Anybody else just not bothered about concept albums?

[namgalsipsclar]

Don't really see that they're any better than non concept albums to be honest. I get that some of them are telling a story, like SFAM, but does anyone else just not care about the story at all? Its a decent story, nothing wrong with it, but It wasn't exactly easy to tell what was going on by the songs, I had to read a summary. So when I listen to any concept album, I just dont really pay attention to the story. One thing I do like though is how musical themes reoccur throughout albums and how songs run into each other, it makes them more interesting

[FretMuppet]

Musically, I love repeating themes, especially if they have a lot of variation, its really interesting. Lyrically, I don't mind, as long as its a good story

[BlobVanDam]

Well on one hand, I think SFAM is easily one of DT's best albums. Some of that may be due to the repeated musical themes and lyrical references, although I'm not sure that the fact it's a concept album is that huge a factor.

I really don't get excited at the idea of concept albums though. I see why they can be better, but it's not a given by any means.

[3xodus]

I like them.. I like when bands put a bunch of effort into the continuity of an album and tell a story with it. To me, it just shows a lot of work has been put into the album. It's a nice bonus as a listener.

[YtseBitsySpider]

I like the repeating themes, and I like good stories.

Shadrane - Temporal

comes to mind.

I like Fates Warning - Pleasant Shade of Grey too...

[Kotowboy]

My band wrote one once and we're recording it next year. It was awesome fun as you could have repeated motifs riffs etc but change them slightly and the whole album could be one story.  I think it should be amazing when it's done.

I won't reveal too much yet but we're currently writing our second album and we plan to do the concept album third when we can do an accompanying short film to go with it

[tgstk2]

I like the repeating themes, and I like good stories.

this!, but awake had repeating themes in differetn songs as well...that's something i always love...
i think SFAM is the only concept album i have?

[ElliottTamer]

I absolutely love concept albums!
But I get how people can be indifferent to it. It depends on where you're coming from. My primary interest has always been literature and it was only when I became a teenager that I started really listening to music. So concept albums have for me a double value, being not only a collection of songs but also concepts/stories which I can intellectually/emotionally engage with.
If you never cared much about story-telling, you're unlikely to be interested in this second dimension of the concept album, so it should be pretty much the same to you. Or even worse than regular albums, given how often concept albums have non-musical moments to better tell their stories...

[wolven74]

I'm kinda a fence sitter on the whole concept album thing. On the one hand, I find them to be a bit distracting. On the other I enjoy them. They're distracting at least for the first run through. SFAM didn't make sense the first time through. I enjoyed the repeated themes, but couldn't follow the story. Same thing happened with Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime. First listen didn't make sense, so I didn't like it. I found myself concentrating on the story so much that the music got lost. After a few listens the music became clearer. A few more listens and the story emerged clearer. Once the whole thing made sense to me I was floored. I can't really say I was floored by the story of SFAM. Musically I love it, but I think I keep wanting to tie it to Metropolis pt 1, and it doesn't seem to fit as well. Maybe that's just me.

[hefdaddy42]

A good album is a good album.  Whether or not it is a concept album is irrelevant.

[MasterShakezula]

I like good music, and sometimes a concept album has good music. 

I feel SFAM has some good music, but much less good music than other DT albums, hence, I don't like it as much as others; it's mainly the ballads that kill it, subjectively, in my opinion, of course.  Too many ballads and not enough prog metal, and I don't like its ballads.  Now, Awake, its ballads are top 10 material, right there.   

The story, I could care less, really, it didn't seem to play much of a role in the grand scheme of things, and honestly, if I want a good story, I'll go to the bookstore and buy me some sci-fi and fantasy.  Plus, I don't see any sort of connection to Metro 1, besides name and some musical elements.

[jayvee]

Don't really see that they're any better than non concept albums to be honest. I get that some of them are telling a story, like SFAM, but does anyone else just not care about the story at all?

Stories are for books.

[energythief]

Musically I love it, but I think I keep wanting to tie it to Metropolis pt 1, and it doesn't seem to fit as well.

Well, it does connect but in a more obscure way. What's happening between Edward/Julian/Victoria is a temporal echo of the first time a brother betrayed another over love for a third "party" (Remus/Romulus/the city of Rome). It keeps happening over and over again:

"We'll meet again my friends, sometime soon."

[tri.ad]

A good album is a good album.  Whether or not it is a concept album is irrelevant.

Exactly. An album being a concept album doesn't make that album automatically better.

[j]

A good album is a good album.  Whether or not it is a concept album is irrelevant.

That.  I could not care less whether an album is a concept album.  Although I guess it can be cool in the rare case that it's done well.

If anything, I think the vast, vast majority of concept albums are poorly conceived or executed.

-J

[DreamTension]

There are so many amazing concept albums! Off the top of my head:

Dream Theater - SFAM, 6DOIT
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick, Passion Play
Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of Moon, Animals, The Wall
Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Pyramid

I'm sure there are a ton more...

[Lowdz]

I can take them or leave them. As someone said, a good album is a good album.

I never did understand Maiden's Seventh Son- was there even a story there?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Of course. A recent study on DTF indicates that every album is a concept album.

[Kotowboy]

Even A Change Of Seasons.

[contest_sanity]

If anything, I think the vast, vast majority of concept albums are poorly conceived or executed.

I had conceived a highly dramatic concept post with many varied avatars and thread arcs, but then I saw your statement and realized it was just a run-of-the-mill rip-off of Operation Postcount.  Thanks for saving me from embarrassment!

[Ħ]

Come to think of it, my favorite albums are almost all concept albums.

[Cable]

I love them, but only in moderation. DT could use another one, but I am ok with their amount (SFAM and 8V is debatable). But bands like Porcupine tree and Pain of Salvation have done so many, they are kind of cheapened now, so their impact and special appeal has lessened.

[senecadawg2]

Seeing as how SFAM is my favorite album, or at least in my top 2, no I'm not bothered.