Favorite 12 Step Suite Song

[Zydar]

Definitely TROAE. I don't really care for the rest. Repentance bores me to tears and TSF feels too disjointed. TDS and TGP are good to okay.

1. The Root Of All Evil
2. This Dying Soul
3. The Glass Prison
4. The Shattered Fortress
5. Repentance

[GasparXR]

It's amusing that you'd place TSF first, and say there's nothing special about TGP, considering that a significant chunk of TSF is directly recycled from TGP.

I know what you mean, but he probably thinks the actually arrangement of those parts are better in TSF than in TGP. Personally, I think that even though most of the song uses recycled parts, the arrangement of them was done very well.

I've said this previously, but I think the reprise of "Now that you can see all you have done" from TDS is beautiful and even better than the original, and the key change into the chorus of TROAE has a great emotional impact on me, especially when the line "I am ready" kicks in, with an amazing string arrangement of the lead guitar line. Probably my favourite chunk of the entire suite, even though TGP is my favourite song overall. I could probably place TSF as number two for that reason.

Another key change that I think was done well was the "I am responsible" section into the TGP reprise. Even though the riff is in the same key as it was in TGP, I find it has a great impact because it's the only time it was reprised in the whole suite, and because of the key change.

[?]

1. The Shattered Fortress
2. The Glass Prison = The Root of All Evil
3. Repentance
4. This Dying Soul

What does this mean? :<

He thinks they're equally good.

[BlobVanDam]

It's amusing that you'd place TSF first, and say there's nothing special about TGP, considering that a significant chunk of TSF is directly recycled from TGP.

I know what you mean, but he probably thinks the actually arrangement of those parts are better in TSF than in TGP. Personally, I think that even though most of the song uses recycled parts, the arrangement of them was done very well.

I've said this previously, but I think the reprise of "Now that you can see all you have done" from TDS is beautiful and even better than the original, and the key change into the chorus of TROAE has a great emotional impact on me, especially when the line "I am ready" kicks in, with an amazing string arrangement of the lead guitar line. Probably my favourite chunk of the entire suite, even though TGP is my favourite song overall. I could probably place TSF as number two for that reason.

Another key change that I think was done well was the "I am responsible" section into the TGP reprise. Even though the riff is in the same key as it was in TGP, I find it has a great impact because it's the only time it was reprised in the whole suite, and because of the key change.

I actually think the key change into the TROAE reprise is probably the most awkward transition of the song, and I don't like it. It contributes to the copy/paste feel of the song, and that's around the point where the song goes off the rails for me.
I do like the variations they've done with the TGP reprisals, and adding new melodies and vocals over the top, but at the end of the day, to me the song isn't very inspired at all. It works ok in the context of the 12SS as a whole, but as an individual song, it just feels like a medley of songs I'd rather be listening to.

[aprilethereal]

1. The Glass Prison
2. This Dying Soul

3. The Root Of All Evil
4. The Shattered Fortress












5. Repentance

[wolfking]

This Dying Soul

[CharlesPL]

The Root of All Evil

[son_ov_hades]

The Glass Prison
The Shattered Fortress
Repentance
The Root Of All Evil
This Dying Soul

The only song I truly like a lot is The Glass Prison. This Dying Soul is just not good, it has some cool parts but overall is very lame.

[aprilethereal]

This Dying Soul is just not good, it has some cool parts but overall is very lame.

[mikeyd23]

The Glass Prison

[Jaffa]

1. The Glass Prison
2. This Dying Soul
3. The Root of All Evil
4. The Shattered Fortress
5. Repentance

[Tomislav95]

1. The Root of All Evil
2. The Glass Prison
3. Repentance
4. The Shattered Fortress
5. This Dying Soul

[The Letter M]

Rank The Twelve-Steps Suite
Best part of the Twelve-Step Suite...
Best song from Twelve-step Suite

Guess this is an annual thread now? 

Also, I did a Twelve-Step Suite Survivor a couple years ago, where I did it by song for one part, and then by steps for another. I wonder if I should do that again, now that it's been a few years since the suite has been completed and everyone's had plenty of time to digest the whole thing.

-Marc.

[OsMosis2259]

1.The Glass Prison
2.The Root of All Evil
3.This Dying Soul
4.Repentance
5.The Shattered Fortress

I think the first three are flawless. The last two have great moments but can be hit or a miss.

[Nearmyth]

1. The Glass Prison

2. Repentance
3. This Dying Soul

4. The Shattered Fortress
5. The Root of All Evil

[Laughingplace56]

Since I finished my Top 50, here are my rankings:

1. The Glass Prison. By a ridiculous landslide.






2. This Dying Soul
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. The Root of All Evil


5. Repentance

[Invisible]

The Root of All Evil is the one that made me listen to the others, so that's my nº1. It also feels the most cohesive. As for my ranking:

2. This Dying Soul
3. Repentance(don't get the hate for this one)
4. The Glass Prison



5. The Shattered Fortress (not that it's bad, I just don't like it as much as the others)

[The Stray Seed]

TGP. No game.

[Nekov]

Why am I not amazed that TGP is winning by a landslide?

[Laughingplace56]

Why am I not amazed that TGP is winning by a landslide?

Because TGP is a magnificent beast of wonder? 

[MirzekDT]

1. The Shattered Fortress
2. The Root Of All Evil
3. Repentance
4. The Glass Prison
5. This Dying Soul

This Dying Soul has many awesome sections and is a great song and all the reprises from it in other songs are part of those awesome sections but it has also the most amount of just okay sections from 12 Step Songs so that's the reason why it's last.

[hefdaddy42]

Among these 5 songs, TGP is the clear standout, and is in a league of its own.

1. The Glass Prison



2. The Root of All Evil
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. This Dying Soul
5. Repentance

[7deg_inner_happiness]

I love all the songs in the 12 step suite, but here is my ranking:
1. The Glass Prison
2. Repentance
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. The Root of All Evil
5. This Dying Soul

[ozzy554]

1. The Glass prison without a doubt. (it's also one of the songs that got me into DT.)

2. Root of all evil

3. This dying soul

4. The Shattered Fortress

5. Repentance

[Laughingplace56]

Loving the TGP landslide victory. The fans have spoken, Dream Theater. Take out TSF and BRING TGP BACK INTO THE SET. Please? 

[sylvinception]

Even if I don't exactly know what "12 step suite song" means...

1 - This Dying Soul
2 - The Glass Prison
3 - The Root of All Evil


Not ranked === >>> Repentance and  The Shattered Fortress === >>> hate them.

[Outcrier]

1 - The Glass Prison
2 - This Dying Soul
3 - The Root of All Evil

Not ranked === >>> Repentance and  The Shattered Fortress === >>> hate them.

[ZKX-2099]

Prison>Soul>Fortress>Root>Repent


Repentance is awesome though.

[wolven74]

The Glass Prison is by a far margin the best song of the whole suite...

It goes like this:

The Glass Prison
This Dying Soul
The Shattered Fortress
The Root of All Evil
Repentance

[Theme Dreater]

1. The Glass Prison
2. The Shattered Fortress
3. Root of All Evil
4. This Dying Soul
5. Repentance

I don't really dislike any of them, but that's how my ranking goes.

[JiM-Xtreme]

1. This Dying Soul
2. The Glass Prison
3. The Shattered Fortress
4. Repentance
5. The Root of All Evil

[robwebster]

The Root of All Evil's way at the top. An absolutely top tier song - musical, technical, interesting riffs, great chorus. A quintessential DT track. Love it to bits.

The Glass Prison's great, too, and that's second. I've gained a little more love for The Shattered Fortress this weekend, but I think This Dying Soul still trumps it, just about. That's a compliment, cos I'm not cold on TDS. Reflections of Reality (Revisited), on its own, could stand side by side with TGP, but it doesn't know when to stop.

Repentance brings up the rear - it's one trick, stretched a bit thin - but listen to it on the right night, in the right frame of mind, and it'll shoot right to the top of the list. At its best, genuinely haunting.

[Rodni Demental]

I'll be honest with you, right now my first thought was TGP, it's one of those songs that's just constantly grown on me. But then I hesitated, because I had a bad feeling that Repentance would be totally under represented so I voted R instead and I'm glad I did because I think it's great. I also really like the Bass tone, Chord progressions and vocal harmonies at the end and never really felt that it dragged on too long.

But I've also had a ROAE phase and TSF. I think TDS is the only one I haven't completely got into but I still consider it a great sequel to TGP.