Dream Theater songs discussion

[MirrorMask]

I don't dislike the song, but I find it far from being perfect. I agree it goes downhill from the second half, Blackened and that let's-shoot-10000-notes-per-second solo doesn't really do it for me, nor does the "rap". Anyway the way it was supposed to kick in after The Glass Prison is nice, and the way James sings "I wanna feel your body breaking" etc in the chorus is captivating.

[CDrice]

I kind of agree that the second half of the song is not as good as the first half, but I find the solo from 10:00 to 10:30 pretty cool. You have a driving drum beat and a neat bass riff. Actually I really like the bass during that whole ending section.

[Train of Naught]

It's the same thing for me every time I listen to it, great fun during the intro, air drum kit appears, I kinda agree with most here, the second half gets a little annoying because of the constant fast pace, I always find myself skipping through the last minute just to hear those last few seconds before skipping to the next song though, I like the end.

[pcs90]

Only thing I like about TDS is the intro before the vocals come in.

[Rodni Demental]

that let's-shoot-10000-notes-per-second solo doesn't really do it for me

Oh man that part does it for me! I sometimes have a brainsplosion just trying to follow that section, I love when DT music goes into insanity mode for short bursts.

I will clarify; I don't like fast playing just for the sake of it, and if a whole song was like that I'd get worn out as quickly as the next guy, but is they do like a 30 second burst of insanity, that's awesome.

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of 'tickle' section in LNF. 

[OnTheBacksofAngela]

Day 5, November 8: Vacant/Stream  of Consciousness on ToT

I love them so much! <3
Number 2 song for album, Top 15 overall. This instrumental, I can never get bored of even if the riff at the beginning is looped. Vacant is a good opener that sets the mood and it's really chilly and la brie does it well. And when SOC comes and it's that part before the Petrucci shredding, I fall in love with it until the end. I also love the part in which Myung plays  around the middle. Good to see him lead from time to time and  the finisher is just brilliant,  both Rudess and Petruccu. Best instrumental and very epic.

[MirrorMask]

Vacant is one of the most unique songs in DT's catalog, I love it... chilling performance from James, I used to try to sing it when I was taking singing lessons. Stream of Consciousness is a great instrumental, I love how it's not jam-based but it has its own riff and flows very nicely. Some amazing guitar solos in here, maybe it could have been 1 or 2 minute shorter but over all it's an absolutely gorgeous instrumental piece.

[pcs90]

This instrumental, I can never get bored of

This is easily one of their most boring instrumentals for me. It should have been cut in half. I basically only ever listen to the fan-made versions of the song, several of which flow better, repeat less and have more emotion.

[jakepriest]

Vacant is really nice, but not something I listen to often. SoC is easily their best instrumental, totally underrated. Just wish they'd cut the middle riffing part, the chord progression is really meh.

[OnTheBacksofAngela]

Day 6, November 9, In the Name of God

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Here it is! The magnus opus on ToT! Top 10, love it to death! Love the eerie mood it gives and the part where it especially where everybody fades except for bass and keyboard. Though, I think the solo is overly long. I mean was the Rudess solo really necessary?  Would've been better if they cut to the Petrucci solo ending as Rudess came in. Though, I love the whole song.

[pcs90]

Great song, great lyrics, and some of James's best vocals on the album along with ES. Really my only complaint is the instrumental is, like most of the others on this album, just lots of fast notes. I cut about half of it out and now it's perfect.

[jakepriest]

My no. 1 DT song. It has the best DT chorus, a great main riff, the best instrumental and by far the best outro. What's not to like here?

[MirrorMask]

In the Name of God is a monstrous piece, a wonderful song for which I can barely find any flaws. It's long, yes, but doesn't feel stretched out for the sake of being long, the lyrics are very good and raise a strong point, and the song has many great moments. Intro is good, chorus is bombastic, the fast part after it gives a welcomed dose of adrenaline, and then the second chorus is followed by that majestic "Blurring the lines between virtues and sin" part. The section after that (with the infamous Morse code dehe) has a nice build up that leads to the total neck-breaker of the "Justifying violence". The solo indeed is a bit long, not a fan of that section towards the end where JP shoots out again a thousand notes while making it sound like a bumblebee flying (for lack of a better comparison)... and then comes the wonderful ending, I'll always have memories of all hands moving left and right led by Portnoy's stick during the final oh oh oh part.

Gorgeous epic and one of their best ones!

[RoadTrain_of Thought]

One of their best songs in my opinion. A perfect ending to the album.

[MHStrawn]

Train of Thought does not rank very high for me overall and ITNOG is a primary reason why. 

The body of the song drones with nothing standing out, it goes on way, way to long and the guitar / keyboard masturbationfest at the end is DT wankery at its worst.  Other than that it's a perfectly good song!

Actually, it's not as bad as I make it sound, it's just not very good IMO.  I have it ranked as 3-stars (out of 5) but it's probably more like a 2.5. 

[jakepriest]

the guitar / keyboard masturbationfest at the end is DT wankery at its worst

 

[pcs90]

The guitar / keyboard masturbationfest at the end is DT wankery at its worst.

Totally agree! But I think the rest of the song is great.

[OnTheBacksofAngela]

November 13, A Nightmare to Remeber

Sorry for the really short hiatus.
Had a huge problem, but I think it's all fine now.
Now, I love the song except the fact that it's 16 minutes long. Now, I love long songs, but I feel it drags on for too long. An example of Rudess'..... what's the word? Anyways, it makes me cringe when he just starts playing some random stuff that has nothing to do with the whole song. I mean, the atmosphere is supposed to be dark and mysterious but Rudess just ruins it.

[DragonAttack]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=34237.0

A good place to add to and compare notes.

[ADramaticTurnofChaos]

A Nightmare to Remember:

Awesome song. Crunchy riff and really beautiful when it hits the "hopelessly drifting" part. Would've benefited from Mikael Akerfeldt's death growls in the "day after day" section instead of tough guy vocals.

That damn siren sound effect throws me off every time I'm driving.

[pcs90]

The middle section is beautiful. Easily the best part of the song for me, no question.
The worst part for me, no doubt, is Portnoy's vocal section. Basically, if he adds these vocals to any song, the spots where he adds them will bring the song way down in my book.
As far as Rudess, BCSL really doesn't have any good JR solos except the first half of the AROP one...the rest is just not well structured at all. He has a ton of awesome parts (especially on TCOT) but his solos didn't seem very inspired here.

[MirrorMask]

Good song overall; nice atmospheric intro, love the way it kicks in, lyrics are somehow descriptive and bland but they get the idea, and I totally love the Beautiful Agony section. I can even survive with the infamous Day after Day part, it's not THAT horrible, but I agree the lyrics are totally misplaced ("Everyone survived, arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!") and that it's somehow out of place with DT's style.

Some good trimming of 3-4 minutes and a bit more attention to the lyrics could have made this song even greater - oh, and if they wanted to go all the way with the harsh vocals (I remember MP's post explaining the arguments about what to do with it) they should have brought someone like Mike Akerfeldt to do it, at least it would have been a nice guest spot by someone known for that kind of style.