What song to help a newbie get hooked on DT.

[Shawn]

So, If someone has never heard of DT, what song would you have them listen to and become familiar with first?

[JayOctavarium]

Depends. Is this newbie a metal head or a prog lover?

[Kotowboy]

As I am usually gets people into DT.

[Invisible]

Depends. Is this newbie a metal head or a prog lover?

Why does it have to be one of those? I was neither when I started to listen to them.

But it is an important matter, the person tastes will definetely define what I'd first give to listen. A good song is always Pull Me Under or Take The Time as they have most of the elements of DT in a short enough song. 6:00, Caught In A Web and Lifting Shadows are the ones that got my interest and Lines In The Sand the one that sealed the deal, but it varies greatly from person to person. It is easier if the person is one of the two Jay mentioned.

Scenes would be the album to show a newbie to show what the band is mostly about, both metal heads and prog lovers will be interested as it's probably the best balance between the two elements. (and no, it's not my favorite album)

My recommendation is to make a playlist with 5 to 10 songs to show enough variety, one song is not enough to judge a band, especially not one like this.

[TheAtliator]

Scenes hooked me originally. As for others, Forsaken and Take the Time have worked once. I've tried Lost Not Forgotten, I don't know if it works though. One time I showed someone Outcry and she said it was "beautiful" so I'm not sure, but I think somehow the bombastic 5 minute world-wide war scene of musical chaos might have somehow gone over her head..

The thing is that you could basically show anyone anything from Dream Theater (unless it was tampered with by an outside force) and there's always going to be something outstandingly good there.

[Sacul]

If he likes 80's metal, Awake or if he prefers modern metal, Train of Thought. I&W for prog or rock in general.

[son_ov_hades]

Pull Me Under will always and forever be the song that should be an introduction to the band. Though the first song I heard was A Change Of Seasons. 

[TheGreatPretender]

As I am usually gets people into DT.

If they're Metal heads, definitely. Although it was still kind of sad to hear, "Wow, a Dream Theater song that I actually like."



I say, just plunge them right into the craziness with The Dance of Eternity!

[Tis BOOLsheet]

So, If someone has never heard of DT, what song would you have them listen to and become familiar with first?

Totally depends on the person. The average person/casual music listener would probably favor something very different from someone who is mostly into metal.

[TheGreatPretender]

A friend of mine who's not into metal, really enjoyed IWBY and Hollow Years, so yeah.

[jakepriest]

As I am usually gets people into DT.

As this is the song that got me into DT, I have to agree.

[James Sucellus]

Take the Time.

It's just so fucking fun, whilst also being nicely complex.

[Daso]

Take the Time.

It's just so fucking fun, whilst also being nicely complex.

I agree.


I'd say let them hear Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (the whole song). It's a good choice, considering it's quite melodic, dramatic, has great technical moments and a wide variety of them.

If the person doesn't have a lot of time, he/she should at least take the time to listen to Take the Time.

[TheGreatPretender]

Take the Time.

It's just so fucking fun, whilst also being nicely complex.

Not sure I want to introduce my favorite band to someone who never heard them before, with lyrics like, "It's time to take the time."

[Setlist Scotty]

Pull Me Under will always and forever be the song that should be an introduction to the band.

This. It's what grabbed the attention of many fans, and there's a number of reasons why:
It's the band's biggest hit, is *relatively* representative of DT's sound and style, and it has a catchy chorus.

What more do you want if you can only play one song for someone new to them?

[TheGreatPretender]

What more do you want if you can only play one song for someone new to them?

Personally, what hooked me on DT were the crazy, unpredictable, extended instrumentals, whether separate tracks, or as sections of songs. Songs like Fatal Tragedy and ITPOE Pt. 1, so I'd definitely choose something more progressive. I mean, Pull Me Under is a great song, but personally, it's not the type of song I'd listen to and said, "Okay, I definitely get what the big deal about this band is."

[Rodni Demental]

These are songs that I've played that have been appreciated by non-dt fans. At least some of tthese have made some friends semi-fans (I only say that because they still don't know their discography in and out like most of us but they tend to enjoy it when DT is playing).

But naturally, Pull Me Under because it's Pull Me Under (catchy chorus, traditional structure, but still well developed and not too short). Other good ones can be, Panic Attack for the baseline, Forsaken for the catchy piano motif and the riffage, As I Am for riffage, Endless Sacrifice for good melodies and riffage, Stream of Consciousness for slightly more complex riffage.

Personally, I can think of 3 that completely sold a mate of mine, Honor Thy Father for it's syncopated riffs, Contant Motion for it's riffage and solos and The Count of Tuscany for epicness in a more accessible form.

With the new album I might test out The Enemy Inside, but that one might be a bit full on if they're not into metal (I've had mixed reactions with this one  ). But if there's anything I've learnt about Dream Theater, it's that there's different strokes for different folks. The stuff I mentioned is really just introductory stuff IMO because obviously there's far more complex songs to be appreciated for something other than badass guitar riffs but I find it's one of the first things people start appreciating in DT is the guitar work. (Even though personally I'm more interested in keyboards).

For the record, here are some songs that I thought people might like, that I've had somewhat surprising negative reactions from: A Nightmare To Remember because it sounded like a horror movie, A Rite Of Passage for it's chorus, Enigma Machine because it's apparently too atonal, About to Crash section of Six Degrees because of it's lyrics, Voices because of it's vocals  , anything from WDADU. Which is certainly a surprise because I like all of the above  . Oh yeah, and Sacrificed Sons, I've been told the instrumental section is too much which I also find surprising because it's not like it's Outcry's middle section of something but at the end of the day, they'll only like it if they find something about it that they enjoy so depends on the type of music they're into really. Besides, people can even find it annoying if you're a 'music pusher' I have some friends that play a lot of Djent Metal which is kinda the more modern progressive metal scene in a lot of ways, but I don't click with a lot of it. I can appreciate the composition and arrangement sometimes but normally it's the growl/scream vocals that are incomprehensible unless you read the lyrics, and they sound like I'm being yelled at, most of the time, and it feels like they really need some food (as JLB would put it). It's not for me but oh boy do people try and make me like it.  I just kinda listen to DT casually and people might hear it but I don't really try and make anyone listen to it if they don't want to.

[Lucien]

My first song was Octavarium, and that intro got me hooked on ambient music.

[JayOctavarium]

Pull Me Under will always and forever be the song that should be an introduction to the band.

On The Backs Of Angels

[Scorpion]

HAHA GET IT 'CAUSE THEY'RE BASICALLY IDENTICAL I MEAN THIAGO SAID SO

[JayOctavarium]

LOL I KNOW RIGHT???


I really don't wanna delve to deep into beating that dead horse... but I do see a similarity between the two


And OTBOA does make a decent intro to DT. Even better than PMU IMO due to the modernness of the track.


Pull Me Under is too 80's

[TheGreatPretender]

OTBOA is much less impressive than PMU though. Aside from the piano break and solo section, there's nothing too noteworthy about it. Again, I can't imagine showing it to a newb, and have them get interested in exploring further into DT's discography.

[BlobVanDam]

OTBOA didn't even get me hooked, and I was already a DT fan. I wouldn't show it to a non fan.

As others have said, it really depends on their musical tastes. DT have covered a fair bit of ground, and absolutely no individual song shows that full range.

However, if they're into metal, The Glass Prison is a sure bet (which would be pretty much anyone I was trying to get into the band), so that's always a good choice. Kotowboy's suggestion of As I Am is a great one too.

[TheGreatPretender]

Personally, I always say, no matter what your musical tastes are, there's at least one Dream Theater song out there for you. So it does depend on the person's musical tastes, but usually, I'm able to find something.

[JayOctavarium]

I got one of my best friends hooked by playing him A Nightmare To Remember.

[54_diplomats]

Pull me Under, The Glass Prison, As I Am, Metropolis pt.1 (maybe), and The Mirror.

[KevShmev]

Take the Time.

It's just so fucking fun, whilst also being nicely complex.

[adastra]

My Nightwish loving girlfriend heard Forsaken yesterday and liked it.  I gave her my copy of Octavarium to listen   I hope she likes it!

[Sycsa]

I was a '70s prog guy and I was mesmerized by Instrumedley. I often put in the Budokan DVD just to watch it in awe. "Too bad the rest of the DVD is just annoying metal with that whiny singer" - I thought back then, and indeed, it took me five years to penetrate the rest.

[aprilethereal]

I was mainly into metal when I got into DT, so TOT was the album that got me hooked, specifically As I Am, Stream Of Consciousness and Endless Sacrifice.

[Invisible]

So, If someone has never heard of DT, what song would you have them listen to and become familiar with first?

Totally depends on the person. The average person/casual music listener would probably favor something very different from someone who is mostly into metal.

Not necessarily, I'm a non metal fan, and back when I started to listen to DT I couldn't even stand metal aside from 10 songs or so, but got hooked with Awake, their so called "heavy album from the '90s". Well, I first got through LTE, but still. The keyboards and more pop oriented melodies with funky rythms like 6:00 and the good lyrics got my interest in a way that I&W did not at the time(except Take The Time, again because of the funky elements).

The problem with I&W, aside from the '80s production, is James voice shows it's kind of old fashioned hair metal approach. Sure, it has all the trademarks of a classic rock album, and it definetely is, but my first impression wasn't that good. Actually the song that made go back was Metropolis for the crazy instrumental.

And even as a big U2 fan, I cringed the first time I heard I Walk Beside You. I always thought it's a bad idea to show a fanboy of "X" band to show them the song that resembles the most to that band, you need to show why DT is different, not as a more of the same kind of band. So I'd go with songs that accomplish that first but still has something familiar to grab on to, which is why I listed those songs in my first post.

[Lucien]

I would also say Voices is a great track to start someone with.

[Nearmyth]

Second on A Nightmare To Remember - It was probably my first real DT song that I would listen to and I think its a perfect showcase of DT's musical abilities, range of genre/sound, and their complexity (which, if they aren't a prog listener, they would have to get used to )

[wolfking]

Metropolis
The Glass Prison
A Change of Seasons
Pull Me Under

[TheGreatPretender]

A Change of Seasons is only the kind of song I'd show to a true Prog fan, someone who liked 2112. Not saying those are the only people who like it, but for most people, if that's their introduction to DT, I highly doubt they'll be able to digest it, without at least some kind of preparation. Heck, it took ME a while to digest it, after fawning over SFAM.