This DREAM THEATER Song Reminds Me of...

[TAC]

The very beginning of Misunderstood has always reminded me of the very beginning of Led Zeppelin's Ten Years Gone.

Totally.  It's not the same thing, but the vibe is very similar. 

Just like the beginning of Peruvian Skies having that Bleeding Me-vibe.

I never equated the two, but I can definitely see that.

[Calvin6s]

After the intro, on the very first listen I thought:

Enigma Machine is the modern day Inspector Gadget.

[Laughingplace56]

I could be wrong about this, but I was listening to the radio and a Rush song came on that sounded nearly identical to the intro of Home. I don't know the entirety of Rush's discography, so I've no idea what it's called. Anyone happen to know the name of it, if such a song exists?

[KevShmev]

The only other song I think of during Home's intro is Forty Six and 2 by Tool (and I am not even much of a Tool fan).

[The Presence of Frenemies]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo1bS-C9eUM pretty much lifts the TGD key intro (which, as DT bits go, is a strange thing to lift).

[Train of Naught]

After the intro, on the very first listen I thought:

Enigma Machine is the modern day Inspector Gadget.

I already posted that  but I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[genome]

The intro to Endless Sacrifice sounds very Welcome Home (Sanitarium)-esque.

I had to read that sentence like four times because, although I agree, I was certain you were going to say it sounds like:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ7qXHjxj_0 

It's note-for-note at one point.

[hefdaddy42]

An example of that is that it recently occurred to me that a lot of ADToE seems to have been inspired by Yes.

Yeah, Home is definitely Tool - 46 & 2.

[genome]

Solitary Shell/Solsbury Hill

They even plagiarised the first and last two letters. Shameful.

[Ruba]

I could be wrong about this, but I was listening to the radio and a Rush song came on that sounded nearly identical to the intro of Home. I don't know the entirety of Rush's discography, so I've no idea what it's called. Anyone happen to know the name of it, if such a song exists?

Spindrift? It's the closest song I can think of, and still quite far-fetched.

I Walk Beside You and To Live Forever have some U2-like vibe in them.

[?]

I could be wrong about this, but I was listening to the radio and a Rush song came on that sounded nearly identical to the intro of Home. I don't know the entirety of Rush's discography, so I've no idea what it's called. Anyone happen to know the name of it, if such a song exists?

Spindrift? It's the closest song I can think of, and still quite far-fetched.

The only Rush song that came to my mind was The Main Monkey Business, but instrumentals rarely get airplay, so it's got to be something else.

[TAC]

The Main Monkey Business reminds me of Black Sabbath's A National Acrobat.

[Setlist Scotty]

I could be wrong about this, but I was listening to the radio and a Rush song came on that sounded nearly identical to the intro of Home. I don't know the entirety of Rush's discography, so I've no idea what it's called. Anyone happen to know the name of it, if such a song exists?

Spindrift? It's the closest song I can think of, and still quite far-fetched.

I Walk Beside You and To Live Forever have some U2-like vibe in them.

Don't forget The Way It Used to Be and Speak to Me.

[bosk1]

But what if we really WANT to forget them?

[KevShmev]

I've been listening to U2 since 1983 and Dream Theater since 1993, and I don't think I've ever listened to a DT song and thought, "this sounds like U2."  EVER.  That includes I Walk Beside You. 

[Outcrier]

Great Debate (2:43) reminds me of Rush "Natural Science" (2:21).

[King Postwhore]

Great Debate (2:43) reminds me of Rush "Natural Science" (2:21).

I always felt Tool on a few guitar riffs on this song.

[hefdaddy42]

I agree, The Great Debate has a Tool feel.

It's just not as good as most Tool songs.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree, The Great Debate has a Tool feel.

It's just not as good as most Tool songs.

TGD is better than any of the drab generic metal Tool has ever written.

[hefdaddy42]

I agree, The Great Debate has a Tool feel.

It's just not as good as most Tool songs.

TGD is better than any of the drab generic metal Tool has ever written.

lNothing generic about Tool.

You may not like it, but it's not generic.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree, The Great Debate has a Tool feel.

It's just not as good as most Tool songs.

TGD is better than any of the drab generic metal Tool has ever written.

lNothing generic about Tool.

You may not like it, but it's not generic.

I have nothing against them, I just find their music generic and dull. It's what metal sounds like when you remove anything distinctive or interesting.

[hefdaddy42]

We're going to have to agree to disagree.  Because it seems like you are describing some other band than Tool, so I don't even see any common ground.  And it would be too much effort.

Carry on.

[BlobVanDam]

Works for me.

[Sycsa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gqsQ9Njhsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GDfAfY_r30

After these 2 videos, I think we can call it a day. Originally, there was a part 3 I think, Idk where is it now though.

[425]

An example of that is that it recently occurred to me that a lot of ADToE seems to have been inspired by Yes.

I think he means lyrically? Some of the lyrics to Bridges In the Sky and Breaking All Illusions have a similar usage of fantastical nature/geologic imagery. The title and lyric "Bridges In the Sky" reminds me somewhat of the sort of fantastical things Roger Dean has painted that have been used as Yes artwork, namely the floating islands.



At least that's what chaossytem seems to mean by the overall context of the post you quoted that line from:

Anyway, what I'm also talking about is the "vibe" or theme, or lyrical content of a lot of the band's songs.
An example of that is that it recently occurred to me that a lot of ADToE seems to have been inspired by Yes.
More specifically, the lyrical content of BitS and BAA are both very much like what Yes does, or at least used to do, when Jon Anderson was writing a lot of the lyrics.

Aside from the lyrics, of course, there's no more Yes influence on ADTOE than the very limited amount that there is on every DT album.

[Lucien]

one of the ADTOE long song's noodle sections has a part that sounds very similar to a part in Haken's Pareidolia

i'll investigate further tomorrow, it's late

EDIT: there's a part like 8 minutes in to Trial of Tears that sounds like Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin

[Kotowboy]

I have nothing against them, I just find their music generic and dull. It's what metal sounds like when you remove anything distinctive or interesting.

ÆNIMA and Undertow are a bit dull with a few highlights but Lateralus is a masterpiece for me.


And The Great Debate is way more fun to listen to yes.

[Raise the Drum]

You not Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhEzjq1pRsk
Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht672-wYelc
I Don't Want to Be (Gavin DeGraw) [a.k.a. One Three Hill theme song] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gFCW3PHBws

[JediKnight1969]

Beside the obvious choices (As I am / Metallica, The looking glass / Rush) I would say that Disappear reminds me of Portishead.

[Rickharris1011]

I'll try to stay away from the Rush/Metallica/Pink Floyd comparisons - only because they are such big influences on the band that it's pretty easy to hear them throughout the discography. 

Here area couple that jumped out:
Never Enough - Stockholm Syndrome by Muse
Prophets of War - also very muse-like
The Bigger Picture has an Evanescence feel to it...particularly the second verse - though not as obvious as forsaken.
Jordan Rudess definitely channels his inner Keith Emerson for the Moog solo in Octavarium (but everyone Moog solo since the 70's reminds me of Keith Emerson)

[ToT-147]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ7qXHjxj_0 sounds like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikSPzB-I_W4

Animations - Lost in Infinity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ua9WHOqmfw

Bridges in the Sky (7:15) reminds me of Final Fantasy 8 "The Landing" AKA Dollet Theme invasion (0:51).

  Nice one..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gqsQ9Njhsc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GDfAfY_r30

After these 2 videos, I think we can call it a day. Originally, there was a part 3 I think, Idk where is it now though.

Fun vids.. I've made a couple like those long time ago, though they weren't only about DT, but also many other bands..

I say this all the time, and almost no one believes me, but the beginning of Peruvian Skies pretty much IS the beginning of Bleeding Me by Metallica.

In fact I'd believe that.. That's the first comparison I've made in these videos.. (The video also shows similar solos of Rata Blanca/Pink Floyd and Wither/Bohemian Rhapsody..)

https://goo.gl/IEIHHh

Since I'm on it.. This one has at the beginning one that I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet: The Glass Prison and In My Darkest Hour from Megadeth..

https://goo.gl/DFS0xA

And, finally, this one has mostly DT/Symphony X's comparisons, where, this time, the DT songs precede the other band's..

https://goo.gl/xRkMQW

[Train of Naught]

You can make your POSTS as long as you want to.

I love the random all caps on POSTS

[djbj]

One I discovered recently: Part of the main keyboard theme in Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (first heard 35 seconds in) reminds me of the main keyboard riff to Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, both is terms of melody and instrument tone. Not exactly a typical Dream Theater influence, but given the overall mood and tone of Space-Dye Vest, I wouldn't be surprised that Kevin Moore was listening to some Joy Division at the time.

On a more abstract level, Learning to Live reminds me of Heart of the Sunrise for some reason. There's nothing musically that sounds alike, but the songs have a similar lengths and both serve at their respective albums closing epics, and both songs contrast quiet, contemplative vocal sections with sections of aggressive prog instrumentation. There's also some similarity in the imagery used in the lyrics: i.e. "Listening to the city, whispering its violence, I set out watching from above" & "I get lost in the city", and both songs have an overall "warm" vibe to them. For all these reasons I mentally connect the two songs. In fact, you could go further and say Images & Words is DT's version of Fragile, with Pull Me Under as their Roundabout (an 8-minute album opener that's still prog but was catchy and mainstream sounding enough to be edited for radio airplay, and became a hit single).

[ToT-147]

One I discovered recently: Part of the main keyboard theme in Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (first heard 35 seconds in) reminds me of the main keyboard riff to Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, both is terms of melody and instrument tone.

Yes, in fact both are in the same scale (B minor) and do the same combination of notes [F♯ - G - F♯ - E - D - E (LSOaD) / B (LWTUA)]..

And now writing those acronyms I realize two more coincidences: both start with "L", and both have five words.. 

[djbj]

So, using the information in the above post, I made a quick rough sketch comparing the two parts:



I filled out the Joy Division part from an online sheet music sample, and the Dream Theater part by my own estimation playing around on the piano (the only sheet music samples I could find for that song were for guitar, not keyboard). I'm an amateur at music theory, so excuse any obvious notation mistakes I made.