Quote from: TAC on February 03, 2025, 04:04:20 PM3 CD's?

The bottom one is a blu ray.

I'm guessing normal CD, instrumental CD and blue ray 5.1 mix or something?

Quote from: wolfking on February 03, 2025, 04:14:06 PMThe bottom one is a blu ray.

I'm guessing normal CD, instrumental CD and blue ray 5.1 mix or something?

My configuration was full cd, instrumental cd, br has Dolby atmos and 24bit stereo w vizualizers for each song.  It's pretty well done!

The singles got progressively better for me, but a couple of the unreleased tracks have grabbed me immediately, this is a great album!

What Awaken said. Visuals are really cool. I'm enjoying my first listen to the album on the Stereo blu-ray mix. 

Quote from: wolfking on February 03, 2025, 03:53:05 PMYeah, I used to download albums quite a bit from torrents but it didn't stop me purchasing the CD.

Same, I always bought. I just stopped illegal downloading.

Quote from: Glasser on February 03, 2025, 04:55:21 PMSame, I always bought. I just stopped illegal downloading.

As much as I was an old school cd guy, I've stopped doing both.  I just stream everything.  Probably won't even pick up Parasomnia on CD unless I'm really blown away by it.

Quote from: TAC on February 03, 2025, 04:04:20 PM3 CD's?

2CD and 1BD for the artbook, as others have said. Haven't had a chance to watch it yet but I'm more interested in listening to the album than I am watching it, and I don't have a super high-end surround sound system to enjoy the 5.1 mix anyway.

-Marc.

Quote from: faizoff on February 03, 2025, 11:25:30 AMYeah this thing looks great

Maybe it's the pic quality or the surface of the case, but I'm surprised that the artwork looks really good there

Quote from: BeatriceNB on February 03, 2025, 05:09:57 PMMaybe it's the pic quality or the surface of the case, but I'm surprised that the artwork looks really good there

It's a really well built artbook, the quality feels fantastic and the pictures look good.

Quote from: nobloodyname on February 03, 2025, 12:45:16 PMWhen is a release date not a release date? When you live in the US, it seems. You lucky lot.

If it's any consolation, the artbook was sold out at Century Media, so I purchased it as an import from a third party vendor (Miami Metal Merchant).  It's anticipated to arrive late February.  In the meantime, I've also pre-ordered the MP3 of the album (which is supposed to become available Feb 6 at 9:00pm according to Amazon).

I do miss going to Tower Records and picking up a new cassette (or CD) on Monday night at Midnight before Release Day.   

Quote from: nobloodyname on February 03, 2025, 12:45:16 PMWhen is a release date not a release date? When you live in the US, it seems. You lucky lot.

I play Magic: the Gathering, and in the rare times I order a booster box to get delivered by mail, it always arrives ~5 days early. Game stores get product a week before release to host pre-release events. Idk, though.

Someone had asked which MM songs others might like to hear in the future (can't find the post now).  My picks:
-Fall Into the Light
-S2N
-Moment of Betrayal
-Our New World

I would also love Out of Reach, but I doubt it'll ever be played.

Quote from: The Letter M on February 03, 2025, 05:08:48 PM[...] and I don't have a super high-end surround sound system to enjoy the 5.1 mix anyway.

Just in case anyone's curious, the blu-ray also has Atmos and stereo mixes. I'm going to listen to the Atmos mix first. I think this is their first one, isn't it?

Quote from: BeatriceNB on February 03, 2025, 12:20:08 AMBy your location in your profile, I thought you were a Leicester City fan
I watch some Premier League matches now  and then, mostly the big teams, or Aston Villa because of Dibu Martinez. It's a fun league to watch, very skilled players.
Boca Juniors is my team, though, as it runs in the family; to be honest, I can empathize with Manchester United fans because we're in a similar place of suffering, barely competing in the local league, and doing terribly internationally (bad results and/or not qualifying for our UCL equivalent)

That's interesting. I thought you were in Denmark for some reason

Well, I'm one of the more fortunate United fans. I got to see them with trophy after trophy for years. They don't have a right to be at the top of the game, they have to earn it back. It'll probably happen one day, these things tend to run in cycles.

I do indeed ive in Leicestershire although I'm originally from a place about an hour out of London. Leicestershire is much cheaper in terms of house prices. Leicester itself is about half an hour away. Drove past The King Power Stadium a few times last year when I had to have a couple of hospital visits after coming off my bike.

It's actually good to see Villa doing well at the moment!

Anyway, as you say, this isn't quite on topic! Good to find out about people, though

To be on topic: I'm now off work on Friday so hopefully my first listen will be brought forward

I'll be buying a digital download instead of the CD, I've stopped with physical media many years ago. 

Quote from: nobloodyname on February 03, 2025, 10:36:23 PMJust in case anyone's curious, the blu-ray also has Atmos and stereo mixes. I'm going to listen to the Atmos mix first. I think this is their first one, isn't it?

no, the Bluray for View has one as well

Gosh, can't remember ever checking that out. I'm lucky enough to have a 5.1.4 system so I ought to, really.

In the last days before the release of an album, does the band continue the promotion for this new record? What forms take this promotion (radio interviews, television interviews, YouTube interviews, showcases or simple advertisings for the new album on radio channels or television channels)?

My boxet shipped! Says expected delivery is by this Saturday, but I'll have faith that it'll probably show up Thursday or Friday. USPS usually delivers to me a couple days before the "expected delivery by" date. I'm excited! Not only for the music, but also the boxset too. This is the first time I've ordered one of their limited box sets. So I'm excited to check it all out. This is also the first DT album that I'm hearing most of it for the first time on delivery since octavarium (I thought the JL album was octavarium for a good few days back in 2005😂). I've usually heard most their albums weeks ahead. So it's refreshing to have that anticipation!

Quote from: BeatriceNB on February 03, 2025, 05:09:57 PMMaybe it's the pic quality or the surface of the case, but I'm surprised that the artwork looks really good there

I mean, how can it look great when that's not how shadows work? Are there several suns? I don't know how you guys solve this issue in your head, it doesn't work for me.

They decided to not improve upon the artwork at all, leave all the glaring errors in. So, how am I supposed to not react to that fact? I'm at a loss.

Quote from: Rob24 on February 04, 2025, 04:27:13 AMI mean, how can it look great when that's not how shadows work? Are there several suns? I don't know how you guys solve this issue in your head, it doesn't work for me.

They decided to not improve upon the artwork at all, leave all the glaring errors in. So, how am I supposed to not react to that fact? I'm at a loss.

We use our imagination and allow the artist to indulge for a moment. In art, including music, not everything that does not make literal sense is an error.

Quote from: Max Kuehnau on February 03, 2025, 11:54:01 PMno, the Bluray for View has one as well

The AVFTTOW only has a 5.1 surround mix which was underwhelming to say the least. The d/t surround mix was leaps better.

This is the first album that they have released an album with an Atmos mix, which is different than a 5.1.

Quote from: Rob24 on February 04, 2025, 04:27:13 AMI mean, how can it look great when that's not how shadows work? Are there several suns? I don't know how you guys solve this issue in your head, it doesn't work for me.

It's an album that dives into the realm of sleep disorders, nightmares, and everything that messes with the mind when we sleep. For me, dreams and nightmares are always super bizarre — like living inside the movie Inception where nothing makes sense. That's why I think the album artwork totally nails it. It perfectly captures that chaotic, dreamlike vibe, where reality and imagination blur together.

Quote from: Rob24 on February 04, 2025, 04:27:13 AMI mean, how can it look great when that's not how shadows work? Are there several suns? I don't know how you guys solve this issue in your head, it doesn't work for me.

Easy: they don't know enough about photography and lightning to notice or to care.

And that's not a knock on them. We can't all be experts of everything. There are people who live and die by the sonic quality of a medium while other folks can't tell the difference between a .wav file and a 320k MP3. They're not dumb and they have not bad hearing, they're just content with the audio quality they hear.

There are so many experts of specific things that get a movie almost "ruined", because of the glaring error in their specific field, while so many other people enjoy the movie 'cause they don't care or know enough about a detailed issue. That's normal, it goes like this for movies, for music and also for artworks.

^indeed

I know little about lightning or photography but I love the way the art book looks.   

If it's riddled with so many errors that could never be artistic choice, then it would appear the band is in my camp. Ignorant but happy. 

they might not know, but the artist should've ;-)

With regards to the artwork, I don't mind so much of the AI stuff but there are some pics and visuals that fall in the uncanny valley and look 'off'. Some things do look weird if you look closely but overall I think they go along with the theme of the album. It doesn't bother me so much, though I understand others might not feel the same way.

The only thing I noticed was the way JP's feet go into the bedsheets. That picture was interesting.

Overall I think it's a beautiful cover, but the inconsistency of the  shadow's bed is really jarring, even for me, that normally don't notice or care for these details.

Package looks like high quality. A shame they went the route they did (AI, Syme, etc.) as they lost a physical sale from me.

Nothing I'm looking to rehash here, but a fact all the same.

That said, I'm happy everyone seems happy so far...bodes well for my Friday listen

I very rarely buy physical media these days unless it's something I really care about. Dream Theater is one of those things, so I did order a CD. I can't remember the last time I bought a movie. I still buy physical video games but I've decided this is the last console generation where I'll do that (and frankly I don't think the next one will even come with disc drives).

Quote from: faizoff on February 04, 2025, 05:55:23 AMWith regards to the artwork, I don't mind so much of the AI stuff but there are some pics and visuals that fall in the uncanny valley and look 'off'. Some things do look weird if you look closely but overall I think they go along with the theme of the album. It doesn't bother me so much, though I understand others might not feel the same way.

I think MinistroRaven is on to something though.  I've been having a lot of dreams lately that I remember - a Stadler problem for another thread (or therapy) - but that's a hallmark of most of mine. They seem real, but "something is off".  A recent one was, I was in my parents' old condo, and in the living room (which had glass along 1 and a 1/2 sides of the room) except that half of the room was an infinity pool.  My brother dove into the pool, but slammed his head into the edge of the wall where the glass started.  I remember the fracturing of the sheetrock, I can remember the white dusk "exploding"... but under no circumstances would sheetrock be a pool edge.  It made no sense.  The water was an infinity pool, but there was no "wall" there; it was physically impossible for the water to be contained in the pool. 

So? That's not what was important in the dream...

One more of what seems like 1,000 examples of why analyzing the shit out of preliminary releases is foolhardy.  You are by definition working off incomplete information.   "Crisis mode", as Jeff Immelt said in a speech following 9/11: Information is changing in real time; make no decisions unless and until you absolutely have to, because otherwise you will be using bad data to make decisions.  You STILL might be using bad data, but at least you've collected as much data as you possibly could have in the moment. 

I absolutely HATE the cover, but the misplaced shadows are not an issue for me..I actually think that it might have been done on purpose, to match with the "dysthopic dream" overall concept of the album..

What I cannot accept is the quality of the images, the girl in particular..it's so incredibly sloppy..

And again I don't care if it's "AI" or not, also because I still have to understand what "AI" really means..
That girl could have been "painted" with any cheap image editing software from the 90s...

Yeah, put me in the camp of "it looks great."  If you are demanding photorealistic, I think you've missed the point of it being album artwork.  Some folks just like to complain, even when there's nothing to complain about.

I received my artbook last night.  My first perusal through it was impressive.  It looks great.

It also, in the second half, has quotes accompanying a lot of the artwork - not song lyrics - and most of them aren't attributed, although I recognized some of them.  Not sure if I like that or not.  But overall, it's certainly top notch.  

With 3 listens done so far, one of the CD rip and the other 2 of the stereo mix of the Bluray. I have to say the CD and Bluray both sound very similar which in the past releases were quite different.

Overall I enjoyed the mix and how everything sounds. I really really love MP's snare sound on this record. His drum sounds are great.