents quite a challenge for LaBrie as he not only sings over much of this album but inhabits the characters as he goes.

And make no mistake: “The Astonishing” is James LaBrie’s tour de force.  By virtue of this being a play set to music, LaBrie simply owns this album from start to finish, displaying his full, dynamic range of vocal ability.  I don’t envy the task of him trying to pull this all off in a live setting, but we have his brilliant performance committed to a recording that will endure well after the tour ends.

As for the individual pieces, “The Gift Of Music” is a classic DT rock track in the vein of the more song-oriented material heard on their previous release.  “When Your Time Has Come” has to be one of DT’s most accessible tracks ever written, certainly on par with a track like “Another Day” from “Images And Words.”  This album boasts more piano-oriented ballads than anything the band has done prior,  but Rudess’ piano playing is divine on this album.  In and around some tracks are musical interludes that take the music from merely supporting the story to animating the story.

“A Life Left Behind” is a track unlike anything we’ve heard from Dream Theater before, the intro reminding me of something Kevin Gilbert might have written.  The album’s penultimate track, “Our New World,” is a triumphant piece as the “The Astonishing” winds down.  Because there is so much music to absorb, repeated listens will undoubtedly bring other favorite tracks to the fore.

The mix on “The Astonishing” is much the same as on their previous two albums, which is that “rich piece of chocolate cake” that Petrucci talked about when referring to his guitar tone on the last album.  It’s a huge slab of ear candy to this listener, but I can understand those who criticize the overall tone as being too polished – it’s a slick-sounding album, no doubt about it – but I bet fans will feel different when this album is performed live.

“The Astonishing” is, quite simply, an intense, overwhelming effort, and Petrucci is to be commended for hatching an idea of this scope and getting the other band members on board with it.  For the listener, the adjectives noted above are pretty much the same, which makes the album a bit daunting when it comes to casual listening.  Since “The Astonishing” was released, I’ve paused to ask myself during morning and evening commutes if I really want to dive into the experience of this album or would I rather listen to something that can be consumed from start to finish in a shorter span.

Because of this, and drawing upon past experiences, I’ve decided not to try to rank “The Astonishing” alongside the rest of the Dream Theater discography, simply because it’s sheer scope sets it apart from everything else. I have the same feeling about Spock’s Beard’s “Snow” or Saga’s “Generation 13” – whether or not I like those albums, I feel like it’s unfair to judge those albums alongside the rest of the bands’ respective output – albums of this scale simply stand alone.

Whether or not one fully embraces the story may determine the emotional attachment one will have to “The Astonishing.” While the music is spine-tingling wonderful in many places, for me it doesn’t quite touch the emotional nerve of, say, the title track to
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” – the first time a piece of Dream Theater music reduced me to tears – but there is still plenty to enjoy about “The Astonishing,” and there’s no doubt that additional listens will reveal additional layers to this ambitious effort…

…and isn’t that what great, progressive rock is about?

Bravo, boys!

Astonished: Dream Theater’s Complex Audacity

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

Dream Theater, The Astonishing (Roadrunner, 2016).  Double CD, too many tracks to list!

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Dream Theater, THE ASTONISHING.  More theater than prog.

Has there been a progressive rock or metal release more divisive over the last several years than Dream Theater’s most recent, THE ASTONISHING?

If so, I can’t think of it.

As I look over the internet, I see lots and lots of ripping of the new DT album.  The most common complaint is that DT has no business trying to write such a story, presumably—at least as I’m reading the arguments—because it’s akin to a young adult dystopian novel so prominently displayed in your local Barnes and Noble.

Well, I have no such problem with the album.

In fact, I think that for attempt and audacity alone, Petrucci and Rudess deserve immense accolades.  The scope of the album is simply astounding.  And, well . . . astonishing.  This is the first concept album DT has attempted since 1999’s METROPOLIS: SCENES FROM A MEMORY.  In form, however, it has far more in common with the recent work of Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Aryeon) than it it does with anyone else in the music world right now.

This isn’t just prog, this is theater.

I will rather openly admit that the first listening to the album made me dizzy.  I don’t mean this in any metaphorical or symbolic way.  I was actually—physically—dizzy and disoriented after listening to disk one.  I had to put THE UNDERFALL YARD on to calm me down and get my bearings.  No exaggeration.

In a private note to the editors of progarchy, progarchist editor Chris Morrissey admitted to having had the exact same reaction to THE ASTONISHING, though he had no way of knowing of my reaction.  He, too, put on some Big Big Train to calm himself down.

How weird is this!?!?!  I guess Chris and I really are brothers, though we’ve never actually met in person.

Without putting words into the mouths of the guys in Dream Theater, let me just state: this is NOT a young adult dystopian story as much as it is a (mostly-Christian) fairy tale.  The names of the characters—Nefaryous, Gabriel, and Faythe—following fairy tale convention, allow the participant and listener to know immediately who is good and who is evil.  Unlike in most fairy tales, however, Petrucci and Rudess’s story takes place in the not-too-distant future in the northeastern part of what is now the United States.  One of the characters is Evangeline, and the illustration of her reveals a wholesome young woman holding—rather explicitly—a Christian cross.  Regardless, the future of this part of America involves both medieval cultural conventions and extremely advanced technology.

I won’t retell the whole story, as it’s a crucial part of the enjoyment of THE ASTONISHING.  I know Petrucci and Rudess have asked listeners to take in the whole album in one listening, but, frankly, as much as I enjoy the album, I find this impossible to do.  There is simply too much going on in THE ASTONISHING for me to take it all in in one sitting.

It will be fascinating to see what the band does on tour and what the future holds in store for this story of THE ASTONISHING.  Much like 2112 and CLOCKWORK ANGELS, THE ASTONISHING’s potential for novels, comics, movies, a tv-series, and video games coming out is unlimited.

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A Manichaen choice.  Empire or Rebellion?  Well, this libertarian definitely chooses rebellion.

And, since progarchy.com is a website devoted to the beauty of music, let me just state, every member of Dream Theater plays his heart out on this album.  The musicianship is, as always, simply impeccable and breathtaking.  No one, however, impresses me as much on this album (in terms of performance, not writing) as James LaBrie.  I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed his vocals, but on THE ASTONISHING he reveals exactly why he’s one of the best voices in rock.

How many times will I go back to THE ASTONISHING?  It depends.  A lot rests on what the band does with the album as mentioned above, especially in terms of spreading into other media.  When I’m in a DT mood, I probably will still pop on OCTAVARIUM before I put on THE ASTONISHING.  Not because I think one is better than the other, but because it’s more digestible.  At least for now.

Regardless, I do know this–Dream Theater has, after a quarter of a century, finally and truly lived up to its name.

4.5: Steven Wilsonian Glory

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments

Steven Wilson, 4.5 (Kscope, 2016).  Blu-ray.

Tracks: My Book of Regrets; Year of the Plague; Happiness III; Sunday Rain Sets In; Vermillioncore; Don’t Hate Me; and Lazarus.

EP: A+; Kscope packaging: C

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Wilson’s 4.5: A Must Own.

4.5 brings a huge smile to my face.  Yes, a smile of happiness, even though “Steven Wilson” and “happiness” rarely go together in the same paragraph, on the same page, or in the same article.  Whatever the man’s genius—and it is astounding—few could look at the 48-year old English art-rocker and think happy thoughts.  Wilson is as grim as they come.  If he didn’t look so much like a late 80’s neo-hippie, he’d be the perfect Cromwellian Puritan of English history.

My happiness with 4.5 is the happiness of satisfaction, not of joy.

It’s also the happiness of nostalgia.  4.5 reminds me of an ‘80s release, the EP issued while we waited for the next LP.  This could be JAPANESE WHISPERS or INTO THE BATTLE WITH THE ART OF NOISE.

Not that 4.5 sounds any thing even resembling The Cure or The Art of Noise.  But, 4.5 is pure Steven Wilson.  All to the good.

Still, look at those 4.5 track titles.  Doom and gloom.  Gloom and doom.  Well, except for the one entitled “Happiness III.”  It’s a rather upbeat song, but, from what I can tell of the lyrics, it’s about the false happiness that supposedly comes from consuming stuff in the mall.

The opening track, “My Book of Regrets,” possesses drama in music as well as in lyrics.  Heavily guitar based, Wilson’s first track progressively drones on about malls and t-shirts, frequent topics for this artist.  This song is the most Porcupine Tree-sounding song on 4.5, and it could’ve easily have originated in the FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET era.

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No lyrics come with the album, but I assume these two women mean something.

“Year of the Plague,” the second track, comes from THE RAVEN THAT REFUSED TO SING, and it certainly sounds like it.  Indeed, no one would need the liner notes to guess this song’s origins immediately.  That album was, for what it’s worth, my least favorite by Wilson as a solo artist or with PT.  Still, I love this song.  It should’ve been on RAVEN, as it’s pensive and purely Wilson.  RAVEN, as it is, sounds like a cheap plagiarism of The Tangent’s second album, THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH.  Had it focused more on the sound delivered here on “Year of the Plague,” RAVEN would have been a prog classic.

Track four, “Sunday Rain Sets In,” is, for all intents and purposes, a b-side from HAND.CANNOT.ERASE.  I’d be curious to know why Wilson didn’t include it on that album.  It’s a rather stunning track, meditative overall but with a very emotional guitar line and a theatric conclusion.  It is, however, devoid of all lyrics.  Still, it would’ve fit nicely as a way of tying several songs together on HAND.

Track five, “Vermillioncore” is simple prog chaos.  Another instrumental, this song could easily have come from late Porcupine Tree or from Wilson’s second solo album, GRACE FOR DROWNING.  It is as heavy as “Sunday Rain Sets In” is meditative.  Lots of KING CRIMSON in this track.

The final two tracks, “Don’t Hate Me” and “Lazarus” are quite good, but they offer nothing surprising, though the guest vocals on “Don’t Hate Me” make this a better track than the original PT version.  Each song is a nice Steven Wilson 2.0 rework of Steven Wilson 1.0.

Frankly, I love this EP.  At a little over 40 minutes, it might as well be a full album, though Wilson has chosen to release it as an EP.  Either way, 4.5 is excellent and a must-own for any lover of prog or good music.

My only complaint is the poor packaging, which seems to be more and more the norm with Kscope releases.  I’ve been purchasing blu-rays when ever possible as the music quality is just so much better than CD or DVD.  The booklet that comes with 4.5, though, is next to worthless.  Wilson explains the origins of each song, briefly, and he lists who plays on each track.  But, there’s nothing in the way of lyrics, and the photography, while good, is nothing revealing or spectacular.  If I didn’t care, I’d just say “meh.”

I do care.

Unless Kscope is trying to move its faithful listeners to all download (which I fervently pray they are not), the label desperately needs to up its game and its quality control.  I order a physical copy of every album I want for very specific reasons.  One of the most important is I want good, tangible art work and I want to read the lyrics.

Come on, Kscope.  You are so much better than you’ve been revealing yourself to be lately.  If you do nothing else over Lent, at least learn to treat those loyal to you better.

Kscope’s weaknesses aside, Wilson’s 4.5 is strong.  Not at the creative level of his HAND.CANNOT.ERASE., it’s certainly much better than RAVEN.

 

 

 

Album Preview: Wolfmother — “Victorious”

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

The new Wolfmother is released in just over a week. The four songs that have been released from it to date are nothing short of mind-blowing.

“Victorious,” the title track, is totally triumphant. It’s got everything that has made Wolfmother great in the past, but while sometimes the music deliberately had veered into dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers territory in order to ironically mine the retro vibe, it’s different now. The cultivated lack of guile is now gone, and a natural ease and brilliance has taken its place instead. The retro rock is now completely authentic and, quite simply, a whole bag of awesome.

“City Lights” is more proof that the band has found its true identity and now stands apart from the pack. It’s not aping fragments of greatness from the past, but rather proceeding along at full clip in the present, having mastered the idioms of the past. This song zooms and zips through your headphones with so much pizazz it’s incredible. Slick guitar sound on the licks.

“Gypsy Caravan” can be described best with one word: groovy. Hop on board the psychedelic caravan and get your groove on, kiddo. What I love about Andrew Stockdale’s vocals is that he’s got a unique sound that makes him instantly identifiable in that good way. You know, the way that Ozzy singing a Black Sabbath song would make you feel unique excitement: as in, dude, nobody sounds like this! This is so cool!

The newest track that just came out the other day, “Pretty Peggy,” is a perfectly nostalgic expression of unrequited love. It takes you on a trip down memory lane, but there is no artifice, just artisanal craft in service of a purely musical articulation of infinite longing.

The sheer variety of accomplished songwriting on all these four tracks, which cover so much different territory, is stunning. The four tracks are all five-star wonders, and they’ve really got me looking forward to the entire album. Wolfmother is truly victorious!

Interview with Heartlay

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

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French metal band Heartlay released their second EP titled “Remedy” last November. The project leader and composer Aaron Sadrin talked with Progarchy about the EP, and more.

What made you go for the name Heartlay?

Aaron Sadrin: Between April and August 2014 i picked up around 100 band names, i was looking for 2 words fused into one but without too much letters at the same time. Heartlay appeared to be the smartest choice both aesthetically and ethically, it meant to me the unveiling of all falseness within human’s most powerful muscle, the heart.

In a less metaphoric language it suggests that i wanted to make music with a cathartic devotion.

How do you usually describe your music?

Soulful, dark, honest.

What is your writing process like?

I always write everything alone in my home studio. It’s not that i’m obsessed to be a one man show but i feel more in harmony with myself and my visions rather than with other people to make music. I can do whatever i want with no compromise and that’s great.

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Who or what is your inspiration, if you have any?

Inspiration comes from sulfur, this is what makes me feel emotions which interests me as a musician. When I’m not strictly working in the studio I enjoy walking in the night alone to find extra-musical ideas, like concepts and lyrics, I get lost in my head.

What is your favourite piece on the “Remedy” EP?

Perhaps The Battle or Black Walls. But it differs from the perspective, tracks like Bring You Down or Through The Window are also fun to play on stage, it depends of periods.

What makes “Remedy” different?

Remedy is different because the music on it does not try to take advantage of a new hype music genre. It exists by it’s own consistency, it’s own qualities and style, i’m interested at exploring my own shades and cracks through the music i want to make and being honest is the most important thing to me, this is what makes it unique i think.

What should music lovers expect from “Remedy”?

They can expect from these five songs a feeling of controlled anger combined with ambivalent melancholy and a fetish for sonic explorations.

What kind of emotions would you like your audience to feel when they listen to your music?

Adversity.

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Which do you like most, life in the studio or on tour?

I can’t really choose between. In the studio you’re building the piece of art, it’s a long, calm, introspective process and performing on stage is the opposite of that. You play the consequence of what you did in the studio, and you have to adopt a more social minded character to make a good show. Performing live is cool, it’s just a completely different job and experience, but even if i enjoy that i’m am more of a studio person.

Pick your three favourite albums that you would take on a desert island with you.

Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral
Tool – Lateralus
Clint Mansell – Moon Soundtrack

Get “Remedy” from Bandcamp.

Metal Monday: Megadeth — “Have Cool Will Travel”

On By Time LordIn progressive rock1 Comment

This little blast from the past will get your adrenaline going on a Monday.

Ya just gotta love the use of harmonica in this…

Radiant’s Record of the Week: SO MANY ROADS

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment
Monday Featured Product
Neal Morse

‘So Many Roads’

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Recorded at some of the best venues in Europe, this contains breathtaking performances handpicked by Neal Morse from a series of concerts with his critically acclaimed European band. Neal says “There’s some really special moments like Jessica singing the angelic section of Spock’s Beard’s “At the End of the Day” and of course the rockin’ “Author of Confusion/I’m the Guy” medley.
I also really enjoy our rendition of the Spock’s Beard classic “Walking On The Wind”. That Euro band rules!” With a cross section of the best of Neal’s career, from Spock’s Beard greats to Transatlantic classics as well as his newer solo work, this is a live album that will please fans to no end.
Purchase your copy today HERE!

Simple Minds Live: 1982

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock3 Comments

This video makes me giddy as well as sad.  This was clearly the highpoint of this band, and what a high point it was.

Watching this video gives me absolute chills, reminding why they were once a favorite band of mine.

But, wow, did they fall fast or what.  So sad.  Still, enjoy this in all of its HD glory.  Really stunning.

David Longdon on Folklore

On By Time LordIn progressive rock1 Comment

Getting excited for April as I read this:

This is just a quick post to say that with the arrival of our new studio album FOLKLORE, Greg and I will be posting a series of blogs in which we write about the stories behind each of the songs on the album. The first blog will be posted at the beginning of April 2016.

We did this with our English Electric releases and many of you commented that you enjoyed reading them, so we are doing it again!

As you may know, we are in the final stages of completing not only FOLKLORE but also our Blu-Ray release of Stone & Steel which I must say is both looking and sounding amazing.

Voyager — “Misery is Only Company”

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

V was such a great album. I’m really looking forward to the next one from Voyager! Here’s a foretaste: