Sacrificed Sons Appreciation Thread

[krands85]

My second favorite track on Octavarium. Awesome instrumental section and the song ends amazingly

This exactly 

[Yoshi Yogurt]

Sorry, but this is the weakest song on Octavarium for me. Don't really like anything about it at all.

[ArchVile]

amish steak
will mankind be a steak

[energythief]

Sorry, but this is the weakest song on Octavarium for me. Don't really like anything about it at all.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, it's that time of year again, so I thought I'd revive this thread and say that Sacrificed Sons is musically one of the best DT songs ever. The subject matter makes me listen to it fairly less often than other DT songs, but when it's time, it's time, and today, I performed it at Karaoke and it felt very satisfying.

Great song.

[adamack]

It took me a minute to develop the audacity to say this, but screw it. One of my favorite DT songs of all time.

Also, bold statement of the week: This is, IMO, the most badass riff from any band, at any point, in the history of music:

https://youtu.be/3nBpLzNwkZw?t=7m18s

I can listen to this riff a hundred thousand times, and get an adrenaline rush one hundred thousand times.

And this is one of the most epic, hair raising sections of music ever composed:

https://youtu.be/3nBpLzNwkZw?t=6m24s

Okay, so the beginning of the song verges on cheesy in a few parts, but I don't even care anymore.

Top 5 DT instrumental sections ever. I always respect another one's opinion, but it's just so hard for my brain to comprehend how someone could not like this amazing, orchestral instrumental section. 

[Bolsters]

I really like this song, quite a lot. The beginning plods along a little bit yes, but it quickly redeems itself, and in a big way. Awesome riffs, Great leads and soaring melodies, epic strings, balls-to-the-wall heavy in parts...it's got everything. It's another in a long, long list of criminally underappreciated songs.

[jingle.boy]

This song is one of the reasons 8vm is my 2nd fave DT album.  I love it.  Start to finish.  Love the instrumental section.  Score version is bone chilling.

[theseoafs]

*snip*

You can include timestamps but I'd take out those links if I were you

[wolven74]

The news clips sampled in the beginning always send chills down my spine. I remember seeing those news stories when I woke up that day.

[aprilethereal]

Lovely song. JP's guitar playing is really outstanding, being more laid back in the beginning, but starting with the instrumental section, there are loads of fantastic riffs in the song. And of course the unusual, but great guitar solo

[gentaishinigami]

I looooooooove the section at about 7:50 (teach them what to think and feel..).  It's so heavy (so powah so energy!) and eerie sounding. 

Great song and one of my favorites.  Was so surprised when they played it on PN09 in ATL; was really shocked when they played One Last Time though!

[RMGadelha]

I've got to say, even though the events at NYC didn't affect me directly, when they played that song here in Rio de Janeiro in the BC&SL tour, when james sang "heads are turning towards the sky" and they showed on the big screen people with scared faces with what was going on, I got a tear in my eye. Love the song.

[Systematik88]

This is actually my all time favorite DT song.  9/11 always hits home to me and the lyrics are so strong in my opinion.  The instrumental is just perfect and the solos seem to go along with the feeling of the song.

[nicbor87]

I hate it when DT gets political, but SS is an exception. I really like it.

[AVFTTOTW]

Does anyone else see the main bit in this song in relation to "I Want You (She's So Heavy" by The Beatles? (the song which they coincidentally used to model the abrupt ending of Pull Me Under from).

I don't know if this has ever been pointed out or not..

(I also see some influence of "I Want You" in ITPOE pt 2, except the time signature being in 4/4 instead of 6/8)

[geeeemo]

I hate it when DT gets political, but SS is an exception. I really like it.

I like it. It never feels preachy or one-sided. Those topics are always interesting to me.

[Trav]

Since we're resurrecting song threads. I listened to this one today for the first time in a while. I actually listened to it twice because I guess I forgot how good it was. It doesn't seem to get mentioned much. I remember when it came out people were talking like it was In the Name of God, Pt. 2. Anyway, I think I like it more now than I did back in the day. Thoughts?

[CraftyCaleb2483]

Amazing, I love the riffs in the instrumental section, and the bass tone just before the guitar kicks off in it is incredible. Oh and the melody with the orchestra after the guitar solo is one of their best

[hunnus2000]

Amazing, I love the riffs in the instrumental section, and the bass tone just before the guitar kicks off in it is incredible. Oh and the melody with the orchestra after the guitar solo is one of their best

Completely agree!

[Stadler]

Great tune; I had it at #21.

[nobloodyname]

The chorus always sounds like it could have come from a song by The Carpenters to me. But I do think it's a really good tune.

[gborland]

ITNOG and SS are both interchangeable for me. They both seem to be about the same subject (religious fundamentalism). It's like they tried to write the same song twice, and neither attempt was particularly good.

[pg1067]

Great tune; I had it at #21.

#19 for me.

In the song countdowns, it landed at #53 in 2021-22 and #63 in 2024.  It seems that a common complaint of those who don't like it is the "random solo section that completely changes the mood of the song."  I find that to be a very odd criticism for fans of a prog metal band.  I'm of the opinion that the chaos of the instrumental section, juxtaposed with the somber tone of the rest of the song, really embodies the subject matter.

I remember when it came out people were talking like it was In the Name of God, Pt. 2.

It kinda was.  I felt that way at the time, but the song is so strong nonetheless.

[Ben_Jamin]

ITNOG and SS are both interchangeable for me. They both seem to be about the same subject (religious fundamentalism). It's like they tried to write the same song twice, and neither attempt was particularly good.

In a broad sense, yes.

ITNOG is more about a cult leader that uses religion to manipulate their followers. Like, the Heavens Gate cult.

SS was made in the aftermath of 9/11. It deals with how a person can be so devout to their religion and culture to the point they are willing to sacrifice their life for it.

I enjoy both songs.

Sacrificed Sons portrays that emotion felt when those planes hit the towers. I like how they decided to use the TV broadcasts with the static, while also including some middle eastern dialect. When it all stops in silence before the band starts, I picture someone turning off the TV, sitting down and contemplating. The music represents the emotions running through that person's mind. There's sadness, anger, and uncertainty.

Personally, I do not feel the instrumental section ruins the mood of the song. That section is where the emotions of uncertainty and anger are represented.

[pg1067]

In a broad sense, yes.

ITNOG is more about a cult leader that uses religion to manipulate their followers. Like, the Heavens Gate cult.

SS was made in the aftermath of 9/11. It deals with how a person can be so devout to their religion and culture to the point they are willing to sacrifice their life for it.

ITNOG was made in the aftermath of 9/11.  Recording for SDOIT wrapped less than a month before 9/11, and the album was released in January 2002.  TOT was the first album recorded after 9/11 (recorded between March and September 2003).  8VM and SS weren't written until more than three years after 9/11.  ITNOG is a bit more generic, whereas SS is expressly focused on 9/11.

[Ben_Jamin]

ITNOG was made in the aftermath of 9/11.  Recording for SDOIT wrapped less than a month before 9/11, and the album was released in January 2002.  TOT was the first album recorded after 9/11 (recorded between March and September 2003).  8VM and SS weren't written until more than three years after 9/11.  ITNOG is a bit more generic, whereas SS is expressly focused on 9/11.

The bolded is what I meant with "made in the aftermath". I also think the aftermath of 9/11 was felt for quite a long time. 3 years isn't that long.

[KevShmev]

Even when I was super high on Octavarium when it was first out*, I always thought Sacrificed Sons was nothing more than a good song that kind of gets lost in the sea of so many other good DT songs, but I gave the record a few fresh spins a few months ago and was surprised at how much I enjoyed Sacrificed Sons; it seems to be aging very well for me.

*I still like Octavarium as a whole, but not as much as I did at first.  It's a lower tier DT record for me.

[Cool Chris]

Not the only time I could say this about a DT song.... the intro is too damn long!

[DT05]

I never liked this song more than when I first heard it, those first few times it was chilling, and then... I don't know, I loved it in 2006, I had grown off it by 2007, and every revisit since I think, "Maybe it'll be like the first time." The B-side of Octavarium is very odd in this way outside of the title track, if this was track 5 it might actually be a better sequence for the record, though I'd also swap Panic Attack and Never Enough.