The Astonishing
by Dream Theater
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 76
  3. Negative: 6 out of 76
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  1. johnnyrio
    Feb 22, 2017
    0
    I've been listening to Dream Theater since the debut album and this is seriously one of the worst things this band has ever done. It's awful. For some reason James LeBrie has been given full reign to sigh/whimper into the microphone every chance he gets and it's relentless throughout the entire double cd. If you can stomach his constant sighing, there's Jordan Rudess plunking away at theI've been listening to Dream Theater since the debut album and this is seriously one of the worst things this band has ever done. It's awful. For some reason James LeBrie has been given full reign to sigh/whimper into the microphone every chance he gets and it's relentless throughout the entire double cd. If you can stomach his constant sighing, there's Jordan Rudess plunking away at the keys making noises akin to that of a robot having a seizure in a junkyard. The guy can actually play so I'm not sure why he decided to go with the robot seizure template. My only guess is that he's being told what to play at this point by LeBrie. Where's John Petrucci on this cd? I have no idea. He's barely present, at all. There's an occasional riff tossed in here and there but they are so few and far between that they are irrelevant. He obviously didn't have much say in this double cd mess or somehow knew it was going to suck and didn't give it much of his attention. Where's Myung? No idea. You can barely hear him and when you do he's not doing much at all. The drums are also pretty ho hum considering the theme and content. This is without any doubt the worst thing Dream Theater has done since the beginning and a giant waste of your money and or download time. There's a lot of other better prog out there to enjoy. Dream Theater has pretty much given up at this point and I know I've completely given up on Dream Theater.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Record Collector
    Feb 1, 2016
    100
    With seamless storytelling through its 34 songs, magical moments of intricate instrumental interplay abound, magnified by an orchestra and massed choirs, while a template for the staging of a musical production sees the principals realising a grandiose next-step in their creative development.
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  2. Kerrang!
    Jan 29, 2016
    80
    An epic adventure that is, in every single way, truly astonishing indeed. [16 Jan 2016, p.51]
  3. Rolling Stone
    Jan 29, 2016
    70
    The results won't please every Dream Theater partisan, nor will they convert the skeptical. But it would take a hard heart to deny Petrucci, co-composer and keyboardist Jordan Rudess and their mates credit for the boldness of their aspirations and the assurance with which they achieve them.
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