DT album ranking

[Super Dude]

1. Scenes from a Memory
2. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
3. Octavarium
4. Awake
5. Falling Into Infinity
6. Images and Words
7. Train of Thought
8. Systematic Chaos
9. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
10. When Dream and Day Unite

Oh, and I believe the fact that I almost forgot to put SC on the list well demonstrates my opinion of it.

[BlobVanDam]

Good:
Images and Words
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Scenes From A Memory
Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Below DT average:
When Dream and Day Unite
Awake
Falling Into Infinity
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Train of Thought

(not really a list, and these are not in any order, but those are my top 4)

 I like how more than half of DT's albums are "below DT average".

That's true. Though the lighter songs I would say are: The Silent Man, Lifting Shadows, and Space-Dye Vest. The rest I would say are 'heavy'. It's not Train of Thought, but it is heavy

And Awake is definitely one of their heaviest albums, it's just a different kind of heavy than ToT or SC.  The heaviness seems to come naturally with the music and lyrical themes, and dare I say with a bit of subtlety and tastefulness.  The non-heavy tracks help the album flow and add some diversity, instead of obvious in-your-face attempts at being heavy just because (ToT).

-J

Yes, which is why I wish that JP would abandon all the de-tuning crap. Heaviness comes from the ability to write good riffs, NOT how you tune the guitar.

De tuning crap? The heavy songs on Awake are tuned lower than most of Train of Thought. So there is no problem at all with using low tunings. As for writing good riffs, JP has only gotten better at writing metal riffs over time. Awake doesn't really have many standout metal riffs. And the good ones are absolutely no different to the style he writes now. Play the intro to Caught in a Web. Now play the intro to TSF. They're no different in writing style. Yet you want to call JP's current riffs detuned crap, and not Awake? Gimme a break. If there's any guitarist who has never abused a low tuning, it's JP.

edit: oops, I meant to say many, not any

[ResultsMayVary]

Good:
Images and Words
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Scenes From A Memory
Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Below DT average:
When Dream and Day Unite
Awake
Falling Into Infinity
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Train of Thought

(not really a list, and these are not in any order, but those are my top 4)

 I like how more than half of DT's albums are "below DT average".

That's true. Though the lighter songs I would say are: The Silent Man, Lifting Shadows, and Space-Dye Vest. The rest I would say are 'heavy'. It's not Train of Thought, but it is heavy

And Awake is definitely one of their heaviest albums, it's just a different kind of heavy than ToT or SC.  The heaviness seems to come naturally with the music and lyrical themes, and dare I say with a bit of subtlety and tastefulness.  The non-heavy tracks help the album flow and add some diversity, instead of obvious in-your-face attempts at being heavy just because (ToT).

-J

Yes, which is why I wish that JP would abandon all the de-tuning crap. Heaviness comes from the ability to write good riffs, NOT how you tune the guitar.

De tuning crap? The heavy songs on Awake are tuned lower than most of Train of Thought. So there is no problem at all with using low tunings. As for writing good riffs, JP has only gotten better at writing metal riffs over time. Awake doesn't really have any standout metal riffs. And the good ones are absolutely no different to the style he writes now. Play the intro to Caught in a Web. Now play the intro to TSF. They're no different in writing style. Yet you want to call JP's current riffs detuned crap, and not Awake? Gimme a break. If there's any guitarist who has never abused a low tuning, it's JP.

Well said Blob.

[lateralus88]

1. Scenes from a Memory
2. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
3. Octavarium
4. Awake
5. Falling Into Infinity
6. Images and Words
7. Train of Thought
8. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
9. Systematic Chaos
10. When Dream and Day Unite

Oh, and I believe the fact that I almost forgot to put SC on the list well demonstrates my opinion of it.

I think you made a mistake. You must have accidentally put SDOIT after SC. Here, allow me to fix that for you.

[Super Dude]

Believe it or not, I actually like more songs on SC than I do on SDOIT.

[lateralus88]

Believe it or not, I actually like more songs on SDOIT than I do on SC.

Again with the typos. Am I going to have to keep fixing these errors for you, sir?

[Super Dude]

Yet another situation where a + emoticon would come in SO useful...

[Darkes7]

  and any icon showing "you just failed at being funny" would be better.

[Super Dude]

Fail.

[tri.ad]

Yes, which is why I wish that JP would abandon all the de-tuning crap. Heaviness comes from the ability to write good riffs, NOT how you tune the guitar.

You're stigmatising the wrong guy here. JP very rarely had his guitars de-tuned compared to many modern metal bands, and when he does, it still sounds better. Besides, I think JP tunes down the guitar when he thinks that it fits the general atmosphere of the song better, and not because of the heaviness.

[Nihil-Morari]

Listen to that man, he speaks the truth.

[fsh3702]

i am delighted awake is always ranking high.

[juice]

ok i havent heard FII or WDADU so heres the ones i've heard...

1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2. BC&SL
3. Octavarium
4. Awake
5. Scenes From A Memory
6. Images & Words
7. Systematic Chaos tied with Train of Thought

[pogoowner]

1. Scenes from a Memory
2. Images & Words
3. Awake
4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
5. Octavarium
6. Falling into Infinity
7. Train of Thought
8. Systematic Chaos
9. When Dream and Day Unite
10. Black Clouds and Silver Linings

[Arcaeus]

Revised list:

1. Images & Words
2. Awake
3. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
5. Scenes From A Memory
6. Train of Thought
7. Falling Into Infinity
8. Octavarium
9. Systematic Chaos

[Birch Boy]

I'll only rank the ones that I'm most familiar with and would be able to make the best judgements on.

1. Images And Words    From Take The Time and Learning To Live, to Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper, there's no question about it's place as #1
2. Black Clouds & Silver Linings     I adored every song (yes, even A Rite Of Passage) on this album on my first listen, except for Wither, which was a grower
3. Octavarium     It encompasses the song that got me into DT (Panic Attack), as well as the obvious masterpiece
4. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory     Yes, this is a MAGNIFICENT album, but to tell the truth, I'm not a fan of the "narrative" tracks that string the story together, which cuts down the enjoyment level to half of the songs (all of which are obviously amazing). Seeing One Last Time/The Dance Of Eternity and Beyond This Life live was amazing.
5. Awake     My first DT album and also excellent
6. Falling Into Infinity     I actually really like this album. At one time, Lines In The Sand was my favorite DT song, and Trial Of Tears is another great 10:00+ song.

I'm sure this will change in time though, since I'm a rather new DT fan.

[SilentFox]

Reviving dead threads FTL

[Birch Boy]

Blame it on Arcaeus 

[ddtonfire]

Yes, which is why I wish that JP would abandon all the de-tuning crap. Heaviness comes from the ability to write good riffs, NOT how you tune the guitar.

What really brings heaviness isn't the guitar, it's the bass. I give you "I Can't Dance" by Genesis as an example. It's ridiculously groovy, fat, and heavy. Or "Right Now" by Van Halen at 0:55. Or look at The Mirror, around 5:31. That part is ridiculously heavy. So The Genesis song is in fact standard tuning and the Van Halen piece is dropped-D.

Alternate tunings are just another vehicle for heaviness, amplifying it in the process. Too many bands nowadays are using it as a crutch, though. They couldn't write a decent song on a standard-tuned guitar or above the fifth fret. They lack the groove that beats your chest and makes your head bang.

Some of the great DT songs are what you'd call "de-tuning crap." Look at Blind Faith, In the Name of God, Honor thy Father, and Nightmare to Remember. The middle two are two of DT's heavier songs. In the first and last he's not even tuning down in order to be heavy. He's extending the tonal reach possibilities of his guitar.

[Darkes7]

Reviving dead threads FTL

It's a thread that definitely doesn't get out of date, so I seriously don't see any reason to complain.

[Arcaeus]

Reviving dead threads FTL

And if I simply remade the thread, people would get pissy and tell me to use the search button as there already was a thread for this - this one



It's been less than three months.

[lateralus88]

I'm surprised a thread made by Wrath still exists.

[Arcaeus]

...now I do feel bad about bumping it...

[Darkes7]

Wrath is one of the main reasons I feel sad I discovered this board so late, after he's stopped being active

[lateralus88]

It's probably best that you weren't around to endure his presence.

[Darkes7]

I've seen some of his posts and they were all totally awesome in their own special way.

[Lors7890]

1.A Change of Seasons (Greatest song ever recorded in the history of music)
2.Images and Words
3.Octavarium
4.Train of Thought
5.Scenes From a Memory
6.Falling Into Infinity
7.Black Clouds and Silver Linings
8.Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
9.Awake
10/When Day and Dream Unite
11.Systematic Chaos

[Jamariquay]

1. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (A+)
2. Awake (A+)
3. Scenes From A Memory (A)
4. Images and Words (A-)
5. Black Clouds and Silver Linings (A-)
6. Train Of Thought (B+)
7. Falling Into Infinity (B+)
8. Octavarium (B)
9. Systematic Chaos (B-)
10. When Dream and Day Unite (N/A, haven't listened to it enough to say)

If A Change Of Seasons were an album, it'd fall somewhere around 5th or 6th place, with an A- rating. I like the song, but not nearly to the extent that others here do.

If I could make the tracklisting for FII, it'd be in 2nd or 3rd place with an A or A+ rating. Alas, I can only grade it based on the album that was actually sold to me.

[MykeHavoc]

Awake/Scenes (tie)
I&W
Octavarium
Six Degrees
BC&SL
Train of Thought
Change of Seasons
Systematic Chaos

I find it hard to rank WD&DU. I like it a lot, but it isn't in the rotation enough right now
for me to give it a fair placement. I'm thinking that it'll settle in somewhere in the middle.
Right now I'm in full BC&SL mode since I only just picked it up, so its placement may fluctuate.
I don't even own FII, so I won't rank it.
I'm not even a psycho COS fan, but I threw it in there essentially to show that I think the acoustic
intro is better then the entire SC album

[AwakeFromOctavarium]

1. Images and Words/Scenes From Memories (Really hard to decide. So I put both of them in no. 1)
2. A Change of Seasons(Not including the cover songs actually)
3. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Awake
5. Train of Thoughts
6. Falling Into Infinity
7. Octavarium
8. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
9. Systematic Chaos

THERE.

[Portrucci]

My current list:

1. Awake
2. Scenes From a Memory
3. Images and Words
4. Train of Thought
5. Black Clouds
6. Six Degrees
7. Falling Into Infinity
8. Octavarium
9. When Dream and Day Unite
10. Systematic Chaos

[SilentFox]

Images and Words*
Scenes From a Memory*
Train of Thought*
Awake*
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence*
Octavarium*
Falling Into Infinity*
Systematic Chaos*
When Dream and Day Unite*

_{*Subject to change.}

[PixelDream]

The big four:

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Awake
Images & Words
Scenes from a Memory

The almost as big four:

Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Octavarium
Train of Thought
Falling Into Infinity

The epic fail:

Systematic Chaos
WDADU

[Pirate]

Hm, have I done this already? I don't know, but I'll sure do it again!

Images And Words
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Awake
Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory
Falling Into Infinity
Black Clouds And Silver Linings
Train Of Thought
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos (would be a step higher if not for the title track 8V) (wtf- 8V is a sideways duck face!)
When Dream And Day Unite

[Pockets1777]

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory
Train of Thought
Images and Words
Awake
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Falling Into Infinity
A Change of Seasons (because of the cover songs. One of my favorite songs though ACoS)
When Dream and Day Unite