Train of Thought appreciation!

[ZKX-2099]

Seriously though, I love TDS, but that last minute should have been chopped.

[Mladen]

The last minute of This dying soul has to be one of my favorite DT endings ever. Maybe only topped by TMOLS outro...

[chrisbDTM]

yea that ending TDS unison is really cool

[Orbert]

Because it's more of a straight-on metal album, it seems to appeal to the metalheads more than the progheads.  My buddy and I were trying to get our bass player (a metalhead) into DT, and started with Images & Words.  He thought it was pretty cool stuff, but a little too "out there" for his usual tastes.  So we tried Train of Thought and he loved it.

[The Letter M]

When I started listening to Dream Theater and became a fan, Train Of Thought was their latest studio album offering, so being their newest, I listened to it a lot at the time (so much so, it's the only DT CD I own with significant scratches on the physical disc!), and fell in love with it! I'm not much of a metal head, but the progressive technicality of it really drew me in, and hearing their previous albums (especially SFAM and SDOIT) really helped me understand their heavier side.

And I'll be honest, I feel that TOT is one of the most consistent DT albums, not just in sound and style, but in quality writing and performance. I think going the "mostly-metal"/"balls-to-the-walls" route worked really well for them, and at the time, it was just right for them to do so. They put out a lot of albums with a few heavy songs, which provided variety, but I think doing a metal album really showed what doing one style across the board really evened up their quality as well.

It just seems like fans of TOT really enjoy the whole album, while fans of 8VM or SC or BC&SL may dislike one or two songs on each album, or not find them as all great as each other. I love BC&SL, but could do without AROP... I love SC but could do without Forsaken or POW... but then again, being such a metal-heavy album, it pushed away some of the band's prog/pop-loving fans, the ones who enjoyed IAW/Awake/FII a lot because of their more progressive and pop sounds.

-Marc.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

TDS outro is missing blastbeat.

[Obfuscation]

In The Name of God alone makes this album amazing. Nuff said.

[wolfking]

The ending of TDS is a top 5 DT moment.

[Obfuscation]

The ending of TDS is a top 5 DT moment.

Amen. I repeat that part several times each time I listen to it.

[Moonchild]

I only like Vacant As I Am and In the Name of God.. the rest sounds false to me and I like my Metal uptempo and straight.
Not all metal heads like ToT. Heavy doesn't equal good.

[Storm Rider]

Vacant -> Stream of Consciousness -> In the Name of God all the way.

[climberboy]

literally just listened to this for the first time now (heard all songs before though ), and is now my current fave DT album!

[Pols Voice]

I like TOT quite a bit, except for Honor Thy Father. Stream of Consciousness and Endless Sacrifice are two of my favorite DT songs.

[PuffyPat]

Just listened to it in it's entirety to cap off my three day DT-o-rama. Let me tell you, ITNOG was the perfect way to cap it off.

[tofee35]

Simple concept, amazing and unique production, and sensational song writing all in one nugget. This is an album that continually grows and grows. I hated it until Budokan, then BAM...awesome. I think it was SOC and ITNOG on Budo that did it for me.

[Phoenix87x]

Woke up this morning to TOT.

Love this album and all the ass it kicks 

[mikeyd23]

My first DT album and one of my favorites! Great listen from start to finish.  Every single song has something great to offer the listener. Endless Sacrifice, As I Am and In the Name of God remain three of my favorite DT songs to this day.

[hefdaddy42]

It's definitely consistent.

Great driving album.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

This album got better with time. I remember, back in the day, that both this one and Octavarium where criticized around here with passion. I dig the idea DT has a heavy and dark album from start to finish in their discography (something Systematic Chaos tried to emulate and failed in the process), and it does not bore me a bit. The production is spot on, as well.

[kirksnosehair]

I wasn't sure what to make of this record when it first came out.  In fact, I didn't listen to it much in the first two years after it was released.  The next two albums after this one were both disappointing and I found myself revisiting "Train of Thought" quite a bit back then because it was the only "new" DT music at the time that I liked.


My opinion of Systematic Chaos and Octavarium hasn't changed too much.  There's one really super album in there if I blend the songs from each album that I really like, but once Train of Thought got its hooks in me, I listened to it daily for several months, like I had done before with many other DT albums like I&W, SFAM, ACOS, etc 


Today I consider Train of Thought to be my 4th or 5th favorite.


I'd give it a 3.5 / 5

[son_ov_hades]

After the slight letdown that was Six Degrees, I was extremely disappointed in this album. I didn't listen to Dream Theater or pay attention to them at all after Train of Thought came out, didn't really come back to the band until Systematic Chaos because by that point I had accepted Dream Theater just wasn't that great anymore. The shock of Six Degrees and Train Of Though had worn off and I expected them to only have one or two good songs per album. With A Dramatic Turn Of Events I was won over again and I'm so happy the band is on track again.

To this day Train of Thought is just bad. Vacant/Stream of Consciousness is great and Endless Sacrifice is pretty cool, but that's all I can appreciate on the album(wrong thread for me I guess  ). The rest of the album is so awkward. It was Dream Theater trying to be "cool" and "modern" by playing nu metal, which by 2003 was mostly dead anyway.

[kirksnosehair]

Nu Metal? 

[Mindflux]

Nu Metal? 

[emtee]

It stayed atop my rotation for well over a year. I liked it then and I still do now however I think I would enjoy it a little more
if some of the songs were shaved down by a minute or two. As I Am is one of my favorite DT songs. Driving, powerful, to
the point, heavy song that dabbles in a slight bit of technicality. Sonically I think it's one of their best sounding albums.
I love the mix and the overall production qualities.

[dragonmaster715]

Train of Thought is my #3 favorite DT album! ITNOG and Endless Sacrifice are spectacular. As I Am and Honor Thy Father are both really good. Vacant is probably either my favorite or second favorite DT Ballad, and Stream of conciousness is my favorite DT instrumental. Oh, and This Dying Soul is really good too.

[duncan3dc]

Nu Metal? 

I'm remember cringing the first time I heard the natural harmonic in Endless Sacrifice. It really reeked of trying to be a part of what was popular around the time, very Linkin Park esque

[YtseJamittaja]

I would really like if they brought these sounds back. The guitar sound on ToT was the real chocolate cake. I have no problem with sounding more metal.

Endless Sacrifice is still one of my favorite DT songs, if not the best. Great album overall, I am just watching L@B and thinking that this really was golden time for DT.

[sylvinception]

A very good DT album but sounds a bit to "metal" for me == >> do not listen to it if you got a headache!!

[Dream Team]

Nu Metal? 

I'm remember cringing the first time I heard the natural harmonic in Endless Sacrifice. It really reeked of trying to be a part of what was popular around the time, very Linkin Park esque

This is true. JP is way too good to worry about hopping on trends.

[Orbert]

I think Dream Theater is like any band in that they'll be influenced by what they hear and what they like, but I wouldn't accuse them of trying to sound like some other band or trying to play a certain genre.  Someone might hear elements of nu metal (whatever that is) and think DT is "trying" to sound like that and failing, but it's just them incorporating a little something that they wanted to incorporate.

[Nearmyth]

When first discovering DT, this album was near the bottom for me. I just didn't like anything that was too heavy at the time, and this album was just heavy all the way through.

But now It really has some awesome stuff on it, and the brutality (by DT standards) and the straight heaviness of it kind of creates an immersive experience as the album develops and reaches its more emotional sections. It's around the middle of the pack for me now compared to other DT albums, but on its own it's such a solid metal album.

My ranking is something like

In The Name of God
This Dying Soul
Honor thy Father
Stream of Consciousness
As I Am
Vacant
Endless Sacrifice

[Rodni Demental]

Hey, don't be hatin on the harmonic squeal in Endless Sacrifice. It's not trying to be anything. It's cool. 

Same with the pinch harmonic in Forsaken. Nice touch to an awesome riff.

[JayOctavarium]

Hey, don't be hatin on the harmonic squeal in Endless Sacrifice. It's not trying to be anything. It's cool. 

Same with the pinch harmonic in Forsaken. Nice touch to an awesome riff.

Agreed 10000000 %

[robwebster]

Dow, ba-da-ba-dow, ba-da-ba-dow - WHEEEEEP!

The harmonic kicks ass.