Back in 1999, Dream Theater dropped their magnum opus, the concept album “Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory.” Its unimaginative lyrics were covered up by music overflowing with character, from jaunty saloon piano jams to Middle-Eastern tinged metal riffs.
It seems unfair to compare “The Astonishing” to an album released 17 years ago, but drawing comparisons has become common since the band announced the release of a behemoth 130 minute-long rock opera.
“The Astonishing” lacks all the aspects which made “Metropolis” work. The first album featured a compelling concept, original and varied music with some degree of lyrical ambiguity. This album’s insipid concept is a melting pot of the “rebels versus tyrannical empire” from Star Wars and the “dystopian society without music” from Rush’s “2112.”
Musically, almost every track is a ballad and begins with dramatic piano playing. This then transitions into generic riffs atop a swelling orchestra, and ends with an over-the-top chorus. This is a band famous for their technical proficiency and creativity, but there’s only a few hints of this style. “A Life Left Behind” opens with allusions to the progressive rock days of Yes, and “A New Beginning” locks the otherwise inaudible bass into a solid groove underneath a wickedly fun guitar solo. Unfortunately, this is 70 minutes too late to be musically interesting, and the lazy fade-out at the end doesn’t help either.
Then, there are the lyrics. Dream Theater’s work has not been lyrically intriguing since the mid-1990s, but “The Astonishing” hits new lows for a band who’s already penned abysmal lyrics like “The Count of Tuscany.” Characters come in, are arbitrarily assigned the thinnest of tropes (classic tropes like the ignorant princess, the humble but uncertain hero with a special gift and the battle-hardened resistance leader), and spit out their most basic thoughts while narrating their surroundings with an abundance of cliches. There are many examples to pull from, but here are a few personal favorites:
There’s the near tautology of “I know where there is faith / There’s always hope,” a line from track “The Road to Revolution.” Guitarist and vocalist John Petrucci delicately tackles the politics of war in “Brother, Can You Hear Me?” saying, “But someone has to lose / And someone has to win.” As for the psychological tolls of war? “Could things be any tougher? / The answer’s no surprise / Yes, you bet your life,” he says in “A Better Life.”
In case it’s not clear, “Ravenskill” tells listeners “Her true identity / Will be revealed when she sheds her disguise.” Their reliance on cliches is justified considering otherwise, they hand out clunkers like “They only know the noise machines / So I’ll treat them all to sonic ecstasy,” a phrase from “A Savior in the Square.” A note to future screenwriters: it’s pretty difficult to connect with characters who refer to their own voices as “sonic ecstasy.”
The saddest part is this is vocalist James LaBrie’s best performance in over a decade. Considering the majority of the tracks are ballads, it’s up to him to save the album, and for the most part he succeeds with his signature operatic highs. There are a few forced moments in there — his scream “YOU MURDERER” in “The Walking Shadow” is laughter inducing — but as a whole, he serves his role admirably, weighed down by his words rather than his voice.
“The Astonishing” is a poor album overall. Between the 34 tracks there are maybe five or six worth returning to, leaving the majority buried beneath drab and repetitive songwriting. There’s more to complain about, too, like the lifeless production or Mangini’s snoozefest of a drum performance. Give this album a pass.
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