Album Rating: 3.1

I haven't moved on that much I guess, just more put off by cheesiness and histrionics in music that I used to overlook more easily when I was younger. I still like a lot of DT but just listen to other music styles like ambient, electronic, 80s art pop/rock, lots more prog, other random stuff these days.

I still love DT of course, I think it's the lyrics and Labrie's singing that keeps me from jamming more often recently, but I think I'll listen more soon cause it's been a little while now.

I relistened to a good amount of The Astonishing today before this one, and there're more good ideas that pop up in there than I remember. If they cut the length in half and kept all the good stuff it'd be at least 6/10.

Album Rating: 3.0

Yeah the length was so inhibitive for that album.

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

@Talons I hear ya, been a while since I've been jamming some metal on the regular. Priest's Firepower, this and a few other have been on rotation recently



Agreed about Astonishing, honestly I probably only heard like 4-5 songs fully off that album. Thankfully they reeled it in on this one in terms of the album and song lengths.

Album Rating: 3.1

I generally agree with the helpful edited track list at the end of that review, though I'd add a couple more like The Answer, Heaven's Cove, A New Beginning, and A Life Left Behind.

I'ma listen to this later, but I'll probably refrain from rating because I've never really been into them before. I'm one of those guys that thinks they've never written a better song than Pull Me Under.

Album Rating: 4.0

I love Pull Me Under too because it feels concise and fat free, even though it's 8 minutes long. This album is basically full of that kind of DT song. Concise, lean, riffy prog.

"This album is basically full of that kind of DT song. Concise, lean, riffy prog."

oh word?

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

"I'm one of those guys that thinks they've never written a better song than Pull Me Under"



Not even the best on the album tbh

Album Rating: 4.0

I mean Pull Me Under is definitely a great fucking song but there are like 3 songs on that album that are better



Not to mention the 6 that are better on Awake

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Wait, this is actually..... Good?

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

I came in expecting a 2, so that might have helped. But it's actually pretty decent. Nothing revolutionary, but good songwriting.

Album Rating: 3.0

Really dug this album overall, other than Barstool Warrior and labrie's ballad. It feels aggressive, similar to black clouds & Silver Linings. It would be a 3.5 if not for the Fairly uninteresting Melodies of LaBrie. Still a large step up from the astonishing.

Album Rating: 5.0

Not hearing something this good from ToT. 5/5 solid work. Deserves more than 3,5

Album Rating: 3.5

I'm just calling it: this is their best since Train of Thought. I've listened to it three times and enjoyed it more each time. It really does remind me of Images & Words era where DT didn't conflate length with quality, heaviness with modernity, wankery with progressiveness, and a drum/guitar dominant sound with being "Metal." This is mostly a return to concise songwriting built around good musical ideas with a really well-integrated "band" sound, where everyone gets their turn to add something substantial to a track, with more emphasis on melody than uber-heaviness, groove over relentless pounding, and tasteful/tasty lead playing over "look how ridiculously fast I can play this scale" solos.



I had thought that DT had exhausted most aspects of their sound by ToT: I&W was their best pure songwriting and best virtuosic playing; Awake was their moodiest, most atmospheric; Scenes was their most conceptual and emotional; 6DOIT was their most varied and "epic"; ToT was their heaviest... and then everything after was just some (usually pale) variation on those sides. DoT might not be anything new, but it's a much need return to a form and style that I thought they'd abandoned for good.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

this is better than Train of Thought imo

Album Rating: 3.5

Train of Thought isn't good anyway.



Heavy DT is always worst DT.

Album Rating: 3.5

Jamming this rn, digging the drum production more than the previous Mangini albums already

Album Rating: 4.0

Better than Train of Thought? No way.



Best since Train of Thought? Probably. Although I’m partial to The Root of All Evil, Panic Attack, and the title track, this is probably better than Octavarium.

Album Rating: 4.0

This is easily better than Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, s/t and The Astonishing. I still need to figure out where this ranks with the other albums

Album Rating: 4.0

Better than Black Clouds too. Second best since Train of Thought. I have a soft spot for ADTOE.



To me, this takes the best elements of each post-TOT and blends them into one fun melting pot, with a reinstated focus on groove reminiscent of FII.