Laughingplace56's Turbotastic Top 50 DT Songs

[Laughingplace56]

Hello all and welcome to my top 50 thread. My real name is Peter Mangiafreno and I live in south Florida. Since I'm rather new here, I figured I'd start off with a short introduction. I haven't been listening to DT since the 90's like a lot of people on here (I was only born in 96  ); I've only been listening to them since late 2011. I'm a drummer and have been for over 2 years and I mainly play DT music. I know how to play almost all of their catalog; the only songs I don't know how to play are ones I either don't listen to often or ones I just have no desire to play. DT is my favorite band and I'll be flying to California in April to see (and meet) them for my first time.

I've constructed my Top 50 list over the past few weeks and have made many changes throughout. Even now I'm not 100% concrete on this list but I don't think anyone ever is fully sold on one particular list forever. The way I will post it is 5 a day until the top 10, where I'll do 3 a day then my #1 by itself, which is 12 days. To keep things a little more interesting, along with the list I'll post my top 5 songs to play on drums from each album, and put the albums in order of how much fun they are to play.

On certain songs, the live version from a DVD will be included if I think the best version of it is from that DVD.

As every list does, I'm sure the addition/snub/placement of certain songs may spark some controversy. I hope you all follow along and enjoy!


For today, I'll start with a list of 5 songs that just missed my Top 50:

55. Pull Me Under

DT's first big hit song. Loved by many, this is probably the most known DT song out there. While I do think it's a great song, it's not a shining example of how amazing Dream Theater is. It's pretty straightforward for there music and nothing completely stands out for me enough to break the top 50. However, it's still a fun concert song and fun to listen to every once in a while.

54. Beneath the Surface

Very nice way to end ADToE after BAI. Very calming and beautiful sounding song. Love Jordan's solo and the sample he uses for it. Better than AFTR, imo, but not their best ballad.

53. Enigma Machine

I know some give it a bad rep and while it's not the greatest DT instrumental out there it's bad at all. Very fun, driving song. The main riff is catchy as hell, the solos are wonderful, the softer section in the middle is great and the ending wraps it up perfectly. Love the spy theme to it. Also, I think "Enigma Machine" is one of the best DT song titles ever. For some reason, it just sounds completely awesome to me.

52. The Root of All Evil (Score/LaLP)

My fourth favorite part of the 12 Step Suite. The only part I don't like is Repentance. I've included both the Score and LaLP versions as my favorite because while i think Score has the best rendition of the song, I love the jam at the end of it on LaLP. I love the main riff of the song and love how the song drives along. It feels the most commercial of the 5 12SS songs; it's the shortest, no real extreme wankery in the music, and has a pretty straightforward structure. That doesn't make the song bad, however. Love how the intro takes the riff from TDS, which is one of my favorite parts of the 12SS.

51. Fatal Tragedy

First of many appearances of SFAM, though you won't see another mention for a while in the list. I really enjoy this song. The riff played behind the solos is amazing. It isn't quite great enough to break my top 50 but it comes close. Some great musical passages throughout the song that carry ideas from the entire album. John has one of his best solos on the album in this song.

More to come soon.

I'll update this list as I post it.
55. Pull Me Under
54. Beneath the Surface
53. Enigma Machine
52. The Root of All Evil (Score/LaLP)
51. Fatal Tragedy
50. Take the Time
49. Hell's Kitchen
48. On the Backs of Angels
47. Honor Thy Father
46. 6:00
45. The Shattered Fortress
44. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
43. Only A Matter of Time (Budokan)
42. Lost Not Forgotten
41. Eve
40. Breaking All Illusions
39. The Mirror
38. The Bigger Picture
37. Beyond This Life (Budokan)
36. The Silent Man
35. Trial of Tears (Budokan)
34. Sacrificed Sons (Score)
33. Scarred
32. Outcry (Metropolis Pt 1 2.0/LaLP)
31. Misunderstood
30. The Ministry of Lost Souls (CiM/Studio)
29. Home
28. The Enemy Inside
27. These Walls
26. This Dying Soul
25. Under A Glass Moon (Score)
24. Behind the Veil
23. A Change of Seasons (LSFNY)
22. Wait For Sleep (LaLP/Studio)
21. Caught in a Web
20. Learning to Live
19. Metropolis Score
18. Strange Deja Vu
17. In the Name of God
16. The Spirit Carries On (Score)
15. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Score)
14. Space Dye Vest
13. Overture 1928
12. The Dance of Eternity
11. The Great Debate
10. In The Presence of Enemies
9. Surrender to Reason
8. Finally Free
7. Blind Faith
6. Vacant (Score/studio)
5. Bridges in the Sky
4. The Count of Tuscany
3. Illumination Theory
2. THE GLASS PRISON
1. Octavarium (Score)

[Sacul]

Interesting choices, let's see if this list turns controversial
Anyways, I'm following this .

[Evermind]

Well, Pull Me Under is in my top 20, and Beneath the Surface is in my top 10, but TROAE is placed just right, only it's my favourite piece of 12SS.

Let's see how it turns out.

[Crow]

TROAE is 50 spots too low 
(I really am the only one who likes TROAE a hell of a lot, aren't i? )
Fatal Tragedy I'd also put higher, the other three are in perfectly acceptable places though. Looking forward to what did make the list~

[son_ov_hades]

Pull Me Under and Fatal Tragedy are way too low!

[Prog Snob]

The only disappointment is seeing BTS too low.  I'll be following this.

[Laughingplace56]

TROAE is 50 spots too low 
(I really am the only one who likes TROAE a hell of a lot, aren't i? )
Fatal Tragedy I'd also put higher, the other three are in perfectly acceptable places though. Looking forward to what did make the list~

I think you are the only person I've ever seen rate TRoAE THAT high 

I really like all 5 songs posted there. There's just 50 more that are better There's actually very few DT songs I don't like (You Not Me/Repentance etc) or even think are just ok (Innocence Faded/Another Day etc).

There's probably some surprises on here for some people but a few things are pretty normal I'd say. There's definitely a few songs left out that I'm sure people would rather see on the list (looking at you, SoC and Voices), but to each is own lol

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I hate all of these songs. Terrible list.












Actually, I mostly agree with these. I would have Beneath The Surface a lot higher, though.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I really like all 5 songs posted there. There's just 50 more that are better There's actually very few DT songs I don't like (You Not Me/Repentance etc) or even think are just ok (Innocence Faded/Another Day etc).

I can firmly attest that Another Day is more than just ok.

There's definitely a few songs left out that I'm sure people would rather see on the list (looking at you, SoC and Voices), but to each is own lol

Not the most controversial of thoughts, but seeing as those are definitely some of my favorites, I'll be sure to follow and see what your lists brings.

[Crow]

There's actually very few DT songs I don't like (Repentance etc) or even think are just ok (Innocence Faded/Another Day etc).

Repentance is fantastic :<
Innocence Faded and Another Day are both great too.

[Sacul]

Repentance is fantastic :<
Innocence Faded and Another Day are both great too.

This.

[Laughingplace56]

Repentance is fantastic :<
Innocence Faded and Another Day are both great too.

This.

Never got into Repentance. I love the bassline at the beginning, but that's it. I don't like the low voice (that's also used in The Shattered Fortress and I don't like it there either) and i think the song on a whole is boring.

Innocence Faded has some great guitar work, but on the whole it's just ok to me. Although i can never listen to it without hearing "SOMETHING SOMETHING. GOD IT'S SUNDAY DO HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR". Thanks DTF!

Another Day is odd to me. There's parts i really enjoy and parts that are just forgettable to me. It definitely feels very 90's-like to me though.

[jakepriest]

BTS and TROAE deserve to be much higher.

Also Repentance is awesome. The worst part of the suite IMO is This Dying Soul.

[Laughingplace56]

The beginning of the Top 50:

50. Take the Time

The 3rd weakest link of I&W. I like all 8 songs on the album, but these 3 are the bottom of the barrel compared to the other 5. Very upbeat, moving intro and some great drumming throughout. Nothing too special about this song to make it go any higher that 50 for me.

49. Hell's Kitchen

Very sweet and beautiful instrumental. I know a lot attribute this and SoC as 2 of their best instrumentals but I don't see them that way. HK is a great passage if music that serves as a great prelude into Lines in the Sand, and does fine as a stand alone song, but is just not their strongest instrumental. The theme in the last minute or so that they attached to the end of the Instrumedley is excellent.

48.On the Backs of Angels (Pull Me Under 2.0)

The better version of Pull Me Under, because it's basically the same song. Also pretty standard when it comes to DT music, but i think the instrumentation in this song is more interesting and fun than PMU. Love the lyrics and the vocal melodies in the song. Still don't think this should've opened the album but it still works well enough.

47. Honor Thy Father

I am a DT fan that loves both progressive music and straight heavy metal. A7X is my other favorite band, for example. This song is one of a few on this list that are just raw, powerful metal. Only way to start this song was with a tom and bass heavy drum intro. The main riff on this song is one of many scattered across this album that you just can't help but head bang as hard as you can. The instrumental section on this song is not their most technical, but it's very energetic and fun. The part that starts with "DONT CROSS THE CROOKED STEP" into the keyboard solo is one of the heaviest sections on the album. Awesome song.

46. 6:00

Very fun, upbeat song. Actually rather different than the rest of the dark, heavy music in Awake. Awesome drum intro is awesome of course, but I wish it was played a little faster. When MP used to do solos at shows he'd throw the beginning of this in there sometimes and play it faster and I think it sounded better. I love the vocal melodies in the "Melody walks through the door.." parts. Keyboard solo is great, the return to the intro riff throughout the song is very tasteful, and the bass line in this song is one of many great ones on this album. Great song.

Top 5 favorite songs to play on drums:

The way I'll be doing this is I'll state the name and rank of the album, say why the album is at that rank and what stands out about it drum wise, and list the 5 songs.

12. Majesty Demos/When Dream and Day Unite

I combined the Majesty Demos and WDADU because I don't play a lot of either and needed to combine them just tog et to 5 songs. It's not that I don't like the album/demos because I do, it's just I don't play them much. That being said, the drumming on this album is very good, especially considering Portnoy was just starting out.

1. Only A Matter of Time
2. Another Won
3. Ytse Jam
4. A Fortune In Lies
5. Afterlife

[Prog Snob]

Interesting choices and placements.  I agree with none of them!      If I were to redo it though, I think OTBOA would make an appearance somewhere. I really love JP's guitar parts in that song. 

[son_ov_hades]

Take The Time and 6:00 are waaaaaaay to low. On The Backs Of Angels better than Pull Me Under? 

A7X is my other favorite band

I see we will agree on nothing, there are few bands I hate more.  I'll be following intently 

[Tom Bombadil]

I like all of those songs, and all of them except OTBOA should be way higher. Interested to see what you put ahead of these.

[jakepriest]

Take The Time is too high.

The rest are fine picks though I really don't think there is anything special about OTBOA and the song goes downhill after the nice intro.

Also it will be nice to follow and see what a fellow drummer likes to play.  I still won't ever learn any of the WDADU songs because they are plain bad.

[Laughingplace56]

Interesting choices and placements.  I agree with none of them!      If I were to redo it though, I think OTBOA would make an appearance somewhere. I really love JP's guitar parts in that song.

I think OtBoA gets way too much negative attention. It's by no means their best and not even the best on that album (not even close), but it's a greatly under appreciated song.

Take The Time and 6:00 are waaaaaaay to low. On The Backs Of Angels better than Pull Me Under? 

A7X is my other favorite band

I see we will agree on nothing, there are few bands I hate more.  I'll be following intently 

TtT is a good song, but it's not all that great to me. I don't agree with some of the vocal melodies. And 6:00 is a great song, but I wouldn't put it any higher than it is.

And A7X seems to get a lot of hate around here I don't get it lol. I wouldn't have even started listening to DT if Portnoy didn't do Nightmare with them 

[jakepriest]

I wouldn't have even started listening to DT if Portnoy didn't do Nightmare with them 

Same deal here. 

[Laughingplace56]

Also it will be nice to follow and see what a fellow drummer likes to play.  I still won't ever learn any of the WDADU songs because they are plain bad.

I think it's very different than their other albums but those songs are quite fun to play. Especially OaMoT.

Also, as a disclaimer: Just because a song is in my drumming top 5 list, it does not mean it's in my Top 50.

[son_ov_hades]

Perhaps that explains it. I started listening to Dream Theater in 1999 before Scenes From A Memory was released. The first time I heard Avenged Sevenfold was from their first album in early 2000s and it was just more generic boring metalcore, which was all the rage at the time. I was told to give City of Evil a shot because it was a totally different sound, but that just seemed like a bad Guns N Roses ripoff to me. I listened to Nightmare because Mike Portnoy was on it, but that was even worse. I gave them a few shots, even saw them open for Metallica(which cemented my opinion of them  ) just not a band I'll ever like.

[Prog Snob]

Interesting choices and placements.  I agree with none of them!      If I were to redo it though, I think OTBOA would make an appearance somewhere. I really love JP's guitar parts in that song.

I think OtBoA gets way too much negative attention. It's by no means their best and not even the best on that album (not even close), but it's a greatly under appreciated song.

Agreed.  I think it's definitely a better opener than TEI.

[Laughingplace56]

Perhaps that explains it. I started listening to Dream Theater in 1999 before Scenes From A Memory was released. The first time I heard Avenged Sevenfold was from their first album in early 2000s and it was just more generic boring metalcore, which was all the rage at the time. I was told to give City of Evil a shot because it was a totally different sound, but that just seemed like a bad Guns N Roses ripoff to me. I listened to Nightmare because Mike Portnoy was on it, but that was even worse. I gave them a few shots, even saw them open for Metallica(which cemented my opinion of them  ) just not a band I'll ever like.

Their first album I don't like. I'm not a big early 2000's Metalcore fan. Their second album, Waking the Fallen, was half screaming half singing and is great. Then City of Evil on is excellent. It's not everyone's cup of tea but I love them.

And you started listening to DT when i was 3 

[Crow]

nuuu two of my top 10 songs gone already 
6:00 is also way low.
Also OtBoA isn't as powerful as PMU if you ask me. Not placed badly though. HTF I don't hate as much as I used to but it's the weakest track on ToT even still.
also it's "Melody walks through the door" ftr :B

[Laughingplace56]

also it's "Melody walks through the door" ftr :B

Woops  fixed that

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I would probably have Take the Time higher, but these are all excellent choices. Strong start I will say.

[son_ov_hades]

And you started listening to DT when i was 3 

That would make you what 17? 18? Way to make me feel old 

[Laughingplace56]

And you started listening to DT when i was 3 

That would make you what 17? 18? Way to make me feel old 

I'll be 18 in June 

[yeah_93]

Agree with On the Backs of Angels. Definitely a more thrilling song than Pull me Under.

[Laughingplace56]

And we continue....

45. The Shattered Fortress

Now at first I had TRoAE here, but i realized I liked this part of the 12SS better. I know some think it's just a rehash of the rest of the 12SS but every song after TGP takes at least one part from the previous songs. TDS starts with a part from TGP, TRoAE starts with a riff from TDS played on the toms, Repentance starts with a bass line from TDS, and then TSF starts with it's own theme. I like how it incorporates the other 4 songs throughout the song. JR's solo is probably my favorite of his from the album. I don't like the low voice from Repentance but at least it's only a really brief part of the song. The best part of the song is when it goes into the TGP-style outro. It's awesome and ends where it began (what is it Octavarium? ) Should be fun live.

44. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream

There's a live version of this song on youtube from the Awake tour where the band plays a short improv jam before the song and then goes right into it and it is divine. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3wW2Nh1Lio) I love the opening. The bassline and drums are excellent and the keys compliment them so well. Very somber tone to it and sort of a calm down after The Mirror/Lie. Great song.

43. Only A Matter of Time (Live AT Budokan(

I'm not the biggest of fans of Charles Dominici so I don't really listen to WDADU. If I listen to those songs, it's usually live versions. Like this one. First time I really listened to this song was in line for Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World (Oh yeah, forgot to mention this in my intro: along with music, my other big passion is theme parks. Specifically Universal and Disney.) and since I had to wait 40 minutes, I figured I'd give it a shot to take some time out. I love the opening synth part. Very 80's sounding and moving. I think my favorite part of this song is the lyrics. I think they're written incredibly well. "But if faith is the answer, we've already reached it; And if spirit's a sign, then it's only a matter of time". The outro carries out the song very well.

42. Lost Not Forgotten (Under A Glass Moon 2.0)

Another song that gets a bad rep for no reason around here. Sure it's very reminiscent of UAGM but most songs on ADToE are similar to I&W songs. The bass and drum riff behind the intro is amazing, I for one enjoy the keyboard/guitar unison beginning that everyone seems to hate, and the riff in the first verse is awesome. Very fun, groovin song.

41. Eve

This song is one of the biggest reasons I'm glad I found this forum. I wouldn't even know it existed if it wasn't mentioned on here over and over on how amazing it is and how it should be brought back live. I figured I should check out what everyone's going on about and boy am I glad I did. Such a beautiful piece of music. Very simple, very melodic, very sweet. Very different from their other instrumentals.

Top 5 favorite songs to play on drums

11. Falling Into Infinity

I'm not one of those people who hate this album, because while I don't hate it/praise it as most do, I think it's a good album. That being said, I don't really play much from it on drums. The drumming on the album is fantastic and probably one of Portnoy's best, but I don't like playing it. For example, ToT and LitS have some phenomenal drumming. I find it boring to play. That being said, there are a few songs I do play every now and then from here. JLMB is the only fun song on the album to play to me. HK I like to play every now and then when I'm feeling tired and want to play something melodic and slow. PS NM and BMS I just have to be in the mood for to play, which isn't terribly often.

1. Just Let Me Breathe
2. Hell's Kitchen
3. Peruvian Skies
4. New Millennium
5. Burning My Soul

[son_ov_hades]

I enjoy all of these songs  The Shattered Fortress wouldn't make my top 50 but it is a pretty cool song. I greatly prefer the When Dream And Day Unite version of Only A Matter Of Time, but seeing love for songs from that era in any form is always welcome!

[jakepriest]

Lost Not Forgotten is one of DT's worst songs. It's horrible.

TSF is amazing and I love seeing it in anyone's top 50. 

As far as drumming on FII goes, I really like playing Peruvian Skies, Hell's Kitchen and Trial of Tears. The other songs have boring drumming imho.

[Crow]

LNF is not just "similar" to UaGM, it is a complete and total ripoff, a poor man's UaGM, a song that is a total waste of 10 minutes of album space, a song with nothing new to offer and nothing that compares to the song it's rewriting. So I cannot agree with its placement on any list  short of a worst of DT list

TSF is alright but not a song that ever warrants relistens because I'd rather listen to the other better parts of the suite. LSOAD is cool and place well enough to make me happy. OAMOT is my least favorite WDADU song though, Dominici is just uuugh on that one despite it being one of the better written songs on the album otherwise. And Eve is way too low, but I can be happy about its inclusion at all.
Hell's Kitchen is a song I'd really love to learn properly on drums, partly because it's amazing and partly because the drum line sounds damn fun, but I'd need a second kick pedal and a less crappy kit to do it justice x3;

[Tom Bombadil]

LITS and TOT are a fun songs to drum to, but I agree that most of the album is pretty boring in that regard.
And Eve is awesome