Dream Theater Studio Album Survivor: Images & Words wins!

Satisfied with the results?

  • Total voters
    5
I actually think Octavarium is more consistent than FII since almost everything on the former is of low quality to me. Sure, some songs have moments here and there that are interesting (mostly the title track and Panic Attack), but overall the album bores me to tears. None of the songs are outright terrible, but I've always been quite unimpressed by Root (generic mid-tempo metal all around save for the chorus) and Never Enough (pretty much every section involving vocals = awful).

FII has some real low points (You Not Me, Burning My Soul, etc.) but it also has some of the best songs of their career (Lines, Trial, Peruvian) as well as some heartfelt ballads (Hollow, Anna Lee). Then there's New Millennium, which while incredibly happy is still pretty great. There's also the various B-sides that never made the album (but should have) like Raise the Knife and Speak to Me.
 
The only song I dislike on Octavarium is Never Enough, the rest ranges from good to absolutely fucking awesome. However there's still a pretty big drop of quality before the title track. FII has more songs that stack up well against the entire discography.

And yea, Raise the Knife is one of them, one of my favorite DT songs.
 
I'd love the band to do another Falling into Infinity type, softer album. A progressive rock type album instead of a progressive metal type album.
 
That'd be cool. It'd come out better too since they'd have all that creative control and none of that pressure from the label. FII has a really great vibe that I wish was at least expanded on one more album. Though I'm not complaining about the followup :p
 
The Flash said:
I'd love the band to do another Falling into Infinity type, softer album. A progressive rock type album instead of a progressive metal type album.
Click to expand...

It would be a breath of fresh air considering they've arguably been stuck in the same style for 15 years now - ever since Rudess joined. (Coincidence? I think not.)

Interestingly, FII was originally supposed to be a double album:

By May [1997], the band had enough material for a double album, but was told to keep it to one disc for budget reasons. As a result, certain songs were not included on the final cut of the album, including "Raise the Knife," "Where Are You Now," "Cover My Eyes," "Speak to Me," "The Way It Used to Be," and "Metropolis Pt. 2," the last of which was later expanded into its own album. Additionally, Shirley [producer] made significant alterations to some songs; most notably, he took the middle section out of "Burning My Soul" and turned it into what would become "Hell's Kitchen." Shirley also recommended that the band work with Desmond Child to re-write "You or Me," resulting in Petrucci being flown down to Florida to work on the song with Child. Following the sessions, the song became "You Not Me."

One of the band's official bootlegs has all the demos for what would have been the (double) album the way the band members wanted it.
 
Mosh said:
The only song I dislike on Octavarium is Never Enough, the rest ranges from good to absolutely fucking awesome. However there's still a pretty big drop of quality before the title track.
Click to expand...
I think 'Octavarium' is a consistently excellent album, including 'Never Enough'. The title track, 'Sacrificed Sons' and 'Octavarium' are three of my favourite Dream Theater songs.:)
 
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9: Octavarium
10: Black Clouds & Silver Linings
11: Systematic Chaos
12: When Dream and Day Unite
 
Metallica will be updated tomorrow, along with the Black Sabbath results thread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top