Official Parasomnia album discussion thread ***SPOILERS***

[Bacong]

The mix is absolutely terrible. Granted I'm only listening on Spotify but it sounds like a mess. Honestly this morning it sounds like a LimeWire download, and it's a bloody shame.

yeah, listening on apple music in dolby atmos via airpods max and it...sounds pretty bad. i'm sure it'll sound better on CD on my setup.

[macneil]

I've listened to the whole album only once, but I thought it was great! I had a grin on my face half the time, it was great to hear the familiar energy once again with Portnoy back in the mix (no disrespect to Mangini). I really loved Dead Asleep (real Scenes vibes) and Bend the Clock. I agree that the singles work better in context of the album. I need to listen to Shadow Man Incident again though, not fully sold on that one yet.

The production is fantastic, everything sounds great and the band sound energised. Sure, it's not a revolutionary album, but at least on first impressions I'm pretty happy with it and look forward to spinning it again.

Also, there's an earworm I've got stuck in my head, I'm curious if anyone else hears it. It's a part from Bend the Clock, though you can hear it in In the Arms of Morpheus. It's a small 3-note pattern, and I think it must be the same chord progression because as soon as I heard it I instantly thought of a similar part from Neal Morse Band's Broken Sky/Long Day (off Similitude of a Dream). Compare 4:40-4:47 in Arms of Morpheus and 5:20-5:25 Broken Sky/Long Day. Yeah, I might be a nerd for noticing that, but that's where my brain went! Probably just a happy coincidence.

[BeatriceNB]

The mix is absolutely terrible. Granted I'm only listening on Spotify but it sounds like a mess. Honestly this morning it sounds like a LimeWire download, and it's a bloody shame.

Be sure to check if you have any low quality option turned on, I think Spotify has an option to use 24kbps audio or something like that

[nobloodyname]

I gotta say, I'm really sick and tired of the half-time "epic Petrucci solo on a mountaintop" thing. It didn't need to be in Morpheus either. Or 2 minutes into Dead Asleep. Just let me bang my f*cking head!

You know, I agree with that first sentence in particular. People criticise MP for his recognisable fills but christ on a bike, that whole JP thing feels like it's in every single song these days, too, and you can tell when it's coming.

And no, that doesn't mean I don't love the guy.

[EvantheMotel6Owmer]

It sounded fine to me via WAV on my Boston Acoustics speakers. The Spotify stream sounded noticeably worse, but that's a given.

[jayvee3]

I was generally a bit underwhelmed on my first couple of listens, but after a good sleep and hearing it all again fresh while driving this morning, I'm enjoying it a lot more.

Some random thoughts:

Morpheus is a great little instrumental on its own merit, rather than just thinking about it as an overture.

The singles sound better amongst everything that surrounds them.

Bend the Clock is a pretty, pretty ballad. I'm a bit meh with the fading outtro, as it could have been something really special, but probably my favourite song.

TSMI is actually the first epic that there's not much breathing space or quiet time - it's pretty relentless bar a more melodic ending. Works well for what it is, I prefer it to AVFTTOTW song as an epic.

Dead Asleep has some parts in it that remind me of the solo section just before the quiet time in TCOT and also a bit of Sacrificed Sons. It's not a bad song.

I do like some of the recurring motifs, particularly the Broken Man one that pops up a bit, and I've always enjoyed a few samples to tie things together.

Overall, digging it more. Unlikely to be at the top of my list, but it's a quality and consistent listen without being earth shattering...

[nobloodyname]

It sounded fine to me via WAV on my Boston Acoustics speakers. The Spotify stream sounded noticeably worse, but that's a given.

Yeah, it sounds great on both my speakers and headphones from the CD rip I did. The vinyl is very good, too. Haven't tried the Atmos mix on my 5.1.4 setup yet.

[lovethedrake]

First run through in the books! 

Here is what I said to my brother (who loves prog but hates Dream Theater).  I've still dragged him to 6 of their shows!

My initial text to him:


"Man that flew by...I want more!  It's really good... Portnoy is back!

Its very cinematic, extremely heavy.

Petrucci is my favorite guitarist of all time but there were actually times I would have liked more Rudess as it gets a little "samey" at times.

Its a super fun energetic album.  Lots to unpack.

Feels the most energetic since TOT...its pretty stripped down thought for DT standards so will be interesting to see how I rank it.  I cried during the ballad haha"



Thats what I sent my bro.

I LOVED Dead Asleep, sounds like a modern SFAM song.  I don't even care if the lyrics are dumb.

Bend the clock is one I need to relisten for sure but I loved it towards the end.

TSMI is killer... I don't love the ending, I would have preferred they didn't go into that crescendo thing they always do but the first 3/4 is fantastic.

I love Midnight and Broken Man.

I think Night Terror does work better on the album but still probably my least favorite song on the album.

Well done gents!!! 

[TheCountOfNYC]

After my first listen, I absolutely loved it. I was smiling the entire time. I can't wait to give it another listen tomorrow, but for now I need to go to sleep, as I stayed up until midnight so I could listen to the whole thing as soon as it dropped.

[lovethedrake]

You know, I agree with that first sentence in particular. People criticise MP for his recognisable fills but christ on a bike, that whole JP thing feels like it's in every single song these days, too, and you can tell when it's coming.

And no, that doesn't mean I don't love the guy.

Kind of what I was just saying in my post which I made before reading pages 3 and 4 here.

JP is my favorite guitarist of all time and I NEVER thought I would say this but there's too much noodling and soloing from him and sometimes it actually stalls the momentum of songs. 

With that said, I still really enjoyed my listen through and JP still slays for most of the album.

I think bringing in little more JR for the next album would be welcome for soundscapes and unique patches.

[jammindude]

I do wish to echo the criticism (it's my ONLY one for this album) of the fade out on Bend the Clock. Just a beautiful song that fades prematurely.

That is the single instance where I get the similarity to The Astonishing. Because The Road to Revolution does the same thing.

But that's a single nitpick on an otherwise really fantastic album.

[Whitefish]

My son woke me up at 5am today which is not great for my general mood, but at least I got to listen to Parasomnia in full while he listened to his audiobooks.

I wasn't expecting to like this that much, but I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not groundbreaking by any means, but it's a really fun album with lots of cool moments. There are quite a few points that capture the joy and fun of classic DT albums like SFAM. I don't think I'll listen to this album loads, but for where DT are in their career this is a really decent effort.

[Metro]

Yeah it's good

[Whitefish]

Also, the singles all work much better in the context of the album. In my experience this is a general rule for most bands. I wasn't much of a fan of ABM the one time I listened to the single, but it's much more interesting when taken with the flow of the album.

[Pettor]

After two spins, I'm 100% onboard! Some initial thoughts:

- The interludes and recurring themes work beautifully. Happy they made this album into a concept!
- ITAOM might be their best overture since Overture 1928, and I love SDOIT! I was worried it'd be another False Awakening Suite, but this one feels inspired and fun.
- JP playing to the sound of the alarm clock was awesome 😁
- The singles hit much harder in the context of the album.
- Dead Asleep is the toughest to digest at first, but I really like what I hear. Need more spins. The JR solo, though — it felt a bit generic and could've been more interesting.
- Goosebumps when the ABM theme returned in Dead Asleep!
- Are We Dreaming was a wonderful little interlude. Would love to hear this sound explored in a bigger piece.
- Bend The Clock is already a favourite. No idea why people are calling it a ballad however 😁 The way the song progress is stellar!
- Someone please tell JP to stop the fadeouts already! That solo is on fire and he was melting that guitar during the fadeout.
- TSMI is absolutely incredible! It's all new, so I need to calm down, but I haven't had this much fun with a DT song since TCOT and BAI.
- That TSMI chorus — so good! 🔥🔥
- That TSMI instrumental — so good! 🔥🔥🔥
- LaBrie is on fire on BTC and TSMI.
- Am I hearing hints of The Astonishing in some tracks? 😁
- Also hearing hints from PBD and AVFTTOTW in there!
- As someone who felt View lacked a certain energy, that D/T def had, this is the complete opposite for me.
- This album will be amazing live!
- I like the mix. Not sure what the complaints are. I guess this wasn't a surprise since View and the singles had a great mix and the share the same mixer 😁

Time will tell how it holds up, but for now, I'm really excited — this album feels inspired and full of energy!

[nobloodyname]

- Are We Dreaming was a wonderful little interlude. Would love to hear this sound explored in a bigger piece.
- Bend The Clock is already a favourite. No idea why people are calling it a ballad however 😁 The way the song progress is stellar!

I commented on Are We Dreaming? earlier in the thread. It's my favourite piece of music on the album at the moment. So beautiful.

I'm a little puzzled as to why people are calling Bend the Clock a ballad, too. Perhaps they can imagine whipping out their mobile and waving it with the torch on. Dunno!

[Volante99]

Overall the album is meh- need to give it couple more listens to really let it sink though.

I WILL say "Bend the Clock" is the best song they've done since "Breaking All Illusions". Good melody and excellent lyrics from LaBrie. Feels progressive yet harkens back to 90's DT. I swear Petrucci dusted off his old Ibanez for this one.

[Peio]

Hi! Long Time DT fan here 😉

After one listen, one thing I absolutely LOVE and for me was missing in the last 2 albums, and ruined the experience:
There is only ONE Guitar, and it's very noticeable during guitar solos: only bass/piano/battery in the background and no additional rhythmic guitar.

For me, that's part of what I love in DT, it greatly contributes to the musicality and « soul », or « organic feel ». Dare I say, « heavy Pink Floyd » 😅.

That's why the astonishing is my favourite Mangini era album, and I love this one in first listen. It's not about of the heaviness or the Mangini/Portnoy debate.

Good listening everyone, we are very lucky as music lovers and DT fans!!

[RoeDent]

Happy Parasomnia Day!

[RoeDent]

That is the single instance where I get the similarity to The Astonishing. Because The Road to Revolution does the same thing.

I think you mean A New Beginning. Road to Revolution ends properly as it ends Act 1.

[nobloodyname]

Damn, that singalong bit in The Shadow Man Incident is so good

[Progmaniac1988]

I definitely feel too much music was released before release and it made the first few listens not hit as hard as it could. Unconsciously I was trying not to connect with the singles as much as they were released too. I wanted the album experience. Now that everything is equally known the songs started meshing together very well. The singles all sound so much better to me in the grand scheme, and every listen I love this album more and more. Not sure if anyone is getting the same effect lol.

[ariich]

I have to say that, in terms of track sequencing, Night Terror really pops. The album context gave it some new life.

I agree with this. It's still pretty vanilla (as is the whole album really), but it works well as the first non-instrumental on the album and I enjoyed it a good deal on my first listen to the album.

The stuff in between that and Are We Dreaming hasn't done much for me so far, but it's only one listen. None of it's bad, but it feels... slightly phoned in I guess? The last three tracks sounded excellent though, lots of the grandness that I love in DT's music. 

I'm enjoying the mix so far, nothing special but for some reason they've always struggled a bit with sound production and this album is nice and punchy and clear. 

[wizard]

After the release of the album, will the band give other interviews for its promotion? Will it be a "Questions and Answers", organised by DT World, broadcast in teh Youtube channel of the band?

[CraftyCaleb2483]

I'm up to Dead Asleep, and it appears I was wrong about this being one of their bottom albums, this is killer  
The talking in Are We Dreaming? sounds like it came straight from ?
I image it'll place around 7th-8th for me

[devieira73]

Some early impressions:

In the Arms of Morpheus is very good, although the openings of Scenes, 6 Degrees and Astonishing are a bit more developed and captivating.

Night Terror is cool, well done, but kind a bit too much referencial to previous DT songs for me.

A Broken Man is excellent, with a lot of cool things going on for a heavy song.

Dead Asleep is really great, reminding me of the structure of Sacrificed Sons and some of the solo section of Beyond This Life. Epic in a very organic way. Surprised me that this song is almost always overlooked by the reviewers as it could be my fave of the album.

Midnight Messiah is really a great heavy single!

Are We Dreaming is just a segue, I don't care.

Bend the Clock is very original and amazing! It sounds like something from FII era. Like someone already pointed out and just a tiny complaint, although JP solo is very very good, I missed a sense of resolution on it. It kind of fades out in the middle of something still not achieved. Another observation is that the very beginning of the song reminded me of Pain of Salvation's The Passing Light of Day.

I still have to digest more The Shadow Man Incident, but the instrumental part in the middle is INCREDIBLE!!

About the overall sound quality of the album, it's one of their best. The mix really reminded me of Awake, with clarity and a lot of room for the instrumentation to breath. Maybe the keyboards could be a bit up in the mix at some spots, especially in the heaviest moments, but not a big deal. Also I don't think it has a sound/production heavy and very unidimensional as ToT (or even SC).
Sure it's a strong album and one that have a great flow. I don't think it's less prog, it's just that the guitar riffage is dominating again.

[nobloodyname]

In the Arms of Morpheys is very good[...]

Sounds like an Oirish pub, so it does!

[wolfking]

I gotta say, I'm really sick and tired of the half-time "epic Petrucci solo on a mountaintop" thing. It didn't need to be in Morpheus either. Or 2 minutes into Dead Asleep. Just let me bang my f*cking head! The key changes are always jarring. Its definitely a staple of the Mangini era and I guess its staying. But I kinda hate it.

Yeah, I'm kind of on board with this too.  I don't dislike them and never had an issue before with them but here they stuck out in an off way and made everything sound a little disjointed like they were an afterthought and just chucked in there.

[Kocak]

First listen through.

Horrible mix, 0 dynamics. Each and every album solidifies the fact that John Petrucci should not be producing and that DT needs an outside producer.

Andy Sneap is not a good fit for DT.

[Kyo]

Alright, now that Parasomnia is out, I've put together a list of themes recurring across the album. Probably not complete – some parts in the overture I can't find the source for, but maybe they are simply exclusive to it? I'm limiting myself to parts that appear in other tracks – of course the A Broken Man chorus does appear in A Broken Man (duh) and obviously the themes and riffs from The Shadow Man Incident that are introduced in the overture and foreshadowed in Are We Dreaming? later appear in the epic itself. The chorus from A Broken Man appears in so many places on the album, we could as well consider it the Parasomnia theme.

In the Arms of Morpheus
0:37 Dead Asleep intro
1:07 A Broken Man chorus
3:10 The Shadow Man Incident orchestral theme (2:08) over The Shadow Man Incident riff (3:22)
3:30 Synth lead over The Shadow Man Incident riff (7:08)
4:02 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme
4:33 Guitar lead over Bend the Clock chorus

Dead Asleep
0:33 A Broken Man chorus
9:31 A Broken Man chorus (variation)
10:32 A Broken Man chorus

Are We Dreaming?
0:18 The Shadow Man Incident Terrifying Nightmares theme
0:44 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme

The Shadow Man Incident
17:53 A Broken Man chorus

[genome]

Not sure I understand the mix critique - sounds great here.

(Coming from someone who was a mix engineer for 15 years if that holds any weight!)

[genome]

Alright, now that Parasomnia is out, I've put together a list of themes recurring across the album. Probably not complete – some parts in the overture I can't find the source for, but maybe they are simply exclusive to it? I'm limiting myself to parts that appear in other tracks – of course the A Broken Man chorus does appear in A Broken Man (duh) and obviously the themes and riffs from The Shadow Man Incident that are introduced in the overture and foreshadowed in Are We Dreaming? later appear in the epic itself. The chorus from A Broken Man appears in so many places on the album, we could as well consider it the Parasomnia theme.

In the Arms of Morpheus
0:37 Dead Asleep intro
1:07 A Broken Man chorus
3:10 The Shadow Man Incident orchestral theme (2:08) over The Shadow Man Incident riff (3:22)
3:30 Synth lead over The Shadow Man Incident riff (7:08)
4:02 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme
4:33 Guitar lead over Bend the Clock chorus

Dead Asleep
0:33 A Broken Man chorus
9:31 A Broken Man chorus (variation)
10:32 A Broken Man chorus

Are We Dreaming?
0:18 The Shadow Man Incident Terrifying Nightmares theme
0:44 The Shadow Man Incident Endless Night theme

The Shadow Man Incident
17:53 A Broken Man chorus

There is a chord progression they reuse here and there. The one where it shifts by a tritone.

2:12 in Dead Asleep (root note shifts down a whole tone rather than up a tritone but otherwise same chord I think)
8:02 in Dead Asleep
4:48 in The Shadow Man Incident (and through the whole section)
16:47 in The Shadow Man Incident

[Kyo]

After one listen, one thing I absolutely LOVE and for me was missing in the last 2 albums, and ruined the experience:
There is only ONE Guitar, and it's very noticeable during guitar solos: only bass/piano/battery in the background and no additional rhythmic guitar.

What are you talking about?

Untethered Angel has the guitar solo sections without rhythm guitar.
Paralyzed has no rhythm guitar under the guitar solo.
Fall into the Light has a big guitar solo middle section without added rhythm guitar.
Barstool Warrior has plenty of lead guitar sections and a big solo, all without rhythm guitar.
Room 137 has a guitar solo over heavy piano and bass instead of rhythm guitar.
S2N has a guitar solo over Myung's bass vamp, no rhythm guitar.
At Wit's End has a guitar solo over bass and keys, no rhythm guitar. Also the big ending solo, same thing.
Out of Reach barely has more than keys and lead guitar.
Pale Blue Dot has no rhythm guitar under the lead guitar theme bits.
Viper King has its guitar solo over bass and heavy keys, no rhythm guitar.
The Alien has three guitar lead sections, all without rhythm guitar.
Sleeping Giant has no rhythm guitar under its two guitar solos.
Awaken the Master has its first guitar solo without rhythm guitar.
A View... has all the big guitar leads in the middle without rhythm guitar.

So basically, all of Distance Over Time didn't use rhythm guitar under its guitar solos and about half of View's songs didn't, either. Pretty amazing if you found that to be "missing" to the point of "ruining the experience". And I remember thinking that all these JP solos without rhythm guitar were quite a breath of fresh air at the time, so in fact the albums you single out for being such a problem there actually gave you unusually much of what you're asking for (especially DoT).

[Dedalus]

In a way, I got carried away by what the opinions and reviews were saying about BTC. After the first few listens, I thought "huh, is that it?".

Don't get me wrong, it's a great song. But for me, DT has made some ballad-style songs, or semi-ballads, or power ballads or whatever the hell you want to call them, that were just as good or even better in their more recent years, and that were solemnly ignored: This is the life, Beneath the Surface, Along for the Ride, The Bigger Picture (one of my favorites), Surrender to Reason, Out of Reach...

BTC, for me, joins the list of great songs, when DT cares about making songs and not just heavy riffs and pyrotechnic instrumentals. But it's not something completely new for modern DT, so I was surprised by the commotion in particular. I should have paid attention to the "Mike Portnoy is back" factor. With his return, the goodwill towards the band also returns.

But whatever the case, it's a great song. I think I was the one who "let myself be fooled" and was expecting something monumental.

I loved the opening guitar in the song and I agree that Petrucci should be punished for the fade out.

[DoctorAction]

One listen through done:

Enjoyed it!

My initial fears and doubts were that it would be trying hard to be ominous/gothy/straight-faced metal BUT it feels much more upbeat and energetic than that. Yes, it's metal, but feels natural. More Glass Prison than TOT. And I can sure get vibes of AVFTTOTW in here, which is good, afaic.

The theme and lyrics hold zero interest to me but I can overlook/ignore them. I wish there was something more human/personal. I've never heard the guys say it's something they personally struggle with so am guessing they don't. Feels like a bunch of rather dull cliches shaken out of a bag, honestly.

But, on day one, I'm happy.