Each song, while yes being important to the overall story lyrically, are separate ideas musically. With 34 songs, well 29 songs if you exclude the 5 noise machine tracks, even for a double album, this could a lot of separate ideas or ideas that run into each other, thus needing each other to exist. And this is further into the future than that album! I mean couldn’t it have been told without this Dyson vacuum looking machines? Just say there is no music at all. I do wonder if the NOMACS are actually all that important to the story. I won’t analyze the details of the story.

The story is somewhat cliche and even obvious at times but the emotion and sentiment of the lyrics always seem to work for me despite all else. This is mostly due to the songs sometimes being forced to fit a plot line and not being true songs that can be enjoyed separately from the whole album.

The story line is a combination of Game of Thrones and 2112, so it’s not necessarily original but what is at this point? I will admit that for a fan of prog, I am not always keen on concept albums that tell a story. This isn’t just a concept album but a true rock opera, or even a musical of sorts. “The Astonishing” really goes beyond what I had even predicted them to do. The key was considering what the band hadn’t done up to this point of their career.

Part of me was reading into the overall delay of this album, which was initially targeted for the Fall of 2015. I should point out that on the Facebook page, I did make an insane prediction that the next album would be a double concept album. The hype machine went into overdrive once it was announced exactly what the band was planning to do with this album. You can catch them out on tour now and I can say that if you’re a fan of Prog-Rock and Dream Theater’s, this is a must see for diehards and new fans alike.This has become one of the most anticipated albums of Dream Theater’s career. This iconic band consists of John Petrucci, (Guitar / Vocals) James LaBrie, (Lead Vocalist) Mike Mangini, (Drums) Jordon Rudess (Keyboards) and John Myung. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that this most recent album “THE ASTONISHING” is their most ambitious endeavor yet.ġ – Descent of the NOMACS 1 – 2285 Entr’acteĢ – Dystopian Overture 2 – Moment of Betrayalĥ – A Better Life 5 – The Path That Dividesħ – A Savior in the Square 7 – The Walking ShadowĨ – When Your Time Has Come 8 – My Last Farewellġ0 – Three Days 10 – Whispers on the Windġ1 – The Hovering Sojourn 11 – Hymn of a Thousand Voicesġ2 – Brother, Can You Hear Me? 12 – Our New World Since their early days as students at the prestigious Berklee College of Music their focus has been to push the envelope as far as they could. This band has been creating Progressive Rock albums for a long time and, “THE ASTONISHING” is no different. It also gave me a chance to walk around and speak to concert goers to see what they thought so far and wasn’t surprised to hear that they loved it. Because of the fact that it’s a double album there was a considerable break between Acts 1 and 2 giving everyone a chance to stretch their legs and refresh their drinks.

This incredible new album was performed to its absolute perfection in its entirety. To say that this incredible band is a favorite of mine would be an understatement. Last week Backstage360 was fortunate enough to witness Dream Theater perform its newest album “THE ASTONISHING” in its entirety.

Dream theater nomacs