Another top 50 thread v. son_ov_hades

[son_ov_hades]

The Budokan solo on Hollow Years is one of the most out of place shred for shredding sake solo that JP has ever done. It's good, but for a completely different song and I don't like it.

That whole added section at the end just kind of ruins the song.

[jakepriest]

The Budokan solo on Hollow Years is one of the most out of place shred for shredding sake solo that JP has ever done. It's good, but for a completely different song and I don't like it.

That whole added section at the end just kind of ruins the song.

I couldn't listen to the song if the solo wasn't there. There is a reason why Hollow Years is on skip status when I listen to FII.

[son_ov_hades]

Moving right along with the list, I have two songs that I don't think will be controversial. Maybe some will say they're too low, but I doubt anyone hates these songs. Feel free to prove me wrong though.

#36  Under A Glass Moon




The unison/harmonies going on in the intro between Moore and Petrucci! That rhythm guitar riff under the vocals! Those insane high notes that LaBrie screams with ease! Is there anything about this song that isn't absolutely awesome? The instrumental after the verses is totally great as well. The one thing that drags the song down a bit is Petrucci's solo that goes on a bit too long, but that's a minor complaint. This song has Kevin Moore's second best solo too, what a mind blowing run! I'm also not crazy about how the song ends, but really I'm just trying to justify it being this low now. I find Under A Glass Moon to be the worst from Images And Words, but that means it is still a great song.



#35 Peruvian Skies




A dark, brooding atmosphere creeps out of the first few notes. On an album that is otherwise quite positive and light in tone this song is a powerful counterpart. There is a sort of haunting beauty in the the first half of the song, from the eerie keyboards to the soulful vocals, the emotion pours. Then Peruvian Skies builds and gets heavier, suddenly the mood is one of anger and hate. John Petrucci's solo continues to build this atmosphere, once it ends the band kicks our asses with a heavy section reminiscent of Metallica. James leads the song to its climax, "Battered and bruised, always confusing
The love that she's losing for HAAAATE!". This is a perfect example of an expertly crafted song that every single note is meaningful and necessary.

[jakepriest]

UAGM is pretty boring. I think it drags I&W down a bit.
Peruvian Skies is too low for me, but it's nice atleast seeing it on a list. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Peruvian Skies is awesome.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Both great songs. My least favorite from I&W is probably Surrounded, which is also a great song, but UAGM is my second least favorite.

[Evermind]

UAGM is pretty boring. I think it drags I&W down a bit.

I agree with this, the worst song of I&W for me too (and the only one which didn't make my Top 50).

Peruvian Skies placement is spot on.

[Outcrier]

Good, i put UAGM higher but that is fine.

[Crow]

No complaints to be had about either of these here. Two very good songs.

[bl5150]

Good, i put UAGM higher but that is fine.

[Laughingplace56]

Peruvian Skies is pretty boring. I think it drags FII down as much as most of the rest of the album does on its own.
UAGM is too low for me, but it's nice at least seeing it on a list. 

FTFM

[son_ov_hades]

UAGM is pretty boring. I think it drags I&W down a bit.
Peruvian Skies is too low for me, but it's nice atleast seeing it on a list. 

I was about to say "we don't agree on anything!" but then I read the second line.  But seriously calling Under A Glass Moon boring is just...you're wrong 


I like to see that most people agree those are both great songs. We had a nice respite from the arguing, controversy, and bad taste(from everyone who disagrees with me  ). But let's bring back the hate.

#34  Along for the Ride





Dream Theater has a real knack for writing a great ballad, this is no exception to that rule. LaBrie is the star of this song without a doubt. From the soft beauty of the beginning, to the sing along chorus, to the very strong belting of "Finding hope in our hopeless lives!", James proves why he is a truly great singer. The guitar on the this song is nothing mind blowing and certainly not groundbreaking, but quite tasteful and very nice. I like that Petrucci can take a backseat to every once in awhile. The use of strings adds a lot of atmosphere and contributes to the beauty of the song. But by far my favorite part of the song is Keith Emerson's amazing Moog solo.
In all seriousness I wouldn't be surprised if Rudess played it on an old school analog snyth. This is a top 5 Rudess solo for me, especially as analog snyths are pretty much my favorite sounding instruments. The solo is a total homage to the 70s prog rock keyboardists like the aforementioned Emerson, Tony Banks, or maybe even Rick Wakeman; something that I appreciate immensely as I love that scene so much. Along For The Ride is another example of why Dream Theater is such an amazing album. 



#33 False Awakening Suite/The Enemy Inside






False Awakening Suite is just so fucking cool! I know they were trying to go for a cinematic vibe, but to me it is much more like video game music. This is amazing for me as a huge video game nerd, and listening to it I really feel like I'm in a boss battle in a Zelda game. I love everything about this killer intro. Now it may be cheating but I can't separate False Awakening Suite from The Enemy inside. That opening riff is just so heavy this is the most crushing riff Petrucci has ever written and it rules. I love how Mangini's double bass work pairs with Petrucci's right hand rhythms, it shows how well he fits in to this band. Rudess' solo is concise, to the point, and fits the song perfectly. This is something I'm very glad to hear him do. In the bridge we get a dose of LaBrie's extremely powerful voice, which is even more impressive this late into his career. The fact that the band can write and play a song with this amount of energy and adrenaline nearly 30 years later is amazing.

[jakepriest]

TEI is great but Along for the Ride is meh. Not even the great solo can save it.

1/2 once again. Well played.

[Crow]

*walks in*

DT12.

*walks out*

[Outcrier]

*walks in*

DT12.

*walks out*

[Laughingplace56]

Love The Enemy Inside, FAS is great and an awesome opener, but AFTR is just meh. Wish they called the tour "False Awakening Tour" or something like that (hell just "An Evening With...") and left that track and substituted BtV or StR.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Not crazy about FAS, but the other two are really good.

[Invisible]

As far as DT cheesy ballads go(BTS, TALW, not Dissapear which is on the awesome ballads ), AFTR may be one of their best, still I don't think it would have made my Top 50.

Kind of the same with FAS/TEI, I approve the pairing as TEI kind of lacks a proper intro. False Awakening Suite must be awesome as a concert opener, but wouldn't make my Top 50, neither would The Enemy Inside. Good tracks, but there are better even on DT12.

I can't argue with UAGM(THAT's a shreddy solo that actually fits the song!) and Peruvian Skies though .

[Sacul]

2 DT12 songs that will never make a top 50, not because they're bad but there are another amazing songs the band has written, that these two songs feel weird here.

[son_ov_hades]

  I'll never understand the hate that the new album gets, for me its the best thing they've done since Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. But oh well, I knew these two picks wouldn't be the most popular. Coming later today will be a song that everyone seems to love and one that gets a bunch of hate. I hope I've piqued your curiosity 

[Crow]

DT12 is a bland mush of horribly produced songs that don't have a reason to exist. None of the songs are particularly bad (aside from BTV) but none of them stand out in any way and DT has written so many better songs. Did I mention the production is all-around awful btw

[Outcrier]

DT12 is a bland mush of horribly produced songs that don't have a reason to exist.None of the songs are particularly bad (aside from BTV) but none of them stand out in any way and DT has written so many better songs. Did I mention the production is all-around awful btw

Yeah but what to do? It's not like they can write prog metal masterpieces forever

[son_ov_hades]

#32  Afterlife




Fair warning: I totally love When Dream And Day Unite. The opening riff is very much Petrucci trying to be Chris Degarmo, but I'm cool with that. I love their 80s prog metal sound. Charlie Dominici gets a lot of shit but I really like his voice and his unique style. When he sings "In the Afterlifeeeeeeeee ohhhhh" I'd put him right up there with Geoff Tate or John Arch or any of the other prog metal singers of the day. It slows down and we get a great Kevin Moore part, almost ambient that leads into a great Yngwie impression by Petrucci. But then we have an OMG! Moment, in the amazing unison between Petrucci and Moore. This makes what would otherwise be a good song into a great great damn song! The band showed how much of a class act they were even this early. This is the first of several When Dream And Day Unite songs on this list, if you don't like the genius that is the album you won't like the later part of the list. Sorry not sorry



#31  In the Presence of Enemies




First of all, this epic has such an incredible intro! The first time I heard the long instrumental part before the vocals come in I was completely blown away. After the let down that was Octavarium(the album) I was immediately excited for Systematic Chaos. Unfortunately as we all know, the rest of the album in no way lives up to In The Presence Of The Enemies. I love how Petrucci goes from playing a billion notes in four seconds to the much slower, soulful playing. The guy is just that good, not that I need to tell any you that. Then the song gets grooving and LaBrie comes in with this almost soothing tone just long enough to lull you into a false calm to blow you away with "Do you still wait for your god?!". The keyboard sounds that Rudess uses in the background create this cosmic, distant atmosphere, drawing you into a musical world. This is much more than just a song. The unison right before the end of part is just .

The decision to split the song in two was a bold one that could have gone horribly wrong. Thankfully it did just the opposite. The fact that the only great song both opens and closes Systematic Chaos makes it much more listenable. If In The Presence Of The Enemies was a single track I'd probably only ever listen to that side of the record and the other three sides would rarely ever get played. Knowing that I have the rest of a great song to come makes the remainder of the album seem like a challenge, and the prize is part 2. With all that in mind I'm still very happy to have seen them play the whole song on the Systematic Chaos tour. Rudess' creepy, piano intro to part 2 gives me chills, it is truly wonderful. I love James'  soothing tone again that builds to the screamed "heretic!". Suddenly the song jumps into a really heavy section complete with 80s style trash riffs and even gang vocals! The transition is a bit awkward, but fuck it I LOVE this section. The solostrubation part goes on a bit long and is ridiculously self indulgent, but hey its Dream Theater. I enjoy the orchestral style keyboards with James above them at the end, but the "big rock show ending" is pretty out of place.

[jakepriest]

I don't like Afterlife and ITPOE is far too low.

[Sacul]

I don't like Afterlife.

Take this for the Pain

[bl5150]

I don't like Afterlife and ITPOE is far too low.

I like Afterlife and ITPOE is way too high 

I really only enjoy the instrumental parts of ITPOE Pt 1 - other than that .......not for me.

[jakepriest]

I don't like Afterlife.

Take this for the Pain

I turned it up after the solo part and did not expect my ears to be raped over and over by Petrucci in such brutal way.

[Crow]

Afterlife is the best WDADU song.
ItPoE is still overrated but what can I say at this point 

[son_ov_hades]

I apologize again for the delay in updates. But hey here's at least another song that most people won't like!  I'm really starting to realize my taste is very divergent from most here.

#30  Fatal Tragedy




"Alone at night I feel so strange", the opening lines of vocals with nothing more than piano accompaniment draw you in immediately. Then the full band comes in and the song gets a nice mid paced groove going. And we come to the best backing vocal moment of Dream Theater's career. "Without love, without truth" "There can be no turning back", damn that is just awesome! Shortly thereafter the song gets heavy with Petrucci, Portnoy, and Myung playing in unison a simple yet extremely effective rhythm, this part rules as well. "Oh an instrumental break cool, HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS IS AWESOME!" that's what went through my head the first time I heard this song and it is still just as impressive. Rudess and Petrucci trading off solos, Portnoy and Myung's awesome rhythm in the background, and then it speeds up and everyone goes crazy. One of the best endings of any Dream Theater song, "Death is not the end, only a transition", finishes the song and I'm left wanting more. This is why Scenes From A Memory is so perfect, every song is integral and makes the others that much better.



#29  The Looking Glass




Yes it sounds like Rush, yes that is why I love it. Seriously Rush is my favorite band ever, and Dream Theater has always sounded like Rush. Now stop bitching. I love how melodic, yet how rocking this song is. Its a simple song on the surface, but has so much going on under the radar. Mike Mangini shines here giving us his best Neal Peart impression, I think this is my favorite performance of his with the band. The vocals are a real highlight as well, especially in the verses. Very melodic, very controlled, and mature; this type of singing is great to hear James do well as it is quite different from his classic style. The Looking Glass is my second favorite song on Dream Theater, and that's saying a lot because the album is incredible. 

[jakepriest]

Two songs that wouldn't make my top 50.

Fatal Tragedy is okay, but I really dislike the chorus. The vocal section you like I just find meh. The instrumental is pretty cool though.
TLG is the worst song on DT12. It's just so lame. The riffs, the vocals... and the horrible chorus.

[son_ov_hades]

Jake I'm just going to assume that every update will get some kind of hate from you.  I find it totally fascinating how different our tastes are, and the back and fourth is fun. I think you posts will be thanks even more entertaining in the top half! 

[jakepriest]

I have a pretty weird taste. You're never going to fully agree with someone but I generally disagree more than I agree with a list.  Who knows, I might make a top 50 but I doubt anyone would be interested in it.

[son_ov_hades]

I'd certainly be interested in reading it. If for no other reason than the many      and I'm sure a few   

[Outcrier]

Fatal Tragedy is too fucking low, that instrumental section (specially the riff) is one of the most badass DT moments ever.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

TLG is great. Maybe I wouldn't have it that high though. I would probably place FT around the same spot.