Top three Astonishing songs

[Mladen]

I took a day or two to figure this out, but here it is:

3. A Tempting offer

One of the hidden gems on the album. This is the song that breaks the romantic, warm feel established during the previous several songs. It's one of the evil sounding tunes, and the dramatic intro and sound effects help the matter quite a bit. From the moment vocals kick in after Jordan's solo, it's pure perfection. LaBrie's vocals are top notch, the way they switch from gorgeous vocal harmonies to distorted evil sounding singing is remarkable, and the way the melody develops leaves me in awe. The very last line sends shivers down my spine, and so does the string outro.

2. The Path that divides

What an amazing song. This is probably the wildest, heaviest and most progressive song on the album. It is one of the few that contains a faster section which gets me going every time, especially after that initially calm, atmospheric build up. At first I had trouble with the sound effects during the battle, but I got over them once I realized how crucial they are to preparing you for one of the shortest, yet most effective guitar solos on the album. In five seconds, Petrucci perfectly portrays someones passing. The last verses might be the most touching part of the album, along with Arhys adressing his brother from the other side during the title track. "But there's a cost with every fight, and Arhys' fight for hope cost him his very life." This gets me whenever I hear it.

1. A New beginning

I don't want to overuse the word "masterpiece", but this might be it. From the opening riff, light keyboard touches and the almost immediate vocals, you know you're in for something epic from the get go. The choruses are as catchy as the verses (and I mean all of them), the orchestral breakdown is gorgeous, and who could ever forget the guitar solo at the end. I wouldn't be surprised if it went down in history as one of Petrucci's finest. Not to diminish the rhythm section, Mying and Mangini perform such a tight beat that makes the solo half as amazing as it is. LaBrie shines once again, perfectly separating all three characters which appear during the song - his transition from Faythe to Nafaryus is tremendous. Speaking of transitions, the "father, is it true" bit is so epic. I could go on about this track for a while, but I think I've said enough. Classic Dream Theater.

[namgalsipsclar]

I'd go for:

3. Lord Nefaryus
2. A New Beginning
1. The X Aspect

Honourable mentions for Dystopian Overture, Three Days and Ravenskill

I'm surprised that The X Aspect isn't mentioned more often, I think it's their best song since Octavarium, even if it is quite short

[smegolas]

great contributions guys.  to boil this down to three, you really have to give it some thought and its interesting to see what everyone thinks, especially when they provide the reasoning.  some of the comments have made me go back to listen to certain songs with a fresh ear for things I may have missed.

this album is so fantastic that the only downside I can see is that their next album is almost bound to be a letdown, no matter what it is.  that said, 6doit was a pretty strong follow-up to SFAM. ;-)

[hefdaddy42]

I'm not going "omg Raw Dog is so fucking bad how could DT ever release this".   

Yeah, that's my job.

[KevShmev]

1. Ravenskill
2. A New Beginning
3. Chosen

[Calvin6s]

Needs a poll with 3 choices.

[ToT-147]

1- The Walking Shadow..

2- Three Days..

3- Ravenskill..

[Another_Won]

1- The Walking Shadow..

2- Three Days..

3- Ravenskill..

It's so hard to pick just three, but if I could I think it would look something like this.

[Dublagent66]

The Hovering Sojourn
Digital Discord
Machine Chatter

[Laughingplace56]

This is HARD for this album, considering the sheer volume of great songs spread throughout it. I tried answering this thread, but there's just too many great songs on it. As a whole album, I have my discrepancies, and it's by no means their absolute best, but it's a very unique DT album. Very hard to rank within the album, and with the other albums. I am very happy they made it.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

3. A Tempting offer

One of the hidden gems on the album. This is the song that breaks the romantic, warm feel established during the previous several songs. It's one of the evil sounding tunes, and the dramatic intro and sound effects help the matter quite a bit. From the moment vocals kick in after Jordan's solo, it's pure perfection. LaBrie's vocals are top notch, the way they switch from gorgeous vocal harmonies to distorted evil sounding singing is remarkable, and the way the melody develops leaves me in awe. The very last line sends shivers down my spine, and so does the string outro.

Couldn't agree more. I feel A Tempting Offer doesn't get the love it deserves.

[Enigmachine]

3. A Tempting offer

One of the hidden gems on the album. This is the song that breaks the romantic, warm feel established during the previous several songs. It's one of the evil sounding tunes, and the dramatic intro and sound effects help the matter quite a bit. From the moment vocals kick in after Jordan's solo, it's pure perfection. LaBrie's vocals are top notch, the way they switch from gorgeous vocal harmonies to distorted evil sounding singing is remarkable, and the way the melody develops leaves me in awe. The very last line sends shivers down my spine, and so does the string outro.

Couldn't agree more. I feel A Tempting Offer doesn't get the love it deserves.

I also love ATO, great turning point in the story complemented with some really dynamic and dramatic music.

[hefdaddy42]

The more I listen, the more I friggin' LOVE The Walking Shadow.  That song rocks my face.

[cramx3]

Chosen
A New Beginning
Gift of Music

but really depends on how I'm feeling since there are a few others that could get up there

When Your Time Has Come
Act of Faythe
The Path That Divides
Moment of Betrayal
A Life left Behind
Ravenskill
Heavens Cove

... soo good

[ToT-147]

The more I listen, the more I friggin' LOVE The Walking Shadow.  That song rocks my face.

This..

[Mladen]

I think The Walking shadow is the song that the fans are most divided about. I personally think it's great. Not perfect, not one of my absolute favorites, but still a nightmarish, chaotic little rocker. Most of it is really insane.

[PetFish]

1) Our New World
2) Our New World
3) Our New World

If ever there was truly a "chocolate cake" song this is it.  It's hard to believe that such a rich and vibrant sound is coming from one guitar.  The tone, the feel, the energy, and joy is purely astonishing.  This is perhaps my all-time favourite song by any band ever.  If you're ever looking for happy feels this is the one for you.

[erwinrafael]

1) Our New World
2) Our New World
3) Our New World

If ever there was truly a "chocolate cake" song this is it.  It's hard to believe that such a rich and vibrant sound is coming from one guitar.  The tone, the feel, the energy, and joy is purely astonishing.  This is perhaps my all-time favourite song by any band ever.  If you're ever looking for happy feels this is the one for you.

Exactly. It's just so TRIUMPHANT.

[Train of Naught]

I find it hard to rank them but these are my favorite 3 songs:

- The X Aspect
- Ravenskill
- Three Days

All a pretty big step up from the other songs. It's been quite a long time since I listened to this album so maybe I should again, I actually really liked it.

[Enigmachine]

Kind of hard but at the moment, A Better Life, Moment of Betreyal and The Path That Divides. Arhys is such a great character and pretty much any song involving him is really dramatic, dynamic and emotionally heavy.

1) Our New World
2) Our New World
3) Our New World

If ever there was truly a "chocolate cake" song this is it.  It's hard to believe that such a rich and vibrant sound is coming from one guitar.  The tone, the feel, the energy, and joy is purely astonishing.  This is perhaps my all-time favourite song by any band ever.  If you're ever looking for happy feels this is the one for you.

What's your opinion on the album as a whole?

[hefdaddy42]

1) Our New World
2) Our New World
3) Our New World

If ever there was truly a "chocolate cake" song this is it.  It's hard to believe that such a rich and vibrant sound is coming from one guitar.  The tone, the feel, the energy, and joy is purely astonishing.  This is perhaps my all-time favourite song by any band ever.  If you're ever looking for happy feels this is the one for you.

What's your opinion on the album as a whole?

Our New World

[pdurbin22]

This is close to impossible since I love every single song except A new beginning and Our new world.

Whoa!!!!  Those might be the best two songs on the album for me and many others. Not calling you wrong by any means - just a very surprising difference of opinion!

[pdurbin22]

This is really hard. However, I'm going to have to go with the three that I tend to gravitate toward the most (in chronological order):

1) A Life Left Behind
2) The Path That Divides
2) Our New World

But there are so, so many other great ones!

[pcs90]

This is really, really, really hard.
So as of right now, my top 3 (not necessarily in order) are:

Dystopian Overture
A Better Life
A New Beginning

[PetFish]

What's your opinion on the album as a whole?

Amazing.  It was a huge undertaking and they absolutely blew it out of the park to give us something that they haven't done yet.  For the listener it's also a LOT to take in but that's part of the attraction.  It's great to be able to keep hearing new things even though you may be on your 100th listen.  There's just so much depth and so many layers.

I'm still trying to understand the nuances of the story and the characters.  I'd love a novelization at some point and the game coming out soon might help also.

The recurring musical themes are the sonic glue that hold everything together and are fun to pick out.

Dream Theater amazes me with every new release, and this is no exception, they wanted to do something different and they crushed it.

[Enigmachine]

What's your opinion on the album as a whole?

Amazing.  It was a huge undertaking and they absolutely blew it out of the park to give us something that they haven't done yet.  For the listener it's also a LOT to take in but that's part of the attraction.  It's great to be able to keep hearing new things even though you may be on your 100th listen.  There's just so much depth and so many layers.

I'm still trying to understand the nuances of the story and the characters.  I'd love a novelization at some point and the game coming out soon might help also.

The recurring musical themes are the sonic glue that hold everything together and are fun to pick out.

Dream Theater amazes me with every new release, and this is no exception, they wanted to do something different and they crushed it.

Nice, I agree.