Best Album Ever Survivor: Somewhere In Time wins

Vote for your least favourite album


  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
That also is the case for me, but Petrucci still manages to come up with decent lyrics sometimes. I especially love his lyrics to Misunderstood on Six Degrees. But Spirit Carries On is just.. absurdly horrible.

"i used to think death was the end but that was before i'm not scared anymore" line makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.
 
Petrucci is very hit and miss. His fantasy lyrics are dreadful. My favorite lyrics of his are probably Scarred.
 
DT's best lyricist was almost certainly Kevin Moore followed, in my opinion, by John Myung and James LaBrie. Of course, Moore left after Awake, and Myung stopped writing lyrics between Scenes From a Memory and A Dramatic Turn of Events. I would agree that Petrucci has been hit/miss with his lyrics, but I don't think he's ever written anything cringe worthy, nothing on the level of a "Charlotte, your drawers are off colour" or a "Nail that Fokker, kill that son". Portnoy is by no means a brilliant lyricist and tends to be a rather one dimensional one, but he's written some good things too (The Mirror).

I think that there's an extent to which a lot of what Dream Theater does is in the presence of cheese (yes, I had to rearrange the sentence so it worked that way). I don't think it ever approaches an over-the-top point, but if you have zero tolerance for music or lyrics being even the slightest bit cheesy, then DT is not the band for you. Scenes certainly is one of Dream Theater's cheesier albums, but on the flip side it is also musically brilliant, so if you can get over (or even embrance, as I do) some slightly cheesy lyrics in The Spirit Carries On or guest vocals in Through Her Eyes, then you get the reward of enjoying a phenomenal album. If not... Well, actually, can anyone think of a band that has never done anything cheesy? It's an interesting challenge, to say the least.
 
I agree with everything you said, Mosh. Apart from Spirit Carries On being a Floyd rip-off and a non-special song, its lyrics are so cheesy that they drive me nuts. Possibly the cheesiest lyrics ever.

"where did we come from?
why are we here?
where do we go when we die?
what lies beyond
and what lay before?
is anything certain in life?"

"i used to be frightened of dying
i used to think death was the end
but that was before
im not scared anymore"

"i may never find all the answers
i may never understand why
i may never prove
what i know to be true
but i know that i still have to try"

:facepalm:


Pretty cheesy yes. Though Maiden has something similar

There are times when I've wondered
And times when I've cried
When my prayers they were answered
At times when I've lied
But if you asked me a question
Would I tell you the truth
Now there's something to bet on
You've got nothing to lose

When I've sat by the window
And gazed at the rain
With an ache in my heart
But never feeling the pain
And if you would tell me
Just what my life means
Walking a long road
Never reaching the end
 
I like the story in Scenes, in some ways it could've been presented better, but for the most part I'm satisfied with it. DT has written cringe worthy lyrics, probably moreso than Maiden. Check out pretty much all of Systematic Chaos.
 
I don't have that one yet, so I wouldn't know if they do or not. I can really only comment on the albums I have, which are Images through Train of Thought, and on those albums I don't think there's anything cringe worthy.
 
Yea those albums aren't as bad. Black Clouds and Systematic Chaos have the worst lyrics.
 
Systematic Chaos and Black Clouds & Silver Linings are just weak albums in every aspect. Shallow lyrics, constant wanking.
 
True.

On the subject of good lyrics though, have you guys heard Chroma Key and OSI? KM's other projects.
 
Rules are here:
http://forum.maidenfans.com/threads/best-album-ever-survivor.25528/

Eliminated last round: 2112, Aqualung, Queen II, Sticky Fingers, Thick As A Brick, Who's Next

1983/84 enters the game
Nominations open for 1993/94
IN:
Rush Counterparts
My Dying Bride Turn Loose the Swans
Anthrax Sound of White Noise
Tool Undertow
Dream Theater Awake
Soundgarden Superunknown
Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral
Offspring Smash
Megadeth Youthanasia
Bruce Dickinson Balls to Picasso
Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream
NOMINATED:
Death — Individual Thought Patterns (The Flash, Night Prowler)
Oasis — Definitely Maybe (Kill Devil Hill)
 
Love at First Sting
1984
Pyromania
Shout at the Devil
Synchronicity
War

93/94 really is a weak group, Individual Thought Patterns should be in, one of the better albums of that period.
 
Mob Rules — Black Sabbath
NIghtfall on Middle Earth — Blind Guardian
Balls to the Wall — Accept
Love At First Sting — Scorpions
Shout at the Devil — Motley Crue
War — U2
 
Mob Rules
Nightfall
Reality
Balls To The Wall
Love At First Sting
Shout At The Devil

Nominating:
Nirvana - In Utero (the best Nirvana album)
 
Despite grunge, these years were great times for a metalhead. At least for me. :)

I nominate:

Fight - War of Words (1993)
220px-Fight_-_War_of_Words.jpg

I was very surprised that this album wasn't in, because it is one of the best metal albums ever released, period.
Very powerful, "to the point" metal with one of the best vocalists (if not the best) in the genre.
<-- first 7 songs only
Amorphis - Tales from the Thousand Lakes (1994)
220px-TalesFromTheThousandLakes.jpg

Fantastic, melodic death album. Yes, it has grunts, but they are quite low and soft (not harsh). More important: the music is awesome. It's hard to escape the mesmerizing melodies and atmosphere, crowned with the crying guitars of Esa Holopainen.
Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes (1994)
220px-SabbathPurposes.jpg

After the rough and less melodic Dehumanizer with Dio, Martin returned to the band with Cross Purposes. A very fine piece of work. Haunting atmosphere.
Running Wild - Black Hand Inn (1994)
220px-Running_Wild_-_Black_Hand_Inn.jpg

The last strong Running Wild album, featuring Jörg Michael on drums (known from Stratovarious, Saxon, Grave Digger and other bands). Aggressive, fast metal, with room for melodies and striking solos.
 
I think Balls to the Wall is underrated. The title track is one of the great metal anthems. The rest of the album is even better: very melodic, but still gritty, with good guitar work, and Udo has one of the all-time great (and very unique) metal voices. Turn Me On, Love Child, Head Over Heels, Winter Dreams, Losing More Than You've Ever Had -- all great songs. Those of you who prefer Dream Theater's proggy but vapid musical masturbations won't like the simple, driving riffs and rhythms, but this is an album of consistent strong tracks, none of which has grown old over time. I listen to this album a lot and put it ahead of the other metal albums from this era except Dio and Metallica.
 
I think Balls to the Wall is underrated. The title track is one of the great metal anthems. The rest of the album is even better: very melodic, but still gritty, with good guitar work, and Udo has one of the all-time great (and very unique) metal voices. Turn Me On, Love Child, Head Over Heels, Winter Dreams, Losing More Than You've Ever Had -- all great songs. Those of you who prefer Dream Theater's proggy but vapid musical masturbations won't like the simple, driving riffs and rhythms, but this is an album of consistent strong tracks, none of which has grown old over time. I listen to this album a lot and put it ahead of the other metal albums from this era except Dio and Metallica.

Plus 100.
Can't get enough of the classic rhythm guitar sound and the extremely underrated melodic soloing.
 
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