A Nightmare to Remember

[Enigmachine]

What do you think of the song? I'm aware that not many people are fond of the 'Day after day' section, but I don't really know the general view on the entire thing. Personally, I think that it is a great song that could've been amazing had about five minutes been cut as the last eight minutes after the 'Beautiful Agony' section can get tiring as there is not a ton of dynamics in that half of the song. However, sometimes I just ignore the faults and end up loving it the whole way through, which is how I feel about BCaSL in general.

[Kotowboy]

I just think that apart form that section - it just goes on WAY too long.

It doesn't need to be 16 minutes.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I like it.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

This and The Count of Tuscany are the best things about the BC&SL album.

It could have been so much better with some editing, like the ending that drags so fucken' much.

Oh, and day after day everyone survived thank god ANGRY ROAAAAR BECAUSE I'M GLAD EVERYONE'S OK is an unnecessary section. I remember that the first time I listened to that I actually chuckled a bit, and definitely one of the things I don't miss from Portnoy.

Everything else is superb; I love the riffs, I love the vocal delivery, I love the quiet interlude, etc.

[bosk1]

Fantastic song.  It doesn't make my top 10, but it is close.  You criticism of the "day after day" section from me either.  That section is great, other than the "roar."  My only minor criticisms would be (1) the "roar" goes just a bit too far and seems out of place, (2) the instrumental section feels just a bit too long and could be shaved down maybe :30 - :45, and (3) the blast beat is just a hair off.  If not for those things, it probably would be a top 10 song for me.

[hefdaddy42]

The first part of the song sounds too Metallica-inspired for me.

The "Beautiful Agony" section is fantastic, far and away the best part of the song. 

The instrumental section following that is OK, I guess, but nothing special, and too long.

When the vocals come back with the rougher vocals by MP, that is kind of laughable and misplaced.  Just doesn't work for me at all.

And then it drags on forever into the bitter end.  On the way there, we have the MP mid-life crisis blastbeats to contend with, that are completely unnecessary.

So overall, I don't care for it.  With a little editing and self-control, it could have been quite a bit better.

[TheCountOfNYC]

This song and TCoT are the two reasons I bought BC&SL. I think this is one of their best songs and I don't feel like any section drags or that anything is out of place like a lot of people do. My one criticism of the song is that the solos from both JR and JP are some of their weakest. Considering that this album has te keyboard solo from A Rite of Passage and the guitar solos from The Shattered Fortress and The Best of Times are from the same album, it makes the solos in A Nightmare to Remember sound that much worse. Other than that, it's a truly amazing song.

[rumborak]

The first part of the song sounds too Metallica-inspired for me.

The "Beautiful Agony" section is fantastic, far and away the best part of the song. 

The instrumental section following that is OK, I guess, but nothing special, and too long.

When the vocals come back with the rougher vocals by MP, that is kind of laughable and misplaced.  Just doesn't work for me at all.

And then it drags on forever into the bitter end.  On the way there, we have the MP mid-life crisis blastbeats to contend with, that are completely unnecessary.

So overall, I don't care for it.  With a little editing and self-control, it could have been quite a bit better.

Not much to add after this dead-on post.

[Tick]

Besides the MP cartoonish vocal part I am a big fan of this song! Its a great song to crank up while driving over the old and decrepit Tappen Zee Bridge!

[Enigmachine]

I just think that apart form that section - it just goes on WAY too long.

It doesn't need to be 16 minutes.

I actually once made an edit of it that was about 5 minutes shorter that seemed much less bloated, although I deleted it as I felt that it just felt weird to miss out parts of the song. I cut out unneccesary repeats of riffs and of course, I cut out the infamous MP vocal part. It seems like with their new compositional direction, they won't be making any more songs like this where DT expands a song's length by throwing a ton of ideas onto it whether they are neccecary or not.

I think that approach worked for songs such as 'The Glass Prison' and 'Beyond This Life', but I think the problem with this is that by the time the solos end, it feels like it's time to get around to the chorus again and end it as pretty much everything that could be said musically and lyrically has been said and then it goes on for another 6 minutes. With TGP and BTL though, when the main instrumental sections finish, they end it within the next minute or two which feels like a more appropriate place to end it.

[Zyzzyva17]

My biggest complaint with this song is the solo section, but NOT because it's too long. I just think the solos are not that good. Otherwise, it's a great song. And BC&SL is my 2nd favorite Dream Theater album, but that's another topic.

[theseoafs]

I'm completely and totally on board with this song for the first half.  The intro is killer, the verse rocks, the chorus is nice, and "Beautiful Agony" is exactly as good as people say it is... but directly after "Beautiful Agony" ends (what is that, 9 minutes in?) everything just falls off immediately.  The solo section is long and boring, MP's verse sounds absurd, the instrumental at the end remains uninteresting, and everything is capped off by (as Hef so elegantly put it) some "mid-life crisis" blast beats.  So it's not awfully high in my top 50 in spite of the fact that the first half has some of my favorite music on BCSL.  Honestly I think it's a shame because some more restraint and editing would have improved things immensely.

[MiracleSleeper]

A fantastic song in my book.

[KevShmev]

I like this song, but man, if the second half was as great as the first half, it could have been one of their best songs ever.  The solo section isn't necessarily bad, and I am still fairly ambivalent towards the "day after day' section (don't love it or hate it), but the song just kind of meanders on too long.  Overall, I like the song, and I still crank it up every once in a while, but it's high on my list of "DT songs that could have been way more awesome with some editing." In fact, it is probably Exhibit A for when having the "DT needs an outside producer" discussion.

[SeRoX]

It's OK.

[Randaran]

As others have said, the first half is excellent. The beginning to the end of JP's first post-Beautiful Agony solo is nearly perfect. Then, we have a few weak solos, Mike's vocal section, some interesting ideas that go on for too long, the final chorus, and an outro that also goes on for too long. Mike's section would have worked if DT had gotten someone who can actually growl to perform a guest verse. Imagine that part with Deliverance-era Mikael Akerfeldt.  What could have been awesome is now laughable.

If the second half was better, ANTR would almost certainly be top 20 material. The second half brings it down to the bottom 5. I think that this says more about DT than the song; even their weakest material is still pretty damn good.

[DerekTheater]

I like it.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I don't listen to this song that often anymore, but I like it. It's not bad, but not spectacular either. It falls somewhere in between. My main gripe is that it needlessly panders in parts for too long and could definitely benefit from some trimming. I like the Beautiful Agony section a lot--in fact, that section is what really got me on board with BC&SL in the first place. That particular section doesn't overstay its welcome either.

I'd have to sing with the choir that it really starts to dip in the second half. MP's backing vocals start to become, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. The tone contrasts so badly with the lyrics, it's almost laughable to me. It doesn't even contrast in a way that's clever or engaging--it's just silly.

On the whole, it's a good song though, just some glaring flaws about it.

[Xenon]

If Mikael Akerfeldt had done vocals for "day afeter day..." I would like it, but portnoy is not a the best singer and a worst growler. I don't know what was going on in his mind thinking that was a good idea.
As some of you pointed out, the song drags after the beautiful agony part.

[Outcrier]

I'm completely and totally on board with this song for the first half.  The intro is killer, the verse rocks, the chorus is nice, and "Beautiful Agony" is exactly as good as people say it is... but directly after "Beautiful Agony" ends (what is that, 9 minutes in?) everything just falls off immediately.

Agreed. Still, it's my favorite song from BCSL (mostly due to the Beautiful Agony section).

[mikeyd23]

Count me in the group that feels the first half of the song is great and the second half is not so great.  There really are some tremendous ideas in the song though, the whole thing just kinda overstays its welcome.

[bosk1]

The tone contrasts so badly with the lyrics...

No it doesn't.

[Lynxo]

If Mikael Akerfeldt had done vocals for "day afeter day..." I would like it, but portnoy is not a the best singer and a worst growler. I don't know what was going on in his mind thinking that was a good idea.
As some of you pointed out, the song drags after the beautiful agony part.

Maybe I misunderstand some of these posts but nothing that MP does in this song counts as growling. But whatever you may call it, I'm also of the opinion that it's by far the worst part of the song.
But everything else I absolutely love! If there's just about 20 seconds of a 16 minute song that I don't find amazing, then it must be an amazing song, right? 

[cramx3]

I really like it.  I agree with most that it gets worse after the Beautiful Agony section, but I dont think it gets bad, just loses the greatness that is the first half.  I dont mind the MP vocals, they seem fine to me.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

The tone contrasts so badly with the lyrics...

No it doesn't.

"It's a miracle he lived
It's a blessing no one died
By the Grace of God above
Everyone survived"

Lyrically, the rest of the song is quite shotty, but nothing offensive. And neither is this part really, but to me, it doesn't warrant the aggression that the instrumentation is putting forth. It'd be much better suited to something like the serene atmosphere that the Beautiful Agony section puts on.

Honestly, I could look past that if it weren't for MP. He's not a bad singer by any means, but he doesn't pull off these deep, guttural vocals very well IMO. I'm with Xenon. Had someone like Mikael done it, I wouldn't mind it nearly as much.

[adamack]

I love the song. Listening to it now for the first time in awhile.

I really like James's tone in the verses of the first section. Very edgy and gruff.

I love the "Torn up and broken, frightened and dazed" part. I guess that would be considered a pre-chorus? Or possibly a Chorus "B', if the "Life was so simple then" is the Chorus "A".

The one part I don't really care for is the verses of the mellow section ("Lying on the table", etc.) But the "beautiful agony" and "in peaceful sedation" chorus parts are awesome.

I agree with a lot of people here who say that the song drags on a bit too long.

I also agree that Portnoy's vocal section is rather silly. Any lyrical section meant to be dark and sound demonic ending with "everyone survived" is just...a bit ironic.

Great song though. Would probably be in my top 35 or so.

[Tick]

If Mikael Akerfeldt had done vocals for "day afeter day..." I would like it, but portnoy is not a the best singer and a worst growler. I don't know what was going on in his mind thinking that was a good idea.

He thinks he pulls it off, that's whats going on in his mind. That and the fact no one in the band wants to say, "ummm...no that doesn't work."

[TAC]

The first part of the song sounds too Metallica-inspired for me.

The "Beautiful Agony" section is fantastic, far and away the best part of the song. 

The instrumental section following that is OK, I guess, but nothing special, and too long.

When the vocals come back with the rougher vocals by MP, that is kind of laughable and misplaced.  Just doesn't work for me at all.

And then it drags on forever into the bitter end.  On the way there, we have the MP mid-life crisis blastbeats to contend with, that are completely unnecessary.

So overall, I don't care for it.  With a little editing and self-control, it could have been quite a bit better.

Not much to add after this dead-on post.

Yeah I can go with most of this too.

[Tick]

I also agree that Portnoy's vocal section is rather silly. Any lyrical section meant to be dark and sound demonic ending with "everyone survived" is just...a bit ironic.

That's pretty funny! I never thought of it that way.

[Nearmyth]

Everything about it is great. Except the "day after day" section. I personally think the length is perfect. Very progressive, heavy, intense, emotional. The "meandering" of the music, as some call it, actually flows very well to me and it makes a kind of journey as you make it through the monster of a song.

[bosk1]

Any lyrical section meant to be dark and sound demonic ending with "everyone survived" is just...a bit ironic.

Not when taken in the context of the rest of the lyrics it isn't.

[Zook]

Any lyrical section meant to be dark and sound demonic ending with "everyone survived" is just...a bit ironic.

Not when taken in the context of the rest of the lyrics it isn't.

In 100 more posts will your post count say Rush?

And on topic:

I think I finally made an edit of this song worth liking.

[wolfking]

It's a pretty good song, but MP's part is just awful.

[Podaar]

I'm sure I would have been on board with this song if JLB would have sang a soaring version of the "day after day" part instead of MP. The fact that I end up chuckling, every time, when the roar kicks in ruins the whole experience for me. Thankfully I don't know enough about blast beats to criticise the drumming so I have no problem there.

[rumborak]

I also agree that Portnoy's vocal section is rather silly. Any lyrical section meant to be dark and sound demonic ending with "everyone survived" is just...a bit ironic.

That's pretty funny! I never thought of it that way.

Really? Apart from the awful delivery by MP, that was the other death knell of that section. Kinda reminds me of that "Happy Death Metal" video on Youtube.