Most Mainstream Point in DT's Career?

[Raise the Drum]

Was when they released I&W?

Was with PMU?

With SFAM?

With the Grammys nomination?

...Is it now?

What do you think?

[bosk1]

Dream Theater have never had a "mainstream" point in their career.  But of the examples you listed, SFAM would probably be the least mainstream point in their career.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree DT has never been mainstream. If I had to choose a point though, I'd say IaW, because the PMU video on MTV is about as mainstream as they managed, and is responsible for their initial popularity.

But that's not suggesting DT were trying to be mainstream at all in that period, but it was perhaps the closest that DT's musical approach happened to line up to the music that was still sort of current at the time. They were just lucky to catch the tail end of the flashy '80s rock/metal thing.

FII was probably as close as DT got to attempting to be mainstream, but I don't think they actually achieved it during that period, and I still wouldn't call that a mainstream sounding album.

SFAM was as anti-mainstream as they've been, and was a reaction to trying to be pushed in that direction.

[the_silent_man]

Do you mean mainstream as in sound or popularity? In terms of sound, you could probably saw FII, 8VM and DT12 are the most mainstream albums. In terms of popularity, I'd say only recently in the last ~5 years they're starting to get the attention they deserve.

[Raise the Drum]

Dream Theater have never had a "mainstream" point in their career.  But of the examples you listed, SFAM would probably be the least mainstream point in their career.

Maybe "mainstream" isn't the correct term to this

Do you mean mainstream as in sound or popularity? 

I mean mainstream in terms of popularity more than sound.

Here in Chile, when SFAM arrived i felt that on the air.
(Almost) Everyone knew O1928, SDVu and the DT's instrumental monster of that time, TDOE.

And the same happened with Octavarium and their first show here on 2005
I remember that the song that everyone sang the loudest was the 2 first lines of SDVu

Maybe it just was my perception of how things went that time.
...Or maybe not, I don't know.

[Rodni Demental]

If you refer to being mainstream in terms of ones conception or expectation of what mainstream music is? Not very often, their music has always had it's own twist or spin on it even in the case of a song reflecting some 'mainstream' elements.

As for their career, well the most they've breached the mainstream is probably... Right now? Either that or when PMU was being played.

[rumborak]

I would be their Roadrunner years as the most mainstream.

[Dublagent66]

^that.

[TheGreatPretender]

I agree DT has never been mainstream. If I had to choose a point though, I'd say IaW, because the PMU video on MTV is about as mainstream as they managed, and is responsible for their initial popularity.

Yeah, but that in itself is pretty mainstream. I mean, if the question is, at which point has DT been the most known, or at which point has DT been trying to be mainstream... But to me, the question of the topic is, at which point has DT been the most relevant in popular music, and yes, I would say it was with Pull Me Under.

[Zyzzyva17]

The Guitar Hero/Rock Band era.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree DT has never been mainstream. If I had to choose a point though, I'd say IaW, because the PMU video on MTV is about as mainstream as they managed, and is responsible for their initial popularity.

Yeah, but that in itself is pretty mainstream. I mean, if the question is, at which point has DT been the most known, or at which point has DT been trying to be mainstream... But to me, the question of the topic is, at which point has DT been the most relevant in popular music, and yes, I would say it was with Pull Me Under.

I agree. It comes down to how you interpret the question really.

[Anguyen92]

Yeah, I would say, this period from pretty much the 1st Grammy nomination to now has been a good time where DT has been at a high point in visibility.  They get some decent exposure on the rock news sites like Loudwire, Blabbermouth (yes, even though sometimes the comment section sucks or the article try to really exaggerate a lot of things too far), Ultimate-Guitar, etc. 

They've managed to sustain their "popularity" well to have played some really well known music halls and/or arenas in Europe or South America and play some nice theaters in the states.  That's pretty good in this day and age in music.

What other periods have they been at a good mainstream popularity?  Probably around the time that Octavarium was out and that they manage to play and fill New York's Radio City Music Hall.  I mean I don't think that they have done anything like that in the New York area or did great numbers in venues as big or bigger than that in the area since then (if I'm proven wrong, that would be fine).

[YtseJamittaja]

I Walk Beside You /thread

[hefdaddy42]

On a worldwide basis, the only two possible answers would be Images & Words, their only gold album and videos on MTV and songs played on the radio, or the current era, with Grammy nominations.

Even then, I would hesitate to say they have EVER been mainstream.

[chaossystem]

If you define "mainstream" as being the period of time when the band was getting the most amount of (radio) airplay, and when the most amount of people (sorry if that's not grammatically correct) were aware of them, then I would have to say that the answer should be obvious: it was during the period of time when "Pull Me Under" was a big hit.

[rumborak]

I parsed the OP question differently. I took it as "when was their music/appearance most in line with the rest of the genre?", and for that my vote was for the RR area.

[Another_Won]

Pull Me Under.  Go with your first reaction to the question.  If you get into the DTF analysis of the question then anything becomes a viable answer.

[adamack]

Hmm, tough question. I see it as a few different periods, for a few different reasons:

Falling Into Infinity: This stands out to me because the record label really tried to make DT more mainstream. The band was being creatively influenced by the label with the intention of making a more accessible album. This was sort of a blessing in disguise, because it forced DT to fully be themselves on SFaM, as they were sick of being told what to do.

Pull Me Under: As people have mentioned, this was definitely the single biggest mainstream moment of DT, as the song was being played consistently on MTV and on the radio. Definitely their biggest mainstream hit, in terms of a single song.

Octavarium (album): One of my favorite albums, but to me, it does have a mainstream edge to it. The Answer Lies Within, These Walls, I Walk Beside You, and even Never Enough all could be thought of as songs which are more mainstream than the usual for DT. They all had pretty standard arrangements, catchy hooks, etc. Also, Panic Attack made it's way into Guitar Hero. Not to say Panic Attack is really "mainstream", but Guitar Hero made it known by more casual listeners.

DT12: This album contained shorter, more concise songs, and it garnered DT a grammy nomination. DT really started to gain a lot more media buzz from DT12. The Looking Glass, The Enemy Inside, and  Along For The Ride were all more mainstream than typical. Even TBP, BTV, and STR were short enough and hooky enough to be accessible to the masses.

These 4 instances stand out to me most.

[chaossystem]

I parsed the OP question differently. I took it as "when was their music/appearance most in line with the rest of the genre?", and for that my vote was for the RR area.

RR?

I looked everywhere I could think of for what that means...

I'm stumped.

[Öxölklöfför]

RR?

I looked everywhere I could think of for what that means...

I'm stumped.

Maybe you were a part of the test? You know, the one that stumped them all?

Anyways, RR stands for RoadRunner.

[emtee]

I thought they tried really hard on 8V to bridge the space between traditional DT and a more commercial, widely accessable approach.
Two of the songs easily could have broken big on FM radio if given the chance.

[TheCountOfNYC]

In terms of popularity, I would say the Roadrunner era, but more specifically the post-MP time. Mike leaving gave the band some exposure and with a slightly more accessible sounding record coming out afterwards with ADTOE, they started to get talked about more. This led to a Grammy nomination and I feel that they have sustained that level of success since then. This is why I didn't go with Pull Me Under. Yes it was their biggest hit, but their popularity fell off after that.

In terms of sound, I'll go with Octavarium. Falling Into Infinity is usually regarded as their most commercial sounding album, but this was because of the record label forcing them to sound that way and not a genuine effort from the band. Because of this it sounded like a band trying to be something they weren't. With 8VM, they were making an attempt to bridge the gap between a mainstream sound and the DT sound. It was a sound coming from them and not the label and came out better because of it. The only song on that album that isn't accessible to the standard listener in any way is the title track. The Answer Lies Within and I Walk Beside You could have been radio hits if released as singles. The Root Of All Evil and Never Enough sound simple enough to be played on standard rock stations. Sacrificed Sons as well although it's a bit longer. Even Panic Attack would have clicked with the metal audience. Unlike FII, this "mainstream" effort actually worked.

[Enalya]

Hm, if I have to answer this, I'd name some songs of their last album:
The Looking Glass, Along for the Ride

The last one managed to grow on me nonetheless : )

[Nearmyth]

DT12

Even if you could argue that they had more musically mainstream points in their career, they did almost everything to hype this album before, during, and after release and did a shit ton of commercial things to promote it. They try to promote every album of course but it seemed way more so with DT12.

[chaossystem]

RR?

I looked everywhere I could think of for what that means...

I'm stumped.

Maybe you were a part of the test? You know, the one that stumped them all?

Yeah.

It was the smell of all that stale sweat and shit.

[King Postwhore]

I parsed the OP question differently. I took it as "when was their music/appearance most in line with the rest of the genre?", and for that my vote was for the RR area.

RR?

I looked everywhere I could think of for what that means...

I'm stumped.

Come on man.

Roadrunner era.

[chaossystem]

Aren't they still WITH Roadrunner?

[King Postwhore]

Rumbo is stating that DT's most mainstream period is the Roadrunner years.

[TheGreatPretender]

Rumbo is stating that DT's most mainstream period is the Roadrunner years.

I disagree with that. I wish though. I consider mainstream to be something that gets widely recognized and gets a lot of playtime in places. And while a lot more people are certainly aware of Dream Theater, most of them wouldn't be able to actually recognize a song if they heard it, let alone take interest.

[King Postwhore]

You need to disagree with the origin or the statement.  Not the translator.

[TheGreatPretender]

You need to disagree with the origin or the statement.  Not the translator.

But killing the messenger is the funnest part.
I was referring to the statement, I was just quoting you for being the latest part of that train of thought.

[King Postwhore]

A lot of the old DT fans see less depth in their sound.  I don't think it's the writing.  The closest they got to the sound most old fans wanted was on ADTOE except for the drum sound an of course not hearing Myung.

[ErHaO]

Well, I know that millions of people watch the grammy's and played guitar heroes/rock band. So in that sense I think their exposure has probably had another peak in the last 5 years or so (I do not know if that translates to more fans and/or listeners, however). But they were and will never be mainstream I think. But this probably differs a lot between countries as well.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, I know that millions of people watch the grammy's and played guitar heroes/rock band. So in that sense I think their exposure has probably had another peak in the last 5 years or so (I do not know if that translates to more fans and/or listeners, however). But they were and will never be mainstream I think. But this probably differs a lot between countries as well.

Yeah, but outside of the internet, did they really get that much exposure from the Grammys? I mean, the first time they were nominated, they went to the ceremony, and there was that little brief interview that happened online, but I don't think that was in the actual TV broadcast was it? As for the awards themselves, as I recall, all the ever so honorable rock and metal awards given out are announced in passing right before commercials like, "Foo Fighters wins best metal performance, and best rock video" or whatever and they don't actually bother mentioning the other nominees on TV or anything.
I think the most exposure DT got over the past 4 years has been on Loudwire/Ultimate Classic Rock, and those types of websites. Maybe significant in terms of Rock and Metal circles, but in the grand scheme of mainstream music, barely at all.