Official DT Top 50 Thread Mark II (bss4life15 up now - starting page 79)

[Nekov]

I don't think Far from heaven or Burning my soul would make my Top 50 but the other 8 songs are good and I think only A fortune in lines would be many spots higher. 

[IdoSC]

Sorry for the delay, guys. Here comes what might be my most bizarre, and for that same reason (as I need to justify those bizarre choices ) one of my longest updates as far as the write-ups are concerned. Enjoy!

40. Prophets of War

*Runs away*
First off, let me make it clear; one of my other favorite bands is Muse. I like their kind of songwriting, I like the vocal style and generally I find their songs very unique.

Anyways, with Systematic Chaos, it seemed to me like Dream Theater tried to take some sort of "formula" they've established, and expand on it in different directions, while adding this sort of "sinister" or imagination-inspired lyrics to the mix.

But Prophets of War was one of the exceptions for that rule – the lyrics were actually very political and actual, the music sounded completely different and experimental in comparison to the rest of Dream Theater's work, and I absolutely dig the harmonies and the vocal melodies in this song.

In a nutshell, it's very easy to tell that in a fanbase where the most beloved songs are usually these sort of "epic sounding" songs or the ones that are true to the band's general sound, having a song like Prophets of War would be received as a huge hit or miss. Personally, to me, it was a hit – mostly because I love this kind of songs, but also because I tend to "embrace" routine-breakers.

39. Sacrificed Sons

This is another song that I originally got to know by Greatest Hit. When I first heard it, it mostly stood out for the touching lyrics, the unique vocal melodies and the fantastic instrumentation. Honestly, I love the instrumentation and the song structures in Octavarium, they always sound very "grandiose" and meaningful, and they are very well-thought out, which makes the orchestral performance in Score even better.

The one thing that kinda ruined it for me back then was the instrumental section. I was used to the "White" disc, I was used to listen to ballads and shorter songs, so that drastic change of pace during and after the instrumental section of the song hit me by surprise. Of course, it's something you learn to grasp eventually, and now that I took the time to listen to this song over and over, analyzing these sections in my head and taking my time with them, Sacrificed Sons' instrumental section, among many others, is one of my favorite moments of the band as a fan. And that unison at the end of it makes it all even more climactic.

38. One Last Time

Although I barely even take the time to think which album is my favorite ever since A Dramatic Turn of Events was released, because picking one of at least three of DT's albums would feel as wrong as picking my favorite nephew – I can still say confidently that Scenes From a Memory used to be my favorite album for a really, really long time.

It used to be that way simply because this album does so many things right. Whether it's the amazing flow and the entertaining storytelling, the ballads, the longer songs, the heavy songs, the instrumentals, or the very consistent songwriting, this album just handled everything so well. And that's also what I like about this song – it's extremely touching, and it's written so well. I also love the way it's connected to the rest of the album; positioning this "calm" piece right after the incredibly complex Dance of Eternity, and reprising it in Finally Free was absolutely ingenious.

37. Your Majesty

*Runs away again*
One of my favorite...band-related material / bootleg / collectible / whatever, is Lifting Shadows. Let me ignore that never-ending book, featuring pretty much every single band member in Dream Theater ever said regarding the band for a sec, and focus on the collection album that was bundled with it in its first edition.

The 10th track in this album was a live version of Your Majesty played by the band in 2002. With their newer equipment, over 10 years of experience, about 6 albums released and, most importantly, their current vocalist who apparently had a really bad day – you still can't hear a good version of this song. Seriously, the instrumental part of it was perfectly fine, but LaBrie's performance was just not good enough to consider that the "definitive" version of the song.

However, you COULD hear how much potential this song had. Just like Another Won, it was written as a demo back in the very early days of the band, and honestly, it does fit James' voice just fine. That moment towards the end of the song where James sings "Your majesty..." and the outro begins is just breathtaking as far as I see it.

As a song, regardless of who sings it and when, I find it better than most of the tracks in When Dream and Day Unite, and many other tracks in many other albums. It's a shame that this song doesn't have this version that may reward it with some recognition, unlike Another Won. Maybe, and hopefully, in their 30th anniversary...

36. This is the Life

Oh, how I missed Dream Theater's power ballads. I really did like Wither, and it's always nice to go back to this song, but it always felt way too safe to me. And I hate to sound like the average "I don't know who the hell these guys are" reviewer, but it was a little ironic that this song dealt with writer's block because it was so...generic.

Then, two years later, Mangini's first album with Dream Theater came out. And while I basically appreciate every single song in this album, This is the Life is one of the songs that just stick out. It's always nice to see lyrics that deal with embracing your life, staying positive and being graceful. The melodies are also really enjoyable and relaxing. To sum it up, if anyone remembers that weird comparison between Images and Words and ADTOE, or particularly Another Day vs. This is the Life: I look at this song as the more mature, and the more relaxing "version" of Another Day.

[Elite]

37. Your Majesty

*Runs away again*

Holy fucking shit, WHAT? 

Yeah, you better run.. I'm sorry, but I make fun of this song with my band all the time. Seeing it at #37 is just too damn funny.
ENJOY THIS LINK

[BlobVanDam]

I've glad you've already disclaimered the two I have serious issue with. I don't even count Your Majesty as a DT song at all.

Buuuuuut, TITL, OLT and SS are all great songs, so there's that

[IdoSC]

37. Your Majesty

*Runs away again*

Holy fucking shit, WHAT? 

Yeah, you better run.. I'm sorry, but I make fun of this song with my band all the time. Seeing it at #37 is just too damn funny.
ENJOY THIS LINK

Yeah I have zero appreciation for this song when it's sung by Chris Collins. When you read the write-up, either think the instrumental version, or 2002's live version with LaBrie

[Elite]

I did read the write-up

[Nekov]

Gadough will be very happy with your N° 37. Out of these 5 only One last time would make my list.

[Elite]

Out of these 5 only One last time would make my list.

Same.

[Scorpion]

Four of these songs are awesome, one less so.

However, both TITL and SS make my Top 50.

[BlackInk]

Sacrificed Sons and This Is the Life is great. Your Majesty is awful.

[hefdaddy42]

Your Majesty is just horrendous.

[Onno]

Your Majesty is just horrendous.

Agreed

[senecadawg2]

Very interesting picks so far...

[TheGreatPretender]

My biggest issues with Prophets of War and Sacrificed Sons is the subject matter. I love the way JLB writes lyrics, the way he puts strong imagery into his lyrics, but I don't much care for political propaganda. Aside from that I love both of them. Prophets of War kicks ass, if it was on an album like Black Clouds and Silver Linings, it would probably be my favorite.

If nothing else, the chorus in Your Majesty kicks ass.

[snapple]

Has Another Won been mentioned by anyone yet?

[TheGreatPretender]

Has Another Won been mentioned by anyone yet?

BIZKIT at least.

[Elite]

Has Another Won been mentioned by anyone yet?

BIZKIT at least.

I had it at #30.

[jsem]

Has Another Won been mentioned by anyone yet?

BIZKIT at least.

I had it at #30.

I have it at 38 now.

[theseoafs]

This list is... interesting

[Lolzeez]

Your majesty? Dafuq? Prophets of war higher than The Glass Prison??? DAFUQ?

[IdoSC]

Eh...what can I say, opinions XD

Anyways, I'm bored out of my mind so here's the next part:

35. Overture 1928 / Strange Déjà vu

This is one out of three occurrences in my list where I combine two "songs", or two parts that easily go together (because in one of the other cases, one of the parts is not exactly a complete, standalone song). I know it's a controversial thing to do in those lists, and I apologize for that – but I simply can't listen to these songs separately.
To be honest, I rarely ever listen to individual tracks out of Scenes From a Memory, but even when I do – those two count to me as an "individual track".

Overture 1928 is easily one of my favorite overture/introduction tracks of all time. When I look at songs like this, I usually go by two parameters: how well thought out the intro song itself is, as a song, and whether I like the melodies and pieces taken from other songs or not.

In this case, the first time I heard this song I knew the whole album is going to be epic. Every few seconds another instrument takes the lead, the melodies are fantastic, the arrangement is outstanding and this song definitely showcases the album's diversity.

Now, why did I add Strange Deja-Vu? This is probably the most dominant "ingredient" of Overture 1928, and the tracks flow so naturally. Better than any other transition in the album, and that's some hard competition right there. Also, both tracks showcase the amazing diversity of the album, and with Strange Deja-Vu it sticks out with the several characters represented by James' voice. These tracks just complement each other in a sense that, to me, is much more significant than...say, The Mirror / Lie.
And best of all, both of these tracks are awesome enough so that I couldn't decide which one I like better.

It's a tie, really.

34. Never Enough

I'm going for the same excuse as Prophets of War
I really like this song melodically and compositionally. One of my favorite tracks by Muse is Stockholm Syndrome, and while this song may be somewhat inspired by said track, anyone could see that this is a Dream Theater song – especially by their take on the riffs, the chorus, and the short instrumental bridge. I really appreciate the vocal melodies in here, because it sounds so much like something James would sing, but it's still quite different especially in the verses.

The lyrics are just...weak, but I usually "forgive and forget" when it comes to that aspect in DT songs, because I feel the same way on so many songs from Train of Thought up to Black Clouds, and sometimes I really like the song otherwise, so it's a shame to miss out on that.

33. Build Me Up, Break Me Down

Let me recheck my list before I say that...
Yep, I'm safe – this is easily my favorite "radio-friendly" DT song, sans a few ballads. When I first heard this album, this was an absolutely shocking surprise, because first, the rest of the album sounded kinda like Images and Words mixed with...Octavarium maybe? Anyways, the rest of the album sounded very progressive and "vintage DT".

But this song was out of place in that context. It sounded like something LaBrie's band would release somewhere between Elements of Persuasion and Static Impulse. And that was a pleasant surprise, as I love both of these albums

There are so many things about this song that I appreciate. Heavy riffs mixed with upbeat songwriting, LaBrie screaming and growling in studio for the first time in ages, and that tiny, refreshing instrumental break that doesn't sound like Dream Theater at all. More than anything else, the thing I love about this song is that it's straight to the point, it keeps that sense of "Dream Theater" while kicking ass and taking names, and it's just so fun to listen to!

I really do see ADTOE as an album with 9 fantastic tracks, and like some of you described Pull Me Under – even the worst track in this album (not talking about BMU right now) is still great. But this song is definitely the one that is easiest for me to go back and replay, whether or not it's my favorite track in the album.

32. The Dance of Eternity

This one really speaks for itself. While Overture 1928 / Strange Deja-Vu nailed the diversity of Scenes, this song is a playbook of the album's complexity. Nay, of Dream Theater's complexity. So many interesting bits, so many fun unisons and transitions that even a guy like me, who barely knows how to touch a musical instrument, would dig. Also, bass solo. FUCK.

31. Trial of Tears

Pretty much every Dream Theater album has its absolute epic song that almost everyone loves. Some of them have lyrics written by Myung This is a fantastic song. While the instrumental break may drag just a little too long for my tastes, it's a great example of Dream Theater's relaxed pieces, and the climactic section in the end is probably my favorite moment in Falling into Infinity. I would love to see it live in the future.

[TheGreatPretender]

While I'd say that both Scene 2 and Dance of Eternity are too low, it is nice to see some appreciation for them, especially for Dance of Eternity which I used to think was one of the most revered DT instrumentals, but apparently, I was wrong.

[BlobVanDam]

ToT, Strange Deja Vu

The rest are eh.

But yet again, Overture 1928 + SDV =/= 1 song. It is 2 songs.

[Elite]

Trial of Tears  (but too low)

And Overture/SDV is too low

The others are meh. This list is very interesting to read, again someone who doesn't follow the standards, I like.

[Nekov]

Trial of Tears  (but too low)

And Overture/SDV is too low

The others are meh. This list is very interesting to read, again someone who doesn't follow the standards, I like.

Pretty much this

[jsem]

Trial of Tears  (but too low)

And Overture/SDV is too low

The others are meh. This list is very interesting to read, again someone who doesn't follow the standards, I like.

This exactly.

[KevShmev]

The Dance of Eternity and Never Enough are both about 30-40 spots too high , while Trial of Tears is about 25 or so spots too low.  But hey, it's your list, and like I said before, how boring would it be if we all had the same favorites?

[Scorpion]

Another lengthy reply from because I don't have anything be-... well, actually I have, but I don't feel like doing it, so there.

35. Overture 1928 / Strange Déjà vu

Great songs, though I agree with Blob that they aren't one song, and I have no problem deciding: while SDV is awesome, I'd rather listen to O1928 any day of the week. Sure, it lacks the awesome vocal melodies of SDV, but all in all, I find it more enjoyable, mainly because of the way that the song manages to merge so many of Scene's most awesome melodies and riffs in such a short and to-the-point song.

34. Never Enough

As with PoW, I have your back with this one. 
It doesn't make my Top 50, but it gets a lot of hate, which is, imo, completely unjustified. Sure, some people might dislike this song, but I never really understood what made people outright hate this song.
Strangely enough, I like both PoW and NE, but never got into Muse, for whatever reason.

33. Build Me Up, Break Me Down

Another great song, even though it is my least favourite from ADTOE. The electronic intro is really cool, I think, though the transition from that to the main song can be a bit jarring. As you pointed out, JLB's vocal approach to this song is what makes it unique, and I really like that as well.

32. The Dance of Eternity

Hmmm. I never got this song, tbh. I still listen to it from time to time, but I prefer the Instrumedley, because it uses the more awesome sections of TDOE, while trimming out the fat, so to speak. Not a bad song by any means, but easily my least favourite of the songs in this update.

31. Trial of Tears

Here, I have to jump the bandwagon and say what many people have said before me: great song, but far too low. I can honestly not think of very many better songs, with everything being top notch - the rather restrained drumming, the tasteful keyboard and guitar during the vocal section, while still getting a chance to go completely insane during the instrumental part, yet still not sounding wankery or boring...
Really, I could go on for a long time, but I think you get the gist: I love this song to death. Honestly, atm there is only one DT song that I prefer slightly over this song.

All in all, a very good update. Keep it up! 

[Ben_Jamin]

Im happy for the Prophet love.

[IdoSC]

Sorry for the delay, guys. My cousin had a birthday yesterday and I had loads of crap to take care of. I'll try to update once more today besides this update to keep it up.

Once again, I'm really glad you appreciate the songs I list, regardless of differing opinions. Like I said, I absolutely love every song above the 40-line or so to death. But I simply relate to some songs more than I do to others. That's the exact case with Trial of Tears - it definitely does many things right, I just like some songs better than it, mostly for completely subjective reasons.

30. Afterlife

Thanks to Score, I've learned to appreciate a few songs that I barely even heard before. With this song, I got to hear it a few times when I started collecting bootlegs and rare performances, and I truly loved this song, but when I heard its live performance in Score it became one of my favorite tunes in When Dream and Day Unite. Something about this performance played for the song's strengths in such a flawless way, enough so that I could ignore its origins, its original vocalist (and lyricist of course), and even put aside those insanely high screams from 92-93's live performances – and just focus on the song itself.

There's something majestic about this song; And by that, I mean it's the pinnacle of Dream Theater's early days, as Majesty. You can hear the fresh, ambitious ideas the guys had back in the day, and it lasts just enough time to completely utilize everything this song has to offer.

29. Raise the Knife

I'm gonna go ahead and skip the whole "Score changed my perspective as a DT fan" introduction because I basically just wrote it in Afterlife.

To me that's another song that is pulled back by its lyrics. Whether it's about Kevin Moore or any other person that was brought up in the long, long speculation around this song, while the lyrics do have their stronger moments, they were a little disappointing.

In any other aspect, however, this song rocks! To me it's easily one of my favorite songs in FII Demos, and one of the defining moments as far as DT's progressive side is concerned. It flows so well and naturally, including the instrumental passages, and the build up towards the end was amazing to see in a live DVD.

Honest to god, I don't know how it got axed in the final release.

28. Endless Sacrifice

One of the first songs I got to hear by the band. It basically plays for the genre's strengths with very catchy riffs and a sort of predictable pattern, eventually broken by an incredibly Dream Theater-ish instrumental section and fantastic 3 final minutes, that are always one of the highlights in live shows to me. Especially in the current tour as James makes it sound freakin' intense.

The lyrics, while not particularly deep, are very touching. I've always seen John Petrucci as that kind of humble, respectful guy whose family matters to him the most, and it's always sad to see this kind of situations where a person is forced to leave his loved ones for long periods of time. Again, like a few other songs by Dream Theater, the lyrics don't have to be too poetic in order to express a lot of emotion. And that's very appreciable.

27. Voices

This song nails the cold, melancholic atmosphere otherwise shown in songs like Scarred and Space-Dye Vest, while keeping the "core" sound of the balls-to-the-wall moments in Images and Words and the first half of Awake.

Everything about this song flows beautifully. The blasting intro that goes straight into an extremely soft melody (and by the way, when they played it in Israel back in 2009, I just loved how you could barely hear LaBrie's voice while everyone around me screamed "Every Sunday morning..."). Then there's the intense vocal section, and the amazing guitar solo...so many great things about this song and they all blend so well together. There's always something new to find out about it, after dozens of plays.

26. Peruvian Skies

I honestly don't know how to define this song. At some parts it sounds like a ballad, at some parts it sounds like one of these songs where Pink Floyd goes nuts. And before the final chorus, it even sounds like something Metallica would write.

And that's what I like the most about it – in 5 minutes or so, it packs in so much. From that very mellow intro it just shifts into one of the most intense moments in Falling into Infinity and it happens so quickly. I just love it all around, whether they play it for 10 minutes with all these references to their influences, or whether they stick to the original studio version.

[BlobVanDam]

All good songs, although none of them are favourites of mine. Actually, I'd put them in that same order pretty much, but nowhere near that high for any of them.

[jsem]

Decent tunes all of them.

[Nekov]

All good songs

[Scorpion]

Good songs, though Voices is painfully low. The rest is pretty ok. 

[TheGreatPretender]

I was never crazy about Voices or Peruvian Skies. But awesome to see Raise The Knife!