Evermind's Top 50 DT songs, v. A golden manatee, statistics and final words (#1)

[jakepriest]

I find Another Day pretty overrated. It's a good song, but not worth top 30 imo.

[Evermind]

I find it pretty underrated. I saw a lot of posts claiming Another Day is the worst song from I&W. Needless to say, I don't agree at all.

[jakepriest]

The worst song on I&W is Take The Time. By a mile. 

[Evermind]

UAGM takes the cake for me. 

[Crow]

The worst song on I&W is Take The Time. By a mile.

[?]

Little love for Space-Dye Vest, hm. I guess everyone is just tired to see it on every list lately.

Oops, I missed that post! Lots of love for SDV from me

I rarely see Another Day that high on anyone's list, but it's a great song like everything on the album.

[Evermind]

Well, clearly, yes, I should've ended this list before Christmas. But those who stayed with me till the end, please have my favourite DT song! Sorry, Parama, I know you won't like it. 

This song won't come out as a surprise, it's not that controversial pick, but besides Another Day, this song is the only one in my Top 10 that hasn't changed its place during the writing.

1. In the Presence of Enemies

A lot of people have some epic at the first place in their lists, I'm no exception. Sure, ITPOE is there not only because it's a killer song, but also because SC was the first DT album I've listened to. I hated CM and TDEN at first listen, but this song, I fell in love with it instantly.
I won't be doing any detailed write-up for it. You know, it's always like this, you can do lengthy write-ups if you have something to complain about, but when you really love something, there's not so much to say. I can say, though, that every section works for me; nothing ruins the flow or the song itself. Instrumental section in pt. 2 could be the weakest of all, but that's only because all other parts are damn great. From the first seconds of this bombastic in-your-face intro, through the spine-chilling welcome to the tired pilgrim and to the beyond epic ending with the reprise of the main riff, this song is awesome from every angle. Well maybe except the infamous DARK MASTER, but that I can live with. Who cares about the lyrics if JLB nails them so perfectly. Did I say the choruses in this song are soooooo good? Every single one of them. I've got so many praises for this song, but I'll stop, you probably got my point by now.
If I ever see DT performing the whole piece live, I'm a happy man.

And that's it! The list itself is over, but I still have some things left to post: the last colourful statistics with the percentage of the albums' presence and the final words I'd like to say. For all that, see next post.

[Evermind]

And with the last 10 updates, which album had won? I counted only the time percentage, by the way.

Rather short songs (clocking at 7:00 or shorter): 21/50 (42%)
Quite long ones (from 7:00 till 14:00): 23/50 (46%)
Very long ones (from 14:00 and onwards): 6/50 (12%)

50. Misunderstood
49. The Answer Lies Within
48. Honor Thy Father
47. The Enemy Inside
46. Far From Heaven
45. The Dance of Eternity
44. The Looking Glass
43. Take The Time
42. Fatal Tragedy
41. Trial of Tears
40. Beyond This Life
39. Surrender To Reason
38. Disappear
37. Surrounded
36. As I Am
35. A Nightmare to Remember
34. Peruvian Skies
33. Forsaken
32. Panic Attack
31. Learning to Live
30. The Silent Man
29. Scarred
28. Bridges in the Sky
27. These Walls
26. The Great Debate
25. Vacant
24. The Mirror
23. Hollow Years
22. Blind Faith
21. Overture 1928
20. On the Backs of Angels
19. Pull Me Under
18. Home
17. Metropolis pt.1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
16. The Ministry of Lost Souls
15. The Spirit Carries On
14. The Count of Tuscany
13. Octavarium
12. Finally Free
11. Wait for Sleep
10. Beneath the Surface
9. Breaking All Illusions
8. Stream of Consciousness
7. This is the Life
6. Endless Sacrifice
5. In the Name of God
4. Sacrificed Sons
3. Space-Dye Vest
2. Another Day
1. In the Presence of Enemies

I&W: 7/8 songs (87%), 47:01/57:04 (82,39%)
Awake: 4/11 (36%), 32:01/74:56 (42,73%)
FII: 3/11 (27%), 25:42/78:12 (32,86%)
SFAM: 7/12 (58%), 59:31/77:06 (77,19%)
SDOIT: 4/6 (66%), 40:25/96:20 (41,96%)
ToT: 6/7 (86%), 57:54/69:21 (83,49%)
8VM: 5/8 (62%), 56:04/75:44 (74,03%)
SC: 3/7 (43%), 46:10/78:41 (58,67%)
BC&SL: 2/6 (33%), 34:55/75:25 (46,30%)
ADTOE: 6/9 (66%), 48:27/77:01 (62,91%)
DT12: 3/9 (33%), 17:44/68:01 (26,07%)

Well, the stats turned out to be pretty accurate. My actual top3:

1. SFAM: songwriting, vocal melodies, everything is top notch. And it's a concept album, so bonus points there.
2. I&W: probably no other DT album gives me these feelings. It's very warm, pleasant to listen to, with some amazing musicianship and not over-bloated songs.
3. ToT: this is a great metal record with DT touch over it. A lot of epic songs as well. Great stuff.

And we're finally here. I must say, I immensely enjoyed writing this. I also would like to say a big thank you everyone who read this, and an enormous thank you to everyone who bothered to reply and wrote in this thread. This list helped me to put together some of my feelings and thoughts towards certain DT songs, it was a challenge to my laziness and a test of my responsibility (I updated it every day, so I passed the test) and it was a good fun overall. I hope you guys had fun too.
And well, speaking of responsibility, if any of you guys will decide to share your own Top 50 with us (if you haven't done it already), please devote some or your daily time to this and update your lists on regular basis. You may imagine how frustrating it is to follow someone's list only to find out the updates are coming every 5,18 days or not coming at all because the list lies here abandoned. So, please, if you have decided to do the list, have the respect to your readers and update it regularly.
I bet you skipped that previous paragraph, but nevermind. I'll finish my ramblings here. Meanwhile you should all go and make your lists. And appreciate ITPOE and Another Day, damn you!

See you around. 

[Prog Snob]

Great choice for #1!  I have come to like that song more and more over the past few years.

[Crow]

Yeah. I'm not a huge fan of this one but it's not bad. I rank it above 6DOIT and IT at the very least.

[Evermind]

Great choice for #1!  I have come to like that song more and more over the past few years.

Totally agree. Let's see where you will place it in your list!

Yeah. I'm not a huge fan of this one but it's not bad. I rank it above 6DOIT and IT at the very least.

But at least you've got another guess right! Comes down to 7/9, I think?
Actually you did great. I was surprised too how accurate your prediction was, so nice detective skills there. Not Sherlock Holmes yet, but keep working on it and maybe one day you'll be there. 

[Ruba]

I had the same number one!

[Prog Snob]

Great choice for #1!  I have come to like that song more and more over the past few years.

Totally agree. Let's see where you will place it in your list!

[jakepriest]

A great song to finish your list.