Quick boring poll...

[LKap13]

I did a day-long study of these latest two DT albums and have concluded that SC is a better album. The conclusion was a shock to me too...

[TAC]

They're a lot closer than people realize.

[Aniland]

Systematic Chaos is wonderful, where Black Clouds is their 2nd worst (worst of the LaBrie-DT albums)

[j]

SC is dead last.

BC&SL is 4th worst.

SC wins.  Loses.  Whatever.

-J

[blackngold29]

BCSL gets my vote. Not that SC is bad or BCSL is fantastic, but BCSL is better.

[zxlkho]

BC&SL is actually very good.

SC is just bad...

[King Postwhore]

Black Clouds & Silver Linings

[Rafael Guerra]

I like both, but prefer BC&SL by a landslide.

[sfam2112]

Both are pretty good, but I think 'Black Clouds' is better.

[Super Dude]

They both suck.  Except for TCOT.

[ScioPath]

They both suck.  Except for some of TCOT.

[TL]

SC isn't bad, but I definitely prefer BC&SL.

[orcus116]

Black Clouds but not by much.

[ZBomber]

Black Clouds because of TCOT and sections of ANTR. The rest is about the same as SC to me.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

BC&SL is actually very good.

SC is just bad...

It's weird to me how anyone can say there is a big gap between the two. I just don't see it.

[orcus116]

People tend to exaggerate the mild step forward the band made with Black Clouds.

[AcidLameLTE]

BC&SL has more than 0 tracks that I want to listen to on it so it gets my vote.

[Metropolis Pt. II]

For me, it's not even close.
BC&SL is so much better IMO.
SC is bleh with a few moments of cool.

[Rina]

They're pretty similar to me, I wouldn't be able to say there's a big dif to me.

[The Letter M]

Went with BC&SL. Here's how I see it...

"A Nightmare To Remember" - "The Dark Eternal Night"
"A Rite Of Passage" - "Constant Motion"
"Wither" - "Forsaken"
"The Shattered Fortress" - "Repentance"
"The Best Of Times" - "The Ministry Of Lost Souls" <--- TIE (Yeah I know, but I really like TMOLS)
"The Count Of Tuscany" - "In The Presence Of Enemies"

So barring the tie, BC&SL edges out... but you're probably wondering where "Prophets Of War" went? Eh... it doesn't really stand up to anything on BC&SL, except maybe AROP, but CM is it's contender. POW is okay, but it wouldn't really sway my decision toward SC over BC&SL anyway.

I think if you took the best songs from both albums, you could make a pretty sweet album.
1. "In The Presence Of Enemies (Part 1)"
2. "A Nightmare To Remember"
3. "The Ministry Of Lost Souls"
4. "The Count Of Tuscany"
5. "In The Presence Of Enemies (Part 2)"

-Marc.

[Jamesman42]

Well, I was going to say BC&SL is far above SC, but now I have to be careful, I think I see TOX and Orcus in the bushes, waiting to pounce.

[glaurung]

This is probably one of the easiest polls I've ever voted in.

[Adami]

Outside of Repentence I have 0 desire to ever  listen a single song off of SC. But I once in a while like to listen to a few songs off BCSL.


Systematic Chaos is probably my least favorite DT album ever. Followed closely by Train of Thought.

[yeshaberto]

black clouds by a mile

[Jamesman42]

SC has some good stuff to it (ITPOE pt. 1, CM, TDEN, Repentance). But even then, the quality of the good stuff isn't up to their other albums.

BC&SL has ANTR, of which is mostly good, AROP (decent song), Wither (awesome song, do moar please), TSF ( ), TBOT (good song musically, and dat solo), and TCOT (DT can still write a progtastic "epic" masterpiece).

[Adami]

SC has some good stuff to it (ITPOE pt. 1, CM, TDEN, Repentance). But even then, the quality of the good stuff isn't up to their other albums.

BC&SL has ANTR, of which is mostly good, AROP (decent song), Wither (awesome song, do moar please), TSF ( ), TBOT (good song musically, and dat solo), and TCOT (DT can still write a progtastic "epic" masterpiece).

Hey I just realized, the thread title is what I call your penis.

[Perpetual Change]

When Black Clouds first came out, I'd have said Black Clouds.

Now that both albums are out and have been digested, I'm giving the edge to Systematic Chaos. While both are good, Systematic Chaos is much better than people give it  credit for, and Black Clouds isn't nearly as good as people give it credit for. Systematic Chaos, in retrospect, is a very "fresh" album compared to Train of Thought and Octavarium. There's a lot of new ideas floating around, and while not all of 'em work, it's still a fun cartoonish record. The guys were letting off steam with a silly record rather than some grand conceptual thing and festival tour rather than an anniversary evening with. It was a nice break for them which they deserved, and while some diehards were let down at first I still think it was a nice change of pace.

Black Clouds is a bit too sterile to rank it any higher than mid-tier DT. A step back from Systematic Chaos, I think, and more DT "paint by numbers" than anything. By the way-- say what you want about SC, but it wasn't DT by the numbers at all. If you step back and look at DT's discography as a whole from WDADU-SC, you can see how every album is different and has it's own special features. Black Clouds is the first DT album to not really feature anything "out of the box" elements for the band.

[The Letter M]

SC has some good stuff to it (ITPOE pt. 1, CM, TDEN, Repentance). But even then, the quality of the good stuff isn't up to their other albums.

BC&SL has ANTR, of which is mostly good, AROP (decent song), Wither (awesome song, do moar please), TSF ( ), TBOT (good song musically, and dat solo), and TCOT (DT can still write a progtastic "epic" masterpiece).

Hey I just realized, the thread title is what I call your penis.

His penis may be quick, but at least it gets to bore into things.

-Marc.

[Jamesman42]

And at least I can keep it up for 2 albums' worth of material.

[Adami]

And at least I can keep it up for 2 albums' worth of material.

I have no desire to hear about what you do with Als bum. He's a dirty old man, so be careful what you put up there.

[Jamesman42]

[LKap13]

When Black Clouds first came out, I'd have said Black Clouds.

Now that both albums are out and have been digested, I'm giving the edge to Systematic Chaos. While both are good, Systematic Chaos is much better than people give it  credit for, and Black Clouds isn't nearly as good as people give it credit for. Systematic Chaos, in retrospect, is a very "fresh" album compared to Train of Thought and Octavarium. There's a lot of new ideas floating around, and while not all of 'em work, it's still a fun cartoonish record. The guys were letting off steam with a silly record rather than some grand conceptual thing and festival tour rather than an anniversary evening with. It was a nice break for them which they deserved, and while some diehards were let down at first I still think it was a nice change of pace.

Black Clouds is a bit too sterile to rank it any higher than mid-tier DT. A step back from Systematic Chaos, I think, and more DT "paint by numbers" than anything. By the way-- say what you want about SC, but it wasn't DT by the numbers at all. If you step back and look at DT's discography as a whole from WDADU-SC, you can see how every album is different and has it's own special features. Black Clouds is the first DT album to not really feature anything "out of the box" elements for the band.

I completely agree with all this. Instrumental passages of TDEN, TMoLS, INTPOE pt2 are unlike any the band has done before. On the other hand, BC&SL instrumental passages are rather stale.
Also, a major point of contention: The Count of Tuscany is extremely overrated in my opinion. It's their most disappointing final product; that is, when I heard the first three minutes of it, I was like "Holy shit, this is going to be better than Images". To my major chagrin, as soon as the power chords started and the song moved towards the verses, all that ripe potential was essentially torn away. After the masterful intro, TCOT becomes extremely stagnant, boring and altogether too straightforward to be called a "prog epic".  I often wish the band could go back and take the song in a completely different direction after the intro. Thoughts?

[Jamesman42]

Just because they're not DT by numbers doesn't make it good. TMOLS, Forsaken, PoW, and ITPOE pt 2 are really weak songs.

[Infinite Cactus]

I'm going to say Black Clouds and Silver Linings. I just feel like the stronger songs are stronger. I'd rank BCSL in the top 5 albums. I'd rank SC in the bottom 3. Either way I like them both so it doesn't really matter a whole lot.

[pogoowner]

They're both pretty much at the bottom of my DT rankings. I'll give Systematic Chaos the slight edge.