Official DT Top 50 Thread (Riceball Up Now - starting Page 66)

[jsem]

TOT 

I'd probably rank SC lowest too.

[Mladen]

I'm always kinda sad when I see people ranking Systematic chaos that low, I really like it. 

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I'm always kinda sad when I see people ranking Systematic chaos that low, I really like it. 

This.

[jsem]

It's not a bad album. It's just that DT has about 9 albums that are better

[Ħ]

I agree with both these rankings.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Great for Trial of Tears. 

[Jirpo]

It's not a bad album. It's just that DT has about 9 albums that are better

I think this as well haha

[orcus116]

Gonna be down in NYC tomorrow so I'll lay this guy right here for now.


[9] Space-Dye Vest

There aren't enough good things I could say about this song. Yes it really is a Kevin Moore song but I still hold it to be the most emotionally charged and executed song under the Dream Theater name. Every part is so incredibly beautiful and perfectly suited for its intentions. I really do have a problem when people question it lyrically when the band has produced some really atrocious wordplay recently. To say it's "about a guy crying over a girl in a magazine" is very wrong, in my opinion. Sure that was the inspiration for the song but it's a song written about the emotion, not the situation. It speaks more from the heart and that always trumps dreaming up a scenario or lame story and trying to make something emotion out of a stagnant situation. As far as the actual composition goes Rudess has come up with some great piano lines but the opening and main piano lines in this song are by far my favorite in the band's discography.


Bonus: Album Rankings
[9] Black Clouds And Silver Linings

After Systematic Chaos immediately wore out its welcome I was having some doubts about the next release. However when the announcement came I couldn't help but feel some of that excitement again. Just seeing the title, the album cover and track list made me hopeful, along with the promise of more personal lyrics. Well the album came and as you can see from my initial review I was fairly underwhelmed. What the album did well, it did really well. The instrumental opening to "The Count Of Tuscany" is sublime, the middle section of "A Nightmare To Remember" is incredible, and Petrucci's guitar work is downright great all over the album. Plus it was the first Dream Theater album in awhile where I didn't have to play Guess That Band. For all its positives I can't help but feel the personal lyrics didn't deliver, whether it be poor wordplay or just unenthusiastic, cliche phrases. The solos had all the makings of being great but seemed canned. The production had more breathing room but still wasn't great, plus apparently a ton of Rudess parts were buried (I haven't heard the stems to verify). There was just a ton of fat that screamed to be trimmed but without letting the songs age or having someone there to say "No" it ended up smothering a lot of otherwise great bits. This is the only Dream Theater album that doesn't have a single standout track, which is rather sad considering the entire album is packed to the brim. It was a step in the right direction, however, and maybe with Portnoy gone the next album will make a great leap forward.

[Jirpo]

Nice choices! Both of your last choices have been fairly standard, no real surprises
I would probably put BC&SL above Octavarium though.

[jsem]

Me 2. BCSL > 8vm

[Ħ]

I think you are being too harsh on BCSL, but I understand it.  SDV is a great song, too.

[j]

I'd have Trial of Tears higher, but I'd probably rank SDV in about the same place.

I think BC&SL is definitely better than SC and Train of Thought, and possibly Octavarium as well, but I share your relative disappointment with it.

-J

[orcus116]

[8] Hell's Kitchen

Simply put, this is Dream Theater's best instrumental song. I'm pretty sure I feel in love with it the first time I heard it and upon hearing the back story behind extracting this piece of music from a not to great song in "Burning My Soul" I almost appreciated it more. As an introduction piece to "Lines In The Sand" it works very well, despite not sharing any riffs with it. As a standalone piece it's a beautiful piece of music that builds and climaxes as well as any song the band has created and does so in a relatively short timeframe. It has all the characteristics of an epic minus the usual length for such a song so I always point to it whenever someone thinks an epic can only be a long song. I'd really love to see this song live and I'm kind of upset that the band doesn't usually perform it outside of a few excerpts. They're sitting on 5 minutes of gold that needs to shine every once in awhile.


Bonus: Album Rankings
[8] Train Of Thought

This was my first album release with the band so naturally when I first picked it up I was as confused as everyone else with how one-dimensional and heavy it was but I spun it several times to let it sink in. Some parts of the album are great while others falter, a perfect example of both would be "This Dying Soul" whose first half is outstanding while the second half leaves much to be desired after several listens. One thing I have to give the band credit for is having a knack for creating some great closing moments. "In The Name Of God" is easily the gem of this recording session, but I've already touched on that early in the list. For as much as I rag on their inability to write very good metal I must admit I still enjoy "Honor Thy Father" quite a bit. Unfortunately "Endless Sacrifice" wore out its welcome very quick for reasons I honestly don't know and "Vacant" desperately tries to be "Wait For Sleep" and ends up being a very bleh piece of music. Not a really good album and I'd find myself skipping tracks more often than not but it does have its merits.

[toro]

Like I said in My top 50 a couple of pages back:

Hell's Kitchen= O-R-G-A-S-M-I-C

[jsem]

 

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Hurrah! for Hell's Kitchen's spot in your top 10 list, orcus. 

[orcus116]

I thought this would've generated a little more discussion. Maybe I have too much of a vanilla list heh.

[Mladen]

I never really liked Hell's kitchen. Repeated listening over the last couple of years did nothing for me, it's still bland and uninspired to my ears.

[Sam]

Hell's kitchen and SDV  I love them both!

[hefdaddy42]

Hell's Kitchen is a fantastic choice, and I agree with everything you said about it.  Hopefully, now that MP won't be making the setlists anymore, it will appear live once again.

I largely agree with you about Train of Thought, but I differ greatly on the subject of Vacant.  I think it is far and away the best song on the album, and isn't derivative of anything.

[Jirpo]

I thought this would've generated a little more discussion. Maybe I have too much of a vanilla list heh.

This!

We need some controversy!!

[TheOutlawXanadu]

"Vacant" tries to be "Wait for Sleep"? Waaat?

[Ħ]

Hell's Kitchen is a great song but not THAT great...I believe Eve and possibly Erotomania are superior.  And Train of Thought at #8!!!! Whaaaa?

[hefdaddy42]

Hell's Kitchen is a great song but not THAT great...I believe Eve and possibly Erotomania are superior.  And Train of Thought at #8!!!! Whaaaa?

Hell's Kitchen IS that great, although I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for Eve as well.  But that spot definitely makes sense for TOT.

[RuRoRul]

Never got why people consider Train Of Thought to be such a bad album. Easily one of their best imo. Love Hell's Kitchen, though it's definitely not in my top 10.

[Zantera]

Train of Thought would be higher for me probably.
Would be interesting to make a list myself some day, because it would be more controversial then this forum could handle. 

[Ħ]

Train of Thought would be higher for me probably.
Would be interesting to make a list myself some day, because it would be more controversial then this forum could handle. 

That's pretty much what everybody has said so far.

I'm thinking that after we get through the list (if we ever do) that we should have poll for whose was the best.  So far Orcus is up there for me.

[jsem]

We will never get through the list. New ppl will sign up.

[orcus116]

[7] Scarred

This song definitely took some time to get into. I was aware of its existence, I could strangely recall certain sections perfectly in my head but it never quite sunk in. It took one day to sit down and absorb myself in this song to really appreciate how intricate and well composed the whole song is. One of the biggest standouts is how Petrucci is in rare form in terms of bending the line between being stylistically brilliant and technically amazing. The entire atmosphere of the piece meshes with the entire atmosphere of Awake perfectly, making it the best headlining piece for the more mellow "Space-Dye Vest". The lyrics are well crafted and I've heard them described as a bit too wax poetic for its own good, though it works to the song's favor. Jarring transitions are a criticism that I don't understand considering every little section change always works with the tone of the song and I've never once heard the song and went "what the hell was that?". A well crafted piece that speaks true to the Dream Theater of decades past.

Bonus: Album Rankings
[7] Octavarium

The first album I actually got to follow from day one. From the announcements to its release I was eagerly anticipating it unlike any album I had before that. I still remember riding home in my car rocking out to "The Root Of All Evil", becoming disappointed that "The Answer Lies Within" lacked a guitar solo that might've lifted it to the okay but not that good status of "Wither", loving every minute of "These Walls" and so on. Even hearing the title track was something to behold back in 2005. I got a ton of listens out of this album but as the years went on the tracks that stood out kept standing out but overall it kind of fell into this mediocre, neutral stage where the highs were high and the lows were always skippable.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

I'm in the minority, but The Answer Lies Within is perfect as is

[Zantera]

That's pretty much what everybody has said so far.

I'm thinking that after we get through the list (if we ever do) that we should have poll for whose was the best.  So far Orcus is up there for me.

Well, without spoiling too much, just by checking the people who have posted this far, the majority of the top10-songs wouldn't be in my top10, it's a bit funny.
But apparently I'm "Mr.Controversial" around here. 

Scarred is a pretty cool choice, not really surprised to see Octavarium that low either.

[TAC]

Scarred (#3) and Space Dye Vest (#5) are both in my Top 5.

[Ħ]

I love the way they closed Scarred in OIALT.  Very epic.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Scarred is my 3rd favourite DT song. And I love the frequent transitions.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

"Vacant" tries to be "Wait for Sleep"? Waaat?

I also thought about this a bit. Care to develop?