What do you like about each lyricist's style?

[TheGreatPretender]

We were having a discussion earlier on Kevin Moore and how great of a lyricist he was in DT. How there was just such beautiful poetry to the way he worded lyrics, "I'll take seven lives for one and then my only father's son, as sure as I did ever love him, I am not afraid" for example, or "She shuts the doors and lights and lays her body on the bed, where images and words are running deep. She has too much pride to pull the sheets above her head, so quietly she lays and waits for sleep." Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it, still.

But it's not like the other lyricists in DT are/were bad by any means, so I figured I'd get a thread going to discuss what we like about them.

John Petrucci - On average, I just enjoy the stories he tells. Some people say his lyrics could come off as silly, like in The Count of Tuscany, but you have to admit, it's an interesting story that (correct me if I'm wrong) happened in real life?
And those are usually my favorite lyrics by JP, the ones that have an actual narrative, such as The Killing Hand, Forsaken, Solitary Shell and Through Her Eyes. Honestly, I don't much care for people calling those lyrics cheesy, they're awesome. "Out from an ivory mist, I felt a stinging kiss, and saw a crimson stain on her lips,"  "He's a Monday morning lunatic, disturbed from time to time, lost within himself, in his solitary shell", are among of my favorites.

Mike Portnoy - Like Kevin Moore, MP had his own style of poetry to his lyrics. It didn't always come out in every single song, but when it did, it was pretty powerful. "They all bought into your contrived sincerity, and how you wore you heart and sould right on your sleeve," or, "I'm sick of all you hypocrites, holding me at bay, and I don't need your sympathy to get me through the day." You can tell that in every lyrics that Portnoy wrote, there was always something personal in them, and when it was an outlet for the negative things in his life, it came off as very powerful.

James LaBrie - I always loved the kind of pictures that LaBrie painted with his lyrics. The imagery in them was always very powerful. While the subject matter of Sacrificed Sons is not my favorite or the most interesting in my opinion, when it DOES come to talking about 9/11, I think JLB did is better than anyone else. "Heads all turning toward the sky, towers crumble, heroes die." These are not lost in his other lyrics, of course, like, for example, "Take the streets, the beaten path. Our system works, for whom I ask. Yeah, I have it all, the bigger house, an iron fence to keep you out." I really wish he wrote more lyrics for DT.

John Myung - It's hard to comment on John Myung since he usually gets help with the structure of his lyrics, but I would say he captures that beautiful poetry almost as well as Kevin Moore did. Maybe in a slightly different way, but still, beautiful. "Once again we dance in the crowd, at times a step away. From the common fear that's all spread out, won't listen to what you say. Once you're touched, you stand alone, to face the bitter fight. Once I reached for love and now I reach for life," or "Still awake, I continue to move along, cultivating my own nonsense. Welcome to the wasteland, where you'll find ashes, nothing but ashes." Simply beautiful.

[wolfking]

I have no idea.  To be honest, I don't even know the writing credits for most of DT's songs when it comes to lyrics.

[Sketchy]

I totally agree on the JM one. Wasteland is one of my favourite lyrics ever, as well as being paired with beautiful music.

[wasteland]

Wasteland is one of my favourite lyrics ever, as well as being paired with beautiful music.

I could not agree more on this, as my own username testifies.

[Scorpion]

I like everyone's lyrics, especially JLB's. Blind Faith and Disappear come to mind.

[iamtheeviltwin]

JLB and KM penned the most consistently good lyrics.  JLB is probably my favorite lyricist that is still with the band.

JP is more hit and miss, however since he has written the lion's share of DT lyrics he has had more opportunities to struggle. 

JMX has penned some of my favorite DT songs, but it isn't always the lyrics that make them stand out, his lyrics are often laid upon some of their better musical output.

MP is the most inconsistent lyricist.  He has some incredible highs, like The Mirror or ACOS, but has also done some of their worst like Constant Motion, JLMB, Burning my Soul, and New Millennium.

[snapple]

JMX's free form poetry type lyrics service the outstanding music. It takes great music and adds a realm of interpretation to the lyrics. I write lyrics is a similar free flowing way.

JP does a great job with lyrics, can't knock him.

MP did a great job with The Mirror and ACOS. ACOS is actually so good I feel I can't knock him for any bad lyrics.

KM was just damn good. Love the use of metaphors.

I also like JLB.