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

[Mechanix1911]

1. Through My Words

2. Light Fuse and Get Away

3. You Not Me

4. Vakant

5. Under A Grass Moon

6. Burnin ma CD's

7. The Dark Eternal Night

8. Schmedley Wilcox

9. Withur

10. The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

 

[Seventh Son]

... I don't get it. 

[skydivingninja]

Thats funny

[PlaysLikeMyung]

Another top 3 finish for Octavarium? Damn. At least SDV made the top 5.

I think I'm one of the few who would place it that high. It is truly an amazing song

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

... I don't get it. 

I think that's the beauty of it.

[orcus116]

Another top 3 finish for Octavarium? Damn. At least SDV made the top 5.

I think I'm one of the few who would place it that high. It is truly an amazing song

It seems to be in close contention with "A Change Of Seasons" in the epic polls. It's very fun to listen to and definitely one of the highlights of recent DT but after listening to it again last night I can't help but wonder why so many consider it their best epic. Parts like Full Circle and Intervals are really creative and I love seeing that side of the band but the buildup to those parts are somewhat slow. I mean nothing really happens for the first 8 minutes. Conversely there are probably a greater number of interesting ideas, sections and riffs in the first 8 minutes of "A Change Of Seasons" than in the entirely of "Octavarium". The layering is denser, more complex, and meaningful. Meaningful as in in comparison much of the first half of "Octavarium" seems long just for the sake of taking up space before getting to the meat around 14 minutes or so and what is there seems so thinly layered that after a half dozen or so listens what you see is what you get. There is so much going on in "A Change Of Seasons" that I can pick out new things on each listen just because of how intricately woven and tightly written the parts are and, to me at least, that's way more interesting than listening to the simple guitar on top of simple piano on top of simple bass in something like "Medicate Me". This might have something to do with "Seasons" being the result of 4 to 5 years of passionate retooling and brainstorming whereas "Octavarium" likely resulted in a "Let's make a new epic" decision.

[Mechanix1911]

I'll make a real Top 15 now.

16. A New Millenium
15. The Count of Tuscany
14. A New Millenium
13. Surrounded
12. The Mirror
11. Blind Faith
10. Under a Glass Moon
9. Scarred
8. Octavarium nuggetz
7. Caught in a Web
6. The Glass Prison
5. Voices
4. Trial of Tears
3. Take the Time
2. Metropolis
1. A Change of Seaons

[PlaysLikeMyung]

@orcus: i was referring to space dye vest

[orcus116]

lol

[Seventh Son]

@orcus: i was referring to space dye vest

SDV needs more love on this forum imo

[moffatt]

46. Lie
Pretty overall a fun song to listen to. Cool catchy main riff, groovy keys. And of course the great sing a long chorus. Having see them do it live makes it even better for me. John's solo's is really good too. The Mirror reprise part is epic.

45. Innocence Faded
Another off awake. The intro is amazing. Awesome guitar work in it. I love the lyrics on this one. The part after the second chorus doesn't seem to fit the song that well, but the outro definitely makes up for it. And woah, what an outro. Its just really epic, one of DT's best outros.

44. Prophets of War
Yer its in my top 50, live with it . Yes it's a very different DT song, but I think they pulled it off really well. The lyrics may not be the best they have produced, but there not bad enough to make the song bad for me. I also actually like MP's rap part, which most of you probably think is terrible I think the song is definitely better live as well.

43. Wither
The best part about this song is that I am featured in the music video But seriously it's a really good ballad, great lyrics too. It's a nice break from the heaviness of the past 2 songs on BC&SL too. Another great solo by JP here too. The piano version is awesome and recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard it. (Although the JP vocal version isn't very awesome  )

[Seventh Son]

Not bad, except for #44. But I'm one of the SC haters, so go figure 

[moffatt]

<---- SC lover so expect more 

[hefdaddy42]

Another shitpile at 44.  Everything else is nice, though.

SeventhSon, if you want next, call it.

[Seventh Son]

Another shitpile at 44.  Everything else is nice, though.

SeventhSon, if you want next, call it.

Still doing writeups. If I have enough done by the time he's finished I might, but I wouldn't be upset if someone got in before me. I want to do a bit more than just 2-3 lines on each song, so these will take me longer than you guys

[orcus116]

Wither's about on par with The Answer Lies Within as far as I'm concerned though I'd give it a nod because of the guitar solo, which I thought TALW needed. Both fairly forgettable, thought. Good to see some Awake tracks on there!

[hefdaddy42]

Another shitpile at 44.  Everything else is nice, though.

SeventhSon, if you want next, call it.

Still doing writeups. If I have enough done by the time he's finished I might, but I wouldn't be upset if someone got in before me. I want to do a bit more than just 2-3 lines on each song, so these will take me longer than you guys

OK, no worries.

Would anyone else like to put their name in the hat to go next?

[Mladen]

<---- SC lover so expect more 

Good to hear this.    Thumbs up for Wither and Innocence faded as well.

[Jarlaxle]

I would like to make a top 50, as I stated somewhere a number of pages ago (I can't remember how many and cannot look on my mobile browser.) Somebody, I think Pirate, took the liberty to post the next 3 or 4 people in line.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm not looking through 25 pages, so you're next.

[Jarlaxle]

OK I better get working then 

[Jarlaxle]

I just finished putting my list together, and I think it will be quite controversial/argumentative on here. I'm excited to share it

[hefdaddy42]

OK.  As soon as moffatt is done, have at it.

[Marvellous G]

Another top 3 finish for Octavarium? Damn. At least SDV made the top 5.

I think I'm one of the few who would place it that high. It is truly an amazing song

It seems to be in close contention with "A Change Of Seasons" in the epic polls. It's very fun to listen to and definitely one of the highlights of recent DT but after listening to it again last night I can't help but wonder why so many consider it their best epic. Parts like Full Circle and Intervals are really creative and I love seeing that side of the band but the buildup to those parts are somewhat slow. I mean nothing really happens for the first 8 minutes. Conversely there are probably a greater number of interesting ideas, sections and riffs in the first 8 minutes of "A Change Of Seasons" than in the entirely of "Octavarium". The layering is denser, more complex, and meaningful. Meaningful as in in comparison much of the first half of "Octavarium" seems long just for the sake of taking up space before getting to the meat around 14 minutes or so and what is there seems so thinly layered that after a half dozen or so listens what you see is what you get. There is so much going on in "A Change Of Seasons" that I can pick out new things on each listen just because of how intricately woven and tightly written the parts are and, to me at least, that's way more interesting than listening to the simple guitar on top of simple piano on top of simple bass in something like "Medicate Me". This might have something to do with "Seasons" being the result of 4 to 5 years of passionate retooling and brainstorming whereas "Octavarium" likely resulted in a "Let's make a new epic" decision.

I actually respectfully disagree with basically all of that.

The first 8 minutes contain some of my favourite sections of any DT song. Admittedly the first 3 could be removed (although I personally enjoy the atmosphere and state of mind they set up for me now, which is kind of a must for undertaking a 'proper' listen of any epic) but Someone Like Him and Medicate are both fantastic, easily my favourite 'soft' things DT have ever done. Someone Like Him has some amazing guitar work, and manages to capture a kind of eeriness that I can't really describe, but get a vibe of throughout the whole song. It also has some of my favourite vocals from JLB. Medicate is wonderful as well, and when the whole band join Myung and Portnoy (still sad to type that) it's one of the most perfect moments in DT's catalogue. I completely disagree with the thinly layered complaint, to be honest that was one of my chief problems with ACOS, I genuinely can't hear anything new whatsoever in it now, but I still occasionally hear a nice bit of bass, or a nugget, or just a second guitar/keyboard part that I hadn't heard before. I think the 'for the sake of it' argument might actually have some weight in terms of the band's mindset, but I wouldn't have thought that at all if I'd been given it and ACOS side by side without knowing the state of the band at the time for each. The first half to me feels perfectly paced to keep the song growing, growing and growing until it all comes together. The only complaint I have with 8VM is that some of the instrumental section just doesn't fit, but I have more complaints with ACOS I won't go into here that are far less important to me than that.

TL;DR: 8VM ftw

[BRGM]

<---- SC lover so expect more 

[robwebster]

Someone Like Him has some amazing guitar work, and manages to capture a kind of eeriness that I can't really describe, but get a vibe of throughout the whole song.

Octavarium is VERY eerie. Ghostly, almost. I'd call Octavarium ghostly. Happily. Actually, the entire album gets quite eerie towards the end. From Never Enough onwards, it's ghosts all the way down.

By that token, actually, I'd say that Octavarium is more unique than ACoS. I can't think of another DT song that's even in the same ballpark as Someone Like Him. ACoS is more densely packed with ideas, but Octavarium gives the ideas a lot of space to breathe. I really like that. I don't think that four minute intro would be the same cut down to 2 minutes, and there aren't many other bands who would write something like that. Not many other bands who'd write anything like A Change of Seasons, either, but ACoS sounds like a sum total of their career. Octavarium is something new. Ethereal. I like that.

Oooh, you've made me want to listen to Octavarium, now. Brilliant album. Superb. Get it all dribbling down my ears.

[BRGM]

Best album ever!

[Marvellous G]

Someone Like Him has some amazing guitar work, and manages to capture a kind of eeriness that I can't really describe, but get a vibe of throughout the whole song.

Octavarium is VERY eerie. Ghostly, almost. I'd call Octavarium ghostly. Happily. Actually, the entire album gets quite eerie towards the end. From Never Enough onwards, it's ghosts all the way down.

By that token, actually, I'd say that Octavarium is more unique than ACoS. I can't think of another DT song that's even in the same ballpark as Someone Like Him. ACoS is more densely packed with ideas, but Octavarium gives the ideas a lot of space to breathe. I really like that. I don't think that four minute intro would be the same cut down to 2 minutes, and there aren't many other bands who would write something like that. Not many other bands who'd write anything like A Change of Seasons, either, but ACoS sounds like a sum total of their career. Octavarium is something new. Ethereal. I like that.

Oooh, you've made me want to listen to Octavarium, now. Brilliant album. Superb. Get it all dribbling down my ears.

Yeah I definitely get that slightly creepy feel throughout the whole album, I'm not sure if it's to do with the nuggets or what but it's just a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere in a way that I can't really describe. But I love that!

[Seventh Son]

I can't think of another DT song that's even in the same ballpark as Someone Like Him.

Space-Dye Vest.  

[orcus116]

I must say I've listened to Octavarium a bunch of times and I would never use the words "eerie" or "uncomfortable" to describe any of it. You wanna know what is though? That god damn loud inhale of the left channel near the very end of "Misunderstood".

[moffatt]

Sorry I couldn't update the list today, been at ozzfest all day. Will do it early in the morning though.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

<---- SC lover so expect more 

Good! I am also an SC lover.

[Seventh Son]

<---- SC lover so expect more 

Good! I am also an SC lover.

I suppose I'm the lone SC hater in this thread. Half of Systematic Chaos would be in my bottom 10 DT songs. ITPOE Pt. 1/Repentance/The Ministry of Lost Souls are exempt though. Still, its a very  release for Dream Theater to me.

[?]

I suppose I'm the lone SC hater in this thread. Half of Systematic Chaos would be in my bottom 10 DT songs. ITPOE Pt. 1/Repentance/The Ministry of Lost Souls are exempt though. Still, its a very  release for Dream Theater to me.

Systematic Chaos is my least favorite album but I don't really hate it. I just think the songs are quite bland and not very well constructed.