During which "era" did you become a fan?

[Pols Voice]

Between SFAM and SDOIT.

[MetropolisWatches]

In 2006... Yikes! I really missed out on the best years, but it seems like DT are getting their act back together.

[Phoenix87x]

They were introduced to me in 97 during the Falling into Infinity era

but

I didn't really become a fan until 2003 when Train of Thought took over my life.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Right when Awake came out.  A friend of mine talked me into blindly buying the CD.  Suffice to say it was a major musical turning point in my life   At the time I was 31

[Priest of Syrinx]

1999, when SFAM was released.  Somewhere I had read that DT might appeal to Rush fans, and I was lonely and desperate after the suckfest that was T4E.  DT saved me, can I get an Aaa-men?

[theseoafs]

I believe 8V had just come out when I became a fan.

[MetropolisWatches]

Right when Awake came out.  A friend of mine talked me into blindly buying the CD.  Suffice to say it was a major musical turning point in my life   At the time I was 31

I envy you sir. I'd give anything to see them live during the early 90's era- it was such an exciting period for the band. The same goes for the SFAM era.

[Implode]

Right after BC&SL came out...I haven't been a fan for that long sadly.

[LCArenas]

Systematic Chaos era, but SC was one of the last albums I heard for the first time.

[54_diplomats]

Systematic Chaos era. The first song I listened to though was Hollow Years and then I listened to Octavarium (album) and Train of Thought.

[nikatapi]

Train of Thought era, and Live At Budokan had also been released, i bought them both and i became a fan ever since.

[Jay.Ess]

Systematic Chaos.
My older brother listened to In the Presence of Enemies Parts 1 & 2 all the time whilst playing Halo on Xbox360...I was like, crap, this game has a good soundtrack haha 

[?]

Right after BC&SL came out...I haven't been a fan for that long sadly.

[TheGreatPretender]

Better late than never. It's still cool when someone says, "Oh yeah, I got into Dream Theater very recently." As opposed to, "I used to be really into Dream Theater. But I don't listen to them much anymore." Hearing that just makes me sad.

[kirksnosehair]

I discovered Dream Theater in 1992 when the drummer from the band I was playing with at the time handed me a cassette copy of "Images & Words" and told me "this band will change how you think of keyboards in metal"


I was one of those people who HATED the fact that Iron Maiden had introduced synths with the album "Somewhere In Time" and I was very conflicted about it with my band as the rest of the band members really wanted to add a keyboard player.  Looking back it seems like such a silly argument....anyway, that's how I discovered them.  I loved I&W and I went out and immediately purchased a copy of the debut, which I liked, but nowhere near as much as I&W


I've been a fan ever since.

[TAC]

Saw them open for Iron Maiden at The Ritz in NYC on June 8, 1992. My musical life changed forever that night.

[King Postwhore]

Heard "Pull Me Under" in 1992 and rushed out to get the CD.

[Sketchy]

Got reccomended them by a technician on a school trip who was into them and Spock's Beard (who I was really into, especially as the bass sound on V had made me go and take up the bass), and he was saying JM was this totally amazing bassist who I had to hear. That was about a week after SC came out, I think.

So on holiday in north California that year, I went to a CD shop, and picked up the one of two albums they had which looked most proggy (SFAM - it was split into scenes and had Part II in the title). I can't remember what the other one there was, I think it may have been Awake.

Funny really, Awake was one of the ones it took me longest to buy.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

Just before ADTOE was released. My first album was Images and Words.

[Mladen]

Between the releases of Systematic chaos and Black clouds and silver linings. I'd say the first half of 2008.

[darkshade]

I had heard The Glass Prison some time in 2003, before ToT came out, but I didn't start exploring their music until 2004, so I guess a mix between the SDOIT era and the ToT era.

[Lowdz]

The Charlie era. Read the review in Kerrang! magazine that basically said they were a cross between Rush and Metallica.  tracked WDADU down and voila, a new favourite band.

[badger]

Around 2004---First albums were Scenes from a memory and Images & Words.  Wish I had found them earlier.  Heard Overture 1928 and Strange Deja vu and thought "this is the band I have been searching for"

[Zook]

Several months after Score came out. I joined DT.net on September 13th, 2006. I know this because I still have the email. I'm not THAT much of a loser.

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

2003, almost two months after Train of Thought was released.  The band was at their last peak then, not counting ADTOE

[The King in Crimson]

Right before SC came out I "acquired" a bunch of DT albums from a workmate.  Randomly I picked out Octavarium and listened to it.  The rest is incredibly boring history.

[Dublagent66]

1992 I&W.  Yep, 20 years baby! 

[King Postwhore]

The Charlie era. Read the review in Kerrang! magazine that basically said they were a cross between Rush and Metallica.  tracked WDADU down and voila, a new favourite band.

Kerrang.  I faithfully bought that mag for years.

[j]

I think Summer 2008; I guess that's SC-era.  I listened to a bunch of songs from different albums at first, rather than one particular album.

-J

[Lark the Starless]

Hmmm I want to say I became a fan during the late stages of the SC and early part of the BC&SL eras.

Which would put that at around the last half of 2008 and early part of 2009.

My first album was "Train of Thought," which my cousin (not much a DT fan, surprisingly) lent me. Needless to say, I was completely blown away at how insane the music was and I just had to have more.

I then acquired "Images and Words" and went chronologically (somewhat) from there on. It's been a hell of a journey that still continues to this day. I acquired "Falling into Infinity" after picking up BC&SL.

The only album I don't have is the debut but I'm sure I'll pick it up one of these days. I have to admit that I was becoming somewhat wary of DT's musical direction (as seen in SC and BC&SL) and after hearing the news about Portnoy leaving the band, I thought they had suffered a major blow. Luckily I was wrong.

ADTOE has definitely renewed and further instilled my interest in the band once more and I am impatiently anticipating the new album and live DVD. 

[Algo Fonix]

Late 2003, early 2004... it wasn't long after Train of Thought came out. A friend had given me a copy of 6DOIT disk 1 and I sorta hated it. After I heard ToT, I fell in love though.

That was a long time ago.

[iamtheeviltwin]

The end of the Moore era...I had loved Pull Me Under and got a copy of Images and Words that graced my CD player.  However, it wasn't until I picked up Awake that I really became a fan.  I probably listened to that album daily for 2 years.

[Icebear]

In 1997. My friend put on "Take the time" and said "hey, you might dig this...". Went straight out the door, bought IAW and haven't stopped listening yet...

[ZirconBlue]

Images & Words era.  I had spent the summer of 92 marching in a drum and bugle corps, and was on my way back home.  Passing through Cincinnati, I tuned into the local Z-Rock affiliate and heard "Pull Me Under".  I still remember blasting that song and speeding down I-75.  After the song ended, luckily, the DJ said the name of the band, and for the next 15 minutes or so I just kept saying "Dream Theater, Dream Theater, Dream Theater, . . ." so I wouldn't forget the name before I got home.  As soon as I could, I went to Cut Corner Records and bought the promo copy of I&W that I still own to this day. 

[Index]

Became a fan around 2005 so Octavarium era would be appropriate to say. The first song I ever heard from them was Pull Me Under which was recommended to me by a P2P chat room user some of you might remember it, WinMX.

It was very different for me at the time since I was listening to bands like Linkin Park, Korn, Adema, (I was 14 )  but since I was also into Iron Maiden, Metallica and Priest he said I would it dig it. I instantly loved it and was just blown away from the level of musicianship from these dudes! They would be my introduction to progressive music and I would discover bands that I would later fall in love with (Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Pain of Salvation).