Now that the MM era is finished, how would you rank those five albums?

[Max Kuehnau]

The 24 bit versions of Dramatic Turn, DT12 and D/T have noticeably less compression which is far easier on the ears (mine anyway, I did notice a sizeable difference and I'd *never* want to go back to listening to their CD counterparts anymore. Literally pain inducing to me.), higher dynamic range too (and higher resolution of course) You can read the DR values on the DR database: https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Dream+Theater&album=Dream+theater

[ZirconBlue]

So is the mastering the same for the HD versions of ADToE and the s/t? I know the mastering is different for d/t. I think that would make more of a difference than just increasing the resolution. There's a reason why Sony and Philips went with 16/44.1 as opposed to something higher: because there's no real audible difference with anything higher.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/44,100_Hz

Yeah, the "hi res" aspect is kinda unnecessary.  But, often they do have a different master, in which case they tend to sound better.  I haven't checked out the hdtracks versions of these specific albums, though, so don't know if that's the case with them.

[nobloodyname]

It's certainly true they will contain less compression, Max is right. But that won't change the fundamental sound of the album unless they've also been remixed and remastered. Less compression alone will not make A Dramatic Turn of Events sound like a totally different album although some will certainly prefer the increased sibilance it may confer. It still sounds as boxy as cluck because the mids are overloaded for many of our tastes.

That said, if people think it sounds like a different album, brilliant. It means they'll get to enjoy it now which is great because yes, it's a really good album. Well, except for the saccharine ballads, of course

[Max Kuehnau]

This is exactly what was the case for me. I enjoyed Dramatic Turn and DT12 musically (always did, still do of course) but I always thought: why do they sound so horrible on CD? This can't have been how it was actually recorded (and it wasn't, as John mentioned). Is there a way to actually listen to these albums as recorded? You can imagine my relief when I first listened to these in 24 bit. One's mileage will vary though I'm sure (as Scotty would say)

[mariner]

Late to the party but my ranking of the albums:

A Dramatic Turn of Events
Distance Over Time
A View from the Top of the World
Dream Theater
The Astonishing

ADTOE is a top 5 album for me.

[impolybius]

I've been trying to decide for a couple of hours now, but it's so hard! I feel like this era has been impressively consistent and great, and holds up, even within DT's entire catalog. Anyway, here's my current version of my ever-changing list:

1) A Dramatic Turn of Events
2) Distance over Time
3) The Astonishing
4) A View from the Top of the World
5) Dream Theater


And then, some thoughts in random order:

As many have pointed out, TA hasn't had the best longevity of the lineup. It was definitely my #1 of the Mangini era when it came out (maybe even overall. maybe.), and stayed there for a couple of years. However, due to the long runtime and padding, I don't revisit it often anymore. It might drop further down my list in the coming years. Mangini also feels really anonymous in this one, but other than that the musicianship is fantastic.

Then there's the use of vocal effects on DoT. This was something I really didn't mind or really think about when the album came out, but something that started getting more noticeable and a bit more irritating after View came out. Therefore it might be an album that gets harder to revisit over time (lol). However, at present, I still find it to be an exceptional album from start to finish. Not afraid of being balls to the wall sometimes, and super-emotional at other times. All killers, except Untethered Angel, which I'm a bit mixed on. Something about that chorus annoys me.

DT12 has been a constant grower for the past 11 years, and tbh might still be growing on me. It's just packed with a lot of great emotional set-pieces, and pretty good lyrics. I'm not in the camp of thinking the drum-sound is unlistenable. Maybe it's because I greatly enjoy EDM, and the snare is kinda punchy? Idk. I'm not a big enjoyer of the two instrumentals though. "Enigma Machine" is OK, but feels really 'by the number' for DT. "Along for the ride" is OK-ish, but I feel like it could've been so much better if they worked a bit more one it. It's just missing some of that DT magic. One thing they did a lot on this album was doing like a call-and-response-thing on JLBs vocals, where the response has a kind-of old radio-effect on it. I kinda hate it, haha. The cover-art is also pretty lame. "Illumination Theory" is fantastic though. Might be in the upper echelon of epics. Maybe.

View is probably one of the most consistent records they've ever done, with no real lows. Though the highs aren't really that high. One thing they did here that I'm not a big fan of is that they're doubling the guitars, playing both solo and riff/rhythm in the solo-sections. The absent of this was definitely one of my favourite parts of D/T, because it just made the dynamics so cool and interesting. JM and JR could really colour in the sound without JP. As for the rest, the album is just really easy to listen to and enjoy. Hopefully they'll do more of the Rush-esque tribute songs like "Transcending Time" (and "The Looking Glass" from DT12) in the future. It fits perfectly for them in the late-stage of their career.

Lastly, ADToE is just a perfect DT-album. It just oozes of vitality, virtuosity, originality and creativity. And I don't mind them looking back to I&W for some inspiration at all--it's their own album. This is also the start of what feels like the more condensed DT, where they started roping in the runtime on the instrumental sections of the songs. The album simultaneously feels like a classic DT-album and a breath of fresh air, at the same time. It also delivers some absolute earworms in the choruses. I kinda don't mind the less punchy production on this, and probably prefer it to quite a few in DTs catalog. Although I would say that the whole band doesn't really shine in the mixing of this one.


Thanks for reading!:~)

[geeeemo]

I agree with almost everything you said impolybius.

ADToE is my #2 album and the View has no lows, no skips. IT is a top song for me and I thought I was the only one who like Enigma Machine:). DoT Has 2 top tier songs (BW and AWE) that never get old. I love TA, but you are right, there isn't time to listen to it much, although when some of the songs pop up in a rotation, I really enjoy them. (From Three Days to the Walking Shadow).

[Dream Team]

I've been trying to decide for a couple of hours now, but it's so hard! I feel like this era has been impressively consistent and great, and holds up, even within DT's entire catalog. Anyway, here's my current version of my ever-changing list:

1) A Dramatic Turn of Events
2) Distance over Time
3) The Astonishing
4) A View from the Top of the World
5) Dream Theater


And then, some thoughts in random order:

As many have pointed out, TA hasn't had the best longevity of the lineup. It was definitely my #1 of the Mangini era when it came out (maybe even overall. maybe.), and stayed there for a couple of years. However, due to the long runtime and padding, I don't revisit it often anymore. It might drop further down my list in the coming years. Mangini also feels really anonymous in this one, but other than that the musicianship is fantastic.

Then there's the use of vocal effects on DoT. This was something I really didn't mind or really think about when the album came out, but something that started getting more noticeable and a bit more irritating after View came out. Therefore it might be an album that gets harder to revisit over time (lol). However, at present, I still find it to be an exceptional album from start to finish. Not afraid of being balls to the wall sometimes, and super-emotional at other times. All killers, except Untethered Angel, which I'm a bit mixed on. Something about that chorus annoys me.

DT12 has been a constant grower for the past 11 years, and tbh might still be growing on me. It's just packed with a lot of great emotional set-pieces, and pretty good lyrics. I'm not in the camp of thinking the drum-sound is unlistenable. Maybe it's because I greatly enjoy EDM, and the snare is kinda punchy? Idk. I'm not a big enjoyer of the two instrumentals though. "Enigma Machine" is OK, but feels really 'by the number' for DT. "Along for the ride" is OK-ish, but I feel like it could've been so much better if they worked a bit more one it. It's just missing some of that DT magic. One thing they did a lot on this album was doing like a call-and-response-thing on JLBs vocals, where the response has a kind-of old radio-effect on it. I kinda hate it, haha. The cover-art is also pretty lame. "Illumination Theory" is fantastic though. Might be in the upper echelon of epics. Maybe.

View is probably one of the most consistent records they've ever done, with no real lows. Though the highs aren't really that high. One thing they did here that I'm not a big fan of is that they're doubling the guitars, playing both solo and riff/rhythm in the solo-sections. The absent of this was definitely one of my favourite parts of D/T, because it just made the dynamics so cool and interesting. JM and JR could really colour in the sound without JP. As for the rest, the album is just really easy to listen to and enjoy. Hopefully they'll do more of the Rush-esque tribute songs like "Transcending Time" (and "The Looking Glass" from DT12) in the future. It fits perfectly for them in the late-stage of their career.

Lastly, ADToE is just a perfect DT-album. It just oozes of vitality, virtuosity, originality and creativity. And I don't mind them looking back to I&W for some inspiration at all--it's their own album. This is also the start of what feels like the more condensed DT, where they started roping in the runtime on the instrumental sections of the songs. The album simultaneously feels like a classic DT-album and a breath of fresh air, at the same time. It also delivers some absolute earworms in the choruses. I kinda don't mind the less punchy production on this, and probably prefer it to quite a few in DTs catalog. Although I would say that the whole band doesn't really shine in the mixing of this one.


Thanks for reading!:~)

Nice to hear from you! But are you really going to continue with the 1 post per year approach?