Most overrated DT Album?

[Mosh]

Well that's the thing for me, I don't think the songs are very well written. Some of the material (TITL and BMUBMD) is some of their worst as far as I'm concerned. The whole thing is just really bland.

Breaking All Illusions says hi.

BAI might be the worst offender. It's like a DT epic by the numbers. It's a nice little tune but the whole thing just seems forced. Like the FFH reprise at the end.

Great solo from JP though.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

It's honestly the most natural sounding song on the album. That's part of what makes it so great. I don't get how it feels "forced" at all.

[425]

It's one of the most natural sounding songs in the discography. My personal favorite DT song.

[Mosh]

It's honestly the most natural sounding song on the album. That's part of what makes it so great. I don't get how it feels "forced" at all.

It just seemed like they were trying to recycle a bunch of ideas from older epics to stay safe. Stuff like the Heart of the Sunrise esque bass solo at the beginning, the Far From Heaven reprise at the end. They aren't really saying anything new with that song.

I'm not even saying it's a bad song, I don't really go out of my way to listen to it but I still enjoy it whenever it comes on. But it does represent the major issue I have with that album.

[425]

I agree that there's nothing outside the box about BAI, but to me it's the perfection of an idea. It's a compositional feat that was 19 years in the making and it was certainly worth the time it took for them to be ready to write it. Their magnum opus to date.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I'd say that BAI is more of a "re-visioning" of DT's sound. I can see why some would say that ADTOE as a whole is them going through the motions, but I feel particular songs on it, BAI namely, are a modern take of what they've established over the course of their career. It's not a song that I can picture being on any prior DT album before it. It's not treading any new ground, but it doesn't need to. Its stellar composition speaks for itself. The song as a whole just flows well and it's chocked full of riveting instrumentation, on multiple grounds.

When I listen to BAI, I just don't hear a song where the guys sat down and said "alright guys, we gotta deliver and chug out an epic-esque tune for the fans". It sounds like they had a jam going and just ran with it, and out came gold. I'm sure the song-writing process was a lot more complex than that, but I honestly feel like it's just straight stream of consciousness from them (and yeah, I went there).

[aprilethereal]

Definitely I&W.

[erwinrafael]

I agree that there's nothing outside the box about BAI, but to me it's the perfection of an idea. It's a compositional feat that was 19 years in the making and it was certainly worth the time it took for them to be ready to write it. Their magnum opus to date.

This is how I feel exactly for BAI. It's the perfection of an idea, of what DT is about. Which is why it is my favorite DT song.

I also feel that way for IT, particularly because I could clearly see a narrative structure in that epic, and how all the elements contribute to a narrative. Genius from a composition perspective.

[Mladen]

DT12

It was a solid album, but I found it nowhere as awesome as so many other fans.

[King Postwhore]

Definitely I&W.

*backhands*

[Stadler]

Well that's the thing for me, I don't think the songs are very well written. Some of the material (TITL and BMUBMD) is some of their worst as far as I'm concerned. The whole thing is just really bland.

TITL is my favorite song of the "Mangini ara", and the only song from the "Mangini era" to make my all-time top ten favorite DT songs list (though The Looking Glass is always knocking at the door).

[Polarbear]

DT12

It was a solid album, but I found it nowhere as awesome as so many other fans.

This.

I like The Enemy Inside, Looking Glass and Surrender To Reason. But, i rarely listen to this album.

Also, Octavarium is nothing special.

[bosk1]

I can see why some would say that ADTOE as a whole is them going through the motions...

Honestly, I can't.  The album is such a strong return to form, IMO.  I have been a fan since 1992, and I strongly enjoy all of their albums.  But I can honestly say that this was the first DT album where there isn't a single song on the album that I don't care for.  This and DT12 are easily their most consistently strong albums from start to finish.  More of that, please!

[Mebert78]

Totally agree, bosk!  I'm a big supporter of the past two albums.  Can't wait to see what DT does next, because I couldn't have been happier with the past two releases.

[emtee]

I would much rather they use themselves as inspiration corner (as with ADToE) I just want it to sound better. The songs themselves
are very good IMO. I much prefer the songs on ADToE over DT12.

[Mosh]

I'd say that BAI is more of a "re-visioning" of DT's sound. I can see why some would say that ADTOE as a whole is them going through the motions, but I feel particular songs on it, BAI namely, are a modern take of what they've established over the course of their career. It's not a song that I can picture being on any prior DT album before it. It's not treading any new ground, but it doesn't need to. Its stellar composition speaks for itself. The song as a whole just flows well and it's chocked full of riveting instrumentation, on multiple grounds.

I can agree with this. But it's partly why it loses points for me. I don't really want to hear their modern take of the past, one thing I like about DT is that they do something different on each album. I'd like to see them continue to do push forward, instead of looking backwards. And no it doesn't need to tread new grounds, but so many of their other epics do, which makes it hard for BAI to stand out compared to them.

When I listen to BAI, I just don't hear a song where the guys sat down and said "alright guys, we gotta deliver and chug out an epic-esque tune for the fans". It sounds like they had a jam going and just ran with it, and out came gold. I'm sure the song-writing process was a lot more complex than that, but I honestly feel like it's just straight stream of consciousness from them (and yeah, I went there).

...but this I just don't hear. It sounds extremely formulated to me.

[jjrock88]

Totally agree, bosk!  I'm a big supporter of the past two albums.  Can't wait to see what DT does next, because I couldn't have been happier with the past two releases.

I agree. The last two releases rejuvenated my interest in the band.  BCASL and SC were good, but I didn't find myself going back to them like I did ADTOE and DT12

[Prog Snob]

I can see why some would say that ADTOE as a whole is them going through the motions...

Honestly, I can't.  The album is such a strong return to form, IMO.  I have been a fan since 1992, and I strongly enjoy all of their albums.  But I can honestly say that this was the first DT album where there isn't a single song on the album that I don't care for.  This and DT12 are easily their most consistently strong albums from start to finish.  More of that, please!

Agreed.  I think it's a vast improvement over the previous two releases. 

[Dublagent66]

It's honestly the most natural sounding song on the album. That's part of what makes it so great. I don't get how it feels "forced" at all.

I agree.  BAI is a perfect representation of how a song should flow.   

[Nearmyth]

Agree on the whole BAI discussion, it's one of DT's most natural songs and is absolutely beautiful throughout the whole thing

Most overrated album is probably Scenes. Not even that it's bad, it's just the only one I see with NO criticism throughout the community and it gets insanely glorified.

[bosk1]

Most overrated album is probably Scenes. Not even that it's bad, it's just the only one I see with NO criticism throughout the community and it gets insanely glorified.

Even if that were true (which it isn't), that doesn't necessarily mean that the praise is undeserved.

[Kotowboy]

For me it's 100% Awake. Everyone raves about it but I just can't get into It beyond the opening three songs.

I'd rather listen to Falling Into Infinity.

[ToT-147]

Most overrated album is probably Scenes. Not even that it's bad, it's just the only one I see with NO criticism throughout the community and it gets insanely glorified.

Even if that were true (which it isn't), that doesn't necessarily mean that the praise is undeserved.

I think it does.. He doesn't like that much the album, so it's undeserved for him.. That's what this thread is all about.. We're not talking about general opinions here, but about personal opinions..

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Most overrated album is probably Scenes. Not even that it's bad, it's just the only one I see with NO criticism throughout the community and it gets insanely glorified.

Even if that were true (which it isn't), that doesn't necessarily mean that the praise is undeserved.

I think it does.. He doesn't like that much the album, so it's undeserved for him.. That's what this thread is all about.. We're not talking about general opinions here, but about personal opinions..

I think bosk was referring to Near's statement about Scenes not having any criticism, which is most certainly not true.

[ToT-147]

Most overrated album is probably Scenes. Not even that it's bad, it's just the only one I see with NO criticism throughout the community and it gets insanely glorified.

Even if that were true (which it isn't), that doesn't necessarily mean that the praise is undeserved.

I think it does.. He doesn't like that much the album, so it's undeserved for him.. That's what this thread is all about.. We're not talking about general opinions here, but about personal opinions..

I think bosk was referring to Near's statement about Scenes not having any criticism, which is most certainly not true.

In fact Bosk mentioned two things: first, what you just said (and with which I also agree), and second, what I said up there.. I think if that were true (SFAM with no criticism at all) Near would be free to say that the album doesn't deserve such praise..

[krands85]

Definitely 6 Degrees for me. The new album ranking thread just confirms it - out of 11 posts in there so far, only 2 have it ranked outside their top 5 (and both of them have it at only 7th). For some reason it's just never done it for me. Aside from The Glass Prison, none of the songs stand out as being great to me and even my love of TGP is beginning to wane. The thing is, it's not like it's filled with a load of songs I dislike or anything and I feel like it has the elements that should appeal to me, but for whatever reason it just doesn't.

[Octavarious]

A Dramatic Turn of Events

This

[lithium112]

Definitely Awake. I'm consistently surprised how many people rank it in their Top 5 or even 1st.

[Zook]

Either ADTOE or BCSL.

[Randaran]

Awake. It's a great album, but not on the same level as IaW and SFaM like most people on here say it is.

I agree. It's above both of them. 

[kiwiclapton]

Black clouds ... For me .

[Sycsa]

Awake and SDOIT. They both constitute a significant drop after the masterpieces that preceeded them (I&W, SFAM), thus they're somewhat disappointing for me, but often rated just as highly here on DTF.

Awake is overall solid, with a few 'miss' songs (CIAW, SDV). I like the rest, but nothing really stands out and I can't think of a song off the top of my head that would easily crack my top 20. In DT terms, it's a consistently average album. I have a newfound appreciation for The Mirror + Lie thanks to the fantastic BTFW version, I couldn't even get through them before.

SDOIT features two of my favorite DT songs back to back (TGP, Blind Faith, both top 5 material), but I usually skip through the rest of the album, as all the remaining songs feel bloated and they drag quite a lot (although they have some really good moments too).

[King Postwhore]

Awake.

It is for the most part, beloved by DT fans but for me, it hasn't passed the test of time for me.  I don't spin it much compared to other DT albums.

[Crow]

6DOIT for me. The good songs are great but the rest ranges from "average" to "an overly bloated mess that pretends to be a song but is inherently 8 songs mashed together haphazardly, and while most of the songs are fine on their own none of them are that special"

the problem with SDOIT is that I really like about 1/3rd of it (TGP + Misunderstood + Disappear together total about 30 minutes) and the rest I never really *want* to listen to

[Prog Snob]

Awake.

It is for the most part, beloved by DT fans but for me, it hasn't passed the test of time for me.  I don't spin it much compared to other DT albums.

Curious...what about it has put you off?  You and I usually have similar tastes I've noticed. For me, from Innocence Faded till the end there isn't a bad song.