On the Backs of Angels ratings thread

[ubit]

Wow, the 6 through 10 portion of the votes form a pretty damn nice bell curve!  :-)

I voted 9.

[tumbok]

i voted 9 because everything DT fans expected before had been paid off very nicely!

nothing major we can complain about.

this is sure the direction we want DT to be!

[Infinite Cactus]

8.5 or 9. Voted 8 to be conservative about it.

[?]

8. If the rest of the album is as good or even better, this will be their best album since Six Degrees!

[Jalis]

after numerous plays on my stereo... i can only say that I love it... its was worth the wait and they certainly deliever... !


And personally I think its nice that the drums arent in-ur-face-high-as-hell-in-volume

[Xanthul]

6 for me. It was a 4 the first two listens on shitty headphones, then when I got home and listened to it through my stereo (my computer is connected to it) it got somewhat better. It has nice moments but it sounds too samey for me and I forget the vocal melodies as soon as the song ends. I really hope it will eventually click though.

[JaredWard]

I give the song a solid 8 & the mix a solid 4 or 5 lol hate the snare sound as well but nitpicks aside... a great tune overall. LOVE the intro & chorus melody. 

[kala1928]

7

Vocals are meh and the whole song is just too much all over the place. Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

[Bill Carson]

An 8 for me
Having listened to it I thought I'd also take in Rite Of Passage & Constant Motion just to try and compare my feelings on first listen to a new album.
I think ROP & CM hit you harder on there first listen but....they both lack the spirit & soul of DT for me. Feels like its DT trying to be something else.
OBOA sounds like home (not the song) home in terms of where DT should be, progressive with a metallic edge. And No duelling solos (thank god !!!)
Criticisms....hey we're DT fans we have to have some......
Although I thought JR was fantastic, the piano part brought up what I don't like about him. I'd love to tell Jordan, "its okay if you let one chord linger, you don't have to put a fast fill in". Its the calm before the storm (JP's solo) but he manages to turn the calm into a bit of a storm.
Anyhow I can overlook that as his playing overall was exceptional.
The chorus doesn't lift in the way it should, just needs some dynamics adding - probably vocals.
Overall i'm extremely happy and can't wait for the album.
My only hope....that we get to hear some well thought out tight instrumental passages in their songs, NOT solo's - instrumental passages !

[Kosmo]

It just gets better with each listen. It's pretty much better than anything on the last two albums. ''imo''

[yorost]

Vocals are meh and the whole song is just too much all over the place. Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

There's no need be derogatory towards people that like something more than you.

[rumborak]

It's a solid song, but there's almost no hook. I haven't listened to it since yesterday, and I could not hum you a single melody from the song.

rumborak

[Dublagent66]

Only heard it once and that was on youtube.  Not enough information.

[IdoSC]

7

Vocals are meh and the whole song is just too much all over the place. Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Love how you refer to people with different opinions as "real fanboys".

[Zydar]

It's been almost 24 hours now since I first heard it, and I still feel comfortable giving it an 8.

[j]

A 7 means nothing is memorable? Wow, that's quite a flawed rating system.

Lol, that's what I thought when I read that.

I'd probably give it a 7 at this point.  I've only listened to it twice, and I think I'm gonna hold off listening again 'til the album comes out.  But I definitely liked a lot of what I heard.

-J

[KevShmev]

It's a solid song, but there's almost no hook. I haven't listened to it since yesterday, and I could not hum you a single melody from the song.

Agreed.  But I am hoping it will be one of those songs with a subtle hook that sneaks up on you out of nowhere (similar to how some of the vocal melody hooks were on Awake, for me anyway).

I gave it 7/10.

[DejaVu]

I've gave it a 7 or 8, which to me is a great score compared to some of their recent material. I'd probably rate it in between Pull Me Under and The Great Debate, which is a good score!

The vocals let the song down the most, I was hoping for more of a range, but they're definately growing on me. The thing that pulls the score right up is how it doesn't drag like most 8 minute+ songs, so I have high hopes for this album flowing effortlessly. (In my opinion, SDOIT (disc 1) and TOT flow really badly, and it really effects my thoughts on them).

Can't wait to hear more!

[sv_godspeed]

MY FIRST POST here after being a DT fan for 16 years - hows that?

On the Backs of Angels is a 10 for me - not to imply that its their best song ever but just that its simply great. maybe its the "single" effect since i also loved A Rite of Passage and it stayed my favourite even after the album was released (The Shattered Fortress a close second)...

here's looking forward to a 10er album...

[Durg]

MY FIRST POST here after being a DT fan for 16 years - hows that?

On the Backs of Angels is a 10 for me - not to imply that its their best song ever but just that its simply great. maybe its the "single" effect since i also loved A Rite of Passage and it stayed my favourite even after the album was released (The Shattered Fortress a close second)...

here's looking forward to a 10er album...

Welcome of the board

[JPX]

I don't think anyone has reason to be disappointed with this song.

Why?

Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Quoted for the truth

[yorost]

You mean quoted for absurdity.  Calling people mindless fans because they have a higher opinion on one song than you do just shows you think way too highly of your own opinion.

[TheGreatPretender]

I don't believe that there is a Dream Theater song in existence that deserves less than a 6. Unless of course, Dream Theater has its own scale, then even the DT song that's worth a 1 would still be better than any filler song by any other artist.

But this one, I'd give a solid 8, which seems to be the general consensus.

[BRGM]

I'm not to sure yet, need more listens, but right now I guess it's an 8, and it's growing

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Quoted for the truth

You both couldn't possibly be more ignorant in that statement.

Anyways, still 8 for me.

[stryker]

It just gets better with each listen. It's pretty much better than anything on the last two albums. ''imo''

This.  I gave it a solid 8.

[Obfuscation]

Right now it's a 8 but will most defitnely go higher the more I listen to it.

[TheGreatPretender]

Yeah, I'm actually finding it growing on me more and more. I can see myself giving this song a 9 in the future.

[JPX]

Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Quoted for the truth

You both couldn't possibly be more ignorant in that statement.

Anyways, still 8 for me.

So you'd seriously rank it up there along with other DT classics that would receive a 9 or a 10. For example, folks giving it a 10 would be comfortable putting on the same level as Learning To Live...?

[ZirconBlue]

First listen:  7

Second listen: 8

I suspect it will continue to improve with repeat listens.

[KevShmev]

Listened to it at the gym earlier when doing cardio, and the chorus is starting to grow on me.  I am gonna need to listen to this sporadically, though, as I don't want to be burned out on one song by the time I get the rest of the record.

[yorost]

Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Quoted for the truth

You both couldn't possibly be more ignorant in that statement.

Anyways, still 8 for me.

So you'd seriously rank it up there along with other DT classics that would receive a 9 or a 10. For example, folks giving it a 10 would be comfortable putting on the same level as Learning To Live...?

Do you not realize some people don't even think Learning to Live is a 10?  There's so many people out there with so many different tastes.  Just because certain songs are generally more popular, like Learning to Live, doesn't mean everyone agrees.  Most of the songs Dream Theater has released have people that think they're a 10.

You also have to realize not everyone rates the same.  Are ratings relative to Dream Theater?  ...relative to other bands?  ...simply a tiering system?  ...how do you interpret the numbers?

If you said I could only give a 10 to a perfect song I wouldn't give anything a 10.  However, I probably rate 20 songs from Dream Theater a 10 because they're the songs I almost always just love listening to when they come on.  Some of those are pretty unpopular, like Forsaken.  Does that make me a mindless fan?  I rate SDoIT closer to a 3 or 4 because it bores the Hell out of me, and I rate a lot of other songs 6 or lower.  Am I still a mindless fan?  Like most, I presume, my opinions fall most often with the norm even though there are a lot of oddities in my rankings.

[JPX]

Do you not realize some people don't even think Learning to Live is a 10?  

Well that's just crazy talk!

[Lowdz]

7

Vocals are meh and the whole song is just too much all over the place. Have to be a real fanboy to give it a 9 or a 10.

Guilty as charged then.

[robwebster]

Do you not realize some people don't even think Learning to Live is a 10?  

Well that's just crazy talk!

While we're on the subject of facts that might herniate you, I'd sincerely be more likely to give Misunderstood a 9 or 10 than Metropolis.

Fans, eh?