, and marked a significant shift toward a "back-to-basics" and heavier approach following their 2016 concept double-album, The Astonishing Production & Creative Process Secluded Recording
Context is essential to understanding the weight of this record. Coming off the heels of The Astonishing (2016)—a sprawling, two-hour conceptual rock opera that divided the fanbase with its theatrical ambitions and dense narrative—Dream Theater found themselves at a crossroads. They had pushed the boundaries of "prog" into the realm of Broadway-scale excess. Distance Over Time was the necessary pendulum swing back toward aggression. Recorded in a secluded farm studio in upstate New York, the album was tracked in a "live" environment, with the band members playing together in one room. This methodology stripped away the meticulous, click-track perfection of previous eras and replaced it with a visceral, sweating energy. Dream Theater - Distance Over Time -2019- -FLAC...