Stardust
Rainmaker
Tell me, how much do you like Breaking All Illusions? It's my personal favourite but what about you, @JudasMyGuide?
DREAM THEATER SURVIVOR 2016: Results -> A Change Of Seasons wins!
- Thread starter Night Prowler
- Start date
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
Absolutely love it! It's not my favourite off the album (that would be Outcry because when that piano intro shifts at 0:35 to that instrumental rendition of the chorus (
) and then that Petrucci riff, that's just my most favourite DT moments ever and the song as a whole really is a decent answer to Metropolis, honestly), but it's an amazing, heartfelt, emotional song full of beautiful ideas. It doesn't get boring for a second. Oh, the "lonely" solo at 7:20! And the chorus! The beginning is beautiful (although it might sound like a SEGA game menu music to the uninitiated 
) If anything, I dislike that "disco" part at 5:20 
I know people compare those two tracks (ADTOE is a structural recreation of I&W after all, and a better one at that), but LTL cannot even lick Breaking All Illusion's boots. BAI thrills me to the edge of tears (oh, those final 3 minutes), while LTL bores me to the same edge.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
And, @Mosh , once you finish your LTL apologetics, I can promise you at least two things: 1.) I will "like" it, because it will be a first and I appreciate that, 2.) I will try to take it and play LTL again with it in my hand and try to find whatever you find in the song. I don't know how successful it'll be (so far it sounds to me mostly as a failed boring Yes channeling), but a change of mind definitely is possible - when I started visiting this forum, I did not like neither Nightwish's Beauty of the Beast nor Ghost Love Score. Now I love both. 
I'm not good at putting into words why I really like a song.
I love ADTOE but Outcry is my least favorite on the album
But we'll talk about that album when we get to it.
I love ADTOE but Outcry is my least favorite on the album
But we'll talk about that album when we get to it.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Outcry is my third favorite from that album behind BAI and Beneath the Surface. The vocal parts are powerful and moving but the instrumental section is, like typical DT, out of place.
Eliminated:
Misunderstood - 9 votes
The Spirit Carries On - 6 votes
The Great Debate - 6 votes
As I Am - 6 votes
Promoted:
The Glass Prison
Blind Faith
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Octavarium joins the game!
Stardust
Rainmaker
IT'S A TRAP! Octavarium joins the game! This album has grown on me, I must admit. The title track is still one of my favourites by the band and stuff like The Root Of All Evil and Panic Attack are good...which is something that pretty much describes this album for me. There's nothing bad on the album, just good songs. It's kinda hard to talk about the album in that aspect.
Well...@Detective Beauregard? It's your favourite album!
Well...@Detective Beauregard? It's your favourite album!
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
Fatal Tragedy
The Dance of Eternity
Stream of Consciousness
This Dying Soul
The Answer Lies Within
The Dance of Eternity
Stream of Consciousness
This Dying Soul
The Answer Lies Within
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Oy vey. First of all: I hate all of you for voting off Spirit Carries On. Best ballad they've ever done. I wish I could take a vengeful axe to Finally Free as penance.
I haven't listened to ToT enough to vote yet, it might be awhile before I get to Octavarium.
I haven't listened to ToT enough to vote yet, it might be awhile before I get to Octavarium.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Revisiting Train of Thought and I still love it as much as I always did, if not more.
As I Am - simple, sometimes immature lyrics, but the riffs are so catchy and LaBrie really sings his guts out here (and on this album as a whole). I can't help but wonder, though if SDOIT/TOT was the period at which John Petrucci became more of a myth than a man. The lyrics to both Misunderstood and As I Am paint a picture of a guy with a massive superiority complex piled on top of an inferiority complex, or possibly just that typical East coast drive to constantly prove yourself (even if when you don't have to). Regardless, 10/10
This Dying Soul - a worthy follow-up to The Glass Prison, though not as good. The intro is amazing, the unison is amazing, the chorus is amazing, but the rap section goes on too long, Portnoy's lyrics continue to be immature at the wrong moments. I can even handle the ending, although it's definitely tacked-on. 9/10
Endless Sacrifice - perfect. The double-sided lyrics are beautiful in their simplicity, the melodies are grand, the dynamic shifts are stellar, I love this song. Once the song picks up it really slays, especially that twisty unison riff. 10/10
Honor Thy Father - it's so pummeling that I can't help but give it anything less than 10/10, despite more Portnoy lyrical faults. For once they fit perfectly with the music. Overall it has the best riffs on the whole album. "Don't cross the crooked step" FTW.
Vacant - a beautiful little introduction to Stream of Consciousness. Knowing the background of the lyrics really adds a lot to the emotional impact of the song considering that it's virtually impossible to discern based on words alone. Problem is, this song doesn't work on it's own. It's a prelude. A pretty one, but still a prelude. When paired with SOC it works wonders. 7/10
Stream of Consciousness - probably their best instrumental. Groovy, insanely technical, yet still retaining a song format while exceeding 10 minutes. 10/10
In The Name of God - a masterpiece. LaBrie slays it on this song, as does everyone else. Even if the bridge/solo section is a little excessive, it still works. Great, great ending to the song and to the album. 10/10
In my opinion, Train of Thought was Dream Theater's peak. It has questionable moments, but they all work in service of the album as a whole. This was the last album before DT12 where the entire musicality of the band was in full force. Lyrically, musically, inspirationally...it all becomes a little more rote and forced from here on out (at least for awhile). As excited as I am to continue going through the discography, I truly feel this is the last time the band had real magic for 10 years.
As I Am - simple, sometimes immature lyrics, but the riffs are so catchy and LaBrie really sings his guts out here (and on this album as a whole). I can't help but wonder, though if SDOIT/TOT was the period at which John Petrucci became more of a myth than a man. The lyrics to both Misunderstood and As I Am paint a picture of a guy with a massive superiority complex piled on top of an inferiority complex, or possibly just that typical East coast drive to constantly prove yourself (even if when you don't have to). Regardless, 10/10
This Dying Soul - a worthy follow-up to The Glass Prison, though not as good. The intro is amazing, the unison is amazing, the chorus is amazing, but the rap section goes on too long, Portnoy's lyrics continue to be immature at the wrong moments. I can even handle the ending, although it's definitely tacked-on. 9/10
Endless Sacrifice - perfect. The double-sided lyrics are beautiful in their simplicity, the melodies are grand, the dynamic shifts are stellar, I love this song. Once the song picks up it really slays, especially that twisty unison riff. 10/10
Honor Thy Father - it's so pummeling that I can't help but give it anything less than 10/10, despite more Portnoy lyrical faults. For once they fit perfectly with the music. Overall it has the best riffs on the whole album. "Don't cross the crooked step" FTW.
Vacant - a beautiful little introduction to Stream of Consciousness. Knowing the background of the lyrics really adds a lot to the emotional impact of the song considering that it's virtually impossible to discern based on words alone. Problem is, this song doesn't work on it's own. It's a prelude. A pretty one, but still a prelude. When paired with SOC it works wonders. 7/10
Stream of Consciousness - probably their best instrumental. Groovy, insanely technical, yet still retaining a song format while exceeding 10 minutes. 10/10
In The Name of God - a masterpiece. LaBrie slays it on this song, as does everyone else. Even if the bridge/solo section is a little excessive, it still works. Great, great ending to the song and to the album. 10/10
In my opinion, Train of Thought was Dream Theater's peak. It has questionable moments, but they all work in service of the album as a whole. This was the last album before DT12 where the entire musicality of the band was in full force. Lyrically, musically, inspirationally...it all becomes a little more rote and forced from here on out (at least for awhile). As excited as I am to continue going through the discography, I truly feel this is the last time the band had real magic for 10 years.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
With only eight votes at my disposal, my immediate thought was to spend seven of them on the pile of mediocrity that is Octavarium. Unfortunately, I have to waste three on decent non-Octavarium tunes just to vote tactically. Ugh.
Fatal Tragedy - Love it, from the Inspector Gadget section to the happy "romp through the fields" chorus to the shredfest at the end. So much stuff!
Home - This is a great song, but I prefer Spirit to it. Oh well. Love the Eastern-sounding bass and the sexy section.
The Dance of Eternity - Fun and technical and wanky and sure to not impress anyone other than musicians, this piece has run its course. Love the bass solo but it's time for you to go away now.
Finally Free - Epic closer with pretty much every mood you can imagine thrown in. The ending is amazing with Portnoy's fills and that ominous riff.
This Dying Soul - Tactical vote. I'm ashamed as it's better than anything on Octavarium.
Endless Sacrifice - Tactical vote. See above, but slightly weaker.
Honor Thy Father - Love everything except Portnoy's angry little boy lyrics. So aggression, so power!
Stream of Consciousness - Best instrumental the band has ever done, next to Raw Dog. That was a joke. This is way better than Raw Dog.
In the Name of God - Top 10 DT for me. Chilling.
The Root of all Evil - Possibly the most overrated song the band has ever done. Boring mid-tempo late-career Megadeth rip-off riffs crowd this song and overwhelm what is actually a pretty decent chorus. And that's honestly the only thing this song has going for it. So dull. So pedestrian.
The Answer Lies Within - The answer to mediocrity surely can be found here. Decent ballad, a bit whiny, but whatever. They've done better and worse.
These Walls - I don't know why I like this song. Maybe because it's like low A tuning (so heavy!), or maybe it's the calming nature of the verses, or the start-stop of the opening/closing riff... I don't know. But it's a standout moment in a sea of disaster.
I Walk Beside You - I like this song better than anything in U2's catalog (I've heard approximately 10% of U2's catalog and have no desire to hear the remaining 90%). It's fun, poppy, catchy, emotional, etc. without ever being lame. Very eloquent description, I know.
Panic Attack - Yes, it has cool bass that's really hard to play. But that's really it. I admit that there's some neat ideas later in the song, like the Muse bits and the Megadeth unison, but none of it is special and the song is WAY too long for its type (such is a problem with this band). It's around this time that I started to figure out that this album is nothing but rip-offs. Seriously, every single song is blatantly ripping off of another artist(s).
Never Enough - Just when I thought Root was the weakest song on this album, this pile of trash comes along. Only the main riff is memorable; everything else is just so horrible. Root is bland, but this is simply not GOOD. For the quality version, see Stockholm Syndrome.
Sacrificed Sons - I'm actually bummed that I can't switch my vote, because I like a lot of this song. It carries a heavy meaning, even if it would have fit better on Train of Thought (being released not too long after 9/11). Containing my favorite misheard lyrics in DT's entire catalog -- "God I'm high, I'm a steak" -- it also contains a pretty technical and groovy instrumental section that never really hits full-on obnoxious wank.
Octavarium - This is a good song. Sure, I could live without the 4 minutes of ambient Pink Floyd crap in the beginning, but the song builds and releases with a crazy vocal performance from LaBrie and an interesting underlying concept. But it would've been far more effective if the rest of the album was as strong as its namesake.
Fatal Tragedy - Love it, from the Inspector Gadget section to the happy "romp through the fields" chorus to the shredfest at the end. So much stuff!
Home - This is a great song, but I prefer Spirit to it. Oh well. Love the Eastern-sounding bass and the sexy section.
The Dance of Eternity - Fun and technical and wanky and sure to not impress anyone other than musicians, this piece has run its course. Love the bass solo but it's time for you to go away now.
Finally Free - Epic closer with pretty much every mood you can imagine thrown in. The ending is amazing with Portnoy's fills and that ominous riff.
This Dying Soul - Tactical vote. I'm ashamed as it's better than anything on Octavarium.
Endless Sacrifice - Tactical vote. See above, but slightly weaker.
Honor Thy Father - Love everything except Portnoy's angry little boy lyrics. So aggression, so power!
Stream of Consciousness - Best instrumental the band has ever done, next to Raw Dog. That was a joke. This is way better than Raw Dog.
In the Name of God - Top 10 DT for me. Chilling.
The Root of all Evil - Possibly the most overrated song the band has ever done. Boring mid-tempo late-career Megadeth rip-off riffs crowd this song and overwhelm what is actually a pretty decent chorus. And that's honestly the only thing this song has going for it. So dull. So pedestrian.
The Answer Lies Within - The answer to mediocrity surely can be found here. Decent ballad, a bit whiny, but whatever. They've done better and worse.
These Walls - I don't know why I like this song. Maybe because it's like low A tuning (so heavy!), or maybe it's the calming nature of the verses, or the start-stop of the opening/closing riff... I don't know. But it's a standout moment in a sea of disaster.
I Walk Beside You - I like this song better than anything in U2's catalog (I've heard approximately 10% of U2's catalog and have no desire to hear the remaining 90%). It's fun, poppy, catchy, emotional, etc. without ever being lame. Very eloquent description, I know.
Panic Attack - Yes, it has cool bass that's really hard to play. But that's really it. I admit that there's some neat ideas later in the song, like the Muse bits and the Megadeth unison, but none of it is special and the song is WAY too long for its type (such is a problem with this band). It's around this time that I started to figure out that this album is nothing but rip-offs. Seriously, every single song is blatantly ripping off of another artist(s).
Never Enough - Just when I thought Root was the weakest song on this album, this pile of trash comes along. Only the main riff is memorable; everything else is just so horrible. Root is bland, but this is simply not GOOD. For the quality version, see Stockholm Syndrome.
Sacrificed Sons - I'm actually bummed that I can't switch my vote, because I like a lot of this song. It carries a heavy meaning, even if it would have fit better on Train of Thought (being released not too long after 9/11). Containing my favorite misheard lyrics in DT's entire catalog -- "God I'm high, I'm a steak" -- it also contains a pretty technical and groovy instrumental section that never really hits full-on obnoxious wank.
Octavarium - This is a good song. Sure, I could live without the 4 minutes of ambient Pink Floyd crap in the beginning, but the song builds and releases with a crazy vocal performance from LaBrie and an interesting underlying concept. But it would've been far more effective if the rest of the album was as strong as its namesake.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I still have Budokan and some bootlegs to listen to before I get to Octavarium and listen to it at least 3x.
Just listened to the Master of Puppets bootleg and it's really interesting to hear how they change some things to be played by keyboard instead of guitar. LaBrie sounds like complete and utter garbage, though. Not his style, not his night.
Just listened to the Master of Puppets bootleg and it's really interesting to hear how they change some things to be played by keyboard instead of guitar. LaBrie sounds like complete and utter garbage, though. Not his style, not his night.
I just watched Budokan last night. Going to skip the covers albums as there's too many, but I have the Pink Floyd DVD and will watch that (it is from the Octavarium tour).
Budokan is way better than I remembered. Lots of awesome moments that you won't get on any other live release (Beyond This Life Jam, Instrumedley) and I love how they did 5 ToT songs. Best part is that the two remaining songs are on the Score DVD, making ToT one of the best represented albums on their live releases. Stream of Consciousness and ITNOG in particular are really great live. It's unfortunate they don't play those more. I don't really care for SDOIT being broken up, but I understand they did that because there was no official Six Degrees tour DVD. Still I would've rather seen Blind Faith or Misunderstood. We do get one of the very few live performances of Disappear, however, and it's awesome.
The filming is also really nice. Probably the best concert video they've done from a pure visual standpoint.
What really stuck out to me watching this DVD was JP. He is a lot more inconsistent live these days but he's really at peak performance on Budokan. He nails just about every solo and unison. The guy is an incredible player. I'm jealous of the DT fans who are drummers out there, as MP really spoils them with the drum cam DVDs. Would love a guitar cam!
Bonus features are cool too. I like that JP, JR, and MP get their own showcases. Fun watching Rudess explain what a tablet is 7 years before the first ipad. He is really a pioneer of music technology.
Budokan is way better than I remembered. Lots of awesome moments that you won't get on any other live release (Beyond This Life Jam, Instrumedley) and I love how they did 5 ToT songs. Best part is that the two remaining songs are on the Score DVD, making ToT one of the best represented albums on their live releases. Stream of Consciousness and ITNOG in particular are really great live. It's unfortunate they don't play those more. I don't really care for SDOIT being broken up, but I understand they did that because there was no official Six Degrees tour DVD. Still I would've rather seen Blind Faith or Misunderstood. We do get one of the very few live performances of Disappear, however, and it's awesome.
The filming is also really nice. Probably the best concert video they've done from a pure visual standpoint.
What really stuck out to me watching this DVD was JP. He is a lot more inconsistent live these days but he's really at peak performance on Budokan. He nails just about every solo and unison. The guy is an incredible player. I'm jealous of the DT fans who are drummers out there, as MP really spoils them with the drum cam DVDs. Would love a guitar cam!
Bonus features are cool too. I like that JP, JR, and MP get their own showcases. Fun watching Rudess explain what a tablet is 7 years before the first ipad. He is really a pioneer of music technology.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
About to pop in Live at Budokan before moving on to Octavarium, but first I have to say: DT's Number of the Beast album is actually really cool. It's weird to hear all of the songs with a keyboard trying to replace a guitar (especially during the solos - which I think would have sounded better if JR had just completely made up his own solos instead of trying to mimic Murray), but also rather interesting. LaBrie sounds infinitely better here than on the Master of Puppets bootleg.
Also, DT's arrangement of "Gangland" is far better than Maiden's.
Also, DT's arrangement of "Gangland" is far better than Maiden's.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Watching Live at Budokan right now and holy shit everyone is on fire! I stand by my comments re: this being the peak of the band.
EDIT: Thank God for this version of Goodnight Kiss. I wish they had just ended Instrumedley with JP's incredible solo, though, instead of actually playing the whole vocal part. Ick.
Also, does anyone else find it weird that the drum fill/break towards the end of the bridge in Endless Sacrifice and the drum fill/break right before the "Don't cross the crooked step" line in Honor Thy Father sound virtually identical? Like, you could cut those two songs together at that moment and musically it would work. Odd that they would put those two songs back to back on the album and not realize that.
EDIT: Thank God for this version of Goodnight Kiss. I wish they had just ended Instrumedley with JP's incredible solo, though, instead of actually playing the whole vocal part. Ick.
Also, does anyone else find it weird that the drum fill/break towards the end of the bridge in Endless Sacrifice and the drum fill/break right before the "Don't cross the crooked step" line in Honor Thy Father sound virtually identical? Like, you could cut those two songs together at that moment and musically it would work. Odd that they would put those two songs back to back on the album and not realize that.
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