The Astonishing
Dream Theater. The Astonishing. Roadrunner. 2016.
Music concept album, reviewed with Haken's Affinity by Ivaylo R. Shmilev, SFRA Review #318 (Fall 2016): pp. 36-37.[1]
Shmilev notes that in the world of the album,
[...] it’s the 23rd century, the world has returned to feudalism and “corruption, lust and greed/define the new nobility/changing the course of history” (“The Gift of Music”). In the Great Northern Empire of the Americas, the oppressive emperor has replaced all music with hovering NOMACs (noise machines). The backwater village of Ravenskill considers a natural musical talent its saviour-shepherd because his music heals souls, i.e., alleviates mental turmoil caused by poverty’s hardships. The saviour-shepherd inspires his brother to lead a rebel militia against the emperor’s oppression. (p. 36) * * *
Throughout The Astonishing, music itself is a main theme: the songs contrast starkly with the short in- terludes (5 of the 34 tracks) of NOMACs’ annoying machine-synthesised noises. The fact that melodic music is forbidden by an oppressive regime constitutes an obvious, major intertextual borrowing from Rush’s “2112” (1976). Music also plays the role of the main science-fantasy novum which heals souls and resurrects the dead. (p. 37)
Shmilev finds the politics of the album shallow — and finds other problems — but the noise machines and music as "the main science-fantasy novum" should be of interest.
RDE, finishing, 5Sep21