Why the Dislike of "Scarred?"

[pdurbin22]

I'm relatively new to this forum and have seen quite a few people bash on "Scarred" in various threads.  I think it's an absolute masterpiece both musically and lyrically, and actually long for the days when Petrucci wrote such deep and powerful lyrics.  I used to think most DT fans agreed that this song was tops, but am I wrong?  Do most of you not like it? 

[Train of Naught]

I'm pretty sure most people agree that it's an awesome song, I haven't seen anyone bash on Scarred I think, where did you see that?

[mikeyd23]

The impression I've gotten around here is that people either seem to love it or hate it. I've definitely seen some people bash it, haha. Just wait, I'm sure they will pop in soon...

[Crow]

inb4 blob

[JiM-Xtreme]

I'd put this in the "underrated" category of songs. I do really like it, I think the orchestration particularly at the beginning is fantastic and really inspired, I could listen to that baseline all day. I really like the extended jam version of the intro that's on CiM too.

I personally wouldn't quite deem it an "absolute masterpiece" like the OP however I don't think it quite deserves all of the criticism it seems to get.

[jakepriest]

I love the song up until the instrumental break in the second half. Imho it's one of the most boring instrumentals DT has ever done.
Top 20 song for me.

[goo-goo]

I'm relatively new to this forum and have seen quite a few people bash on "Scarred" in various threads.  I think it's an absolute masterpiece both musically and lyrically, and actually long for the days when Petrucci wrote such deep and powerful lyrics.  I used to think most DT fans agreed that this song was tops, but am I wrong?  Do most of you not like it?

Probably my all-time favorite DT song. Great music, amazing lyrics. I miss these kinds of Petrucci lyrics

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Definitely a lot of people around here hate it, but it's my favorite DT song.

[TheCountOfNYC]

From what I've read on these forums, the people who don't like the song tend to find it to be disjointed. I personally love the song (it's my favorite from Awake) but I can see where those people are coming from. It has a very unique structure that turns some people off to the song.

[hefdaddy42]

From what I've read on these forums, the people who don't like the song tend to find it to be disjointed.

This is true, which I don't really understand, because those same people tend to be enthusiastic towards other disjointed songs, such as Metropolis.

I love it, top 10 song easily for me.

[Voices]

Scarred is a little bit hard to digest. That's the reason people love or hate it. I love it to death.

[T-ski]

there is no dislike, only love.

[ErHaO]

Never got this really. Aside from Lie and 6:00 I always found it to be one of the more catchy songs. I found other songs to be way harder to digest, especially Voices and Lifting Shadows were grating for me at first. Anyways, I think Scarred is a top DT song. Never even knew it was not present on old versions until I started reading DTF more extensively.

[Dublagent66]

Great song.  Those who dislike it are in the extreme minority.  Also, "disjointed" really has no meaning to me when it comes to prog metal / rock.  I either like the music in a song or I don't.  It doesn't necessarily have to flow perfectly from beginning to end.  Prog can take a lot of abrupt twists and turns.  It's not always a smooth ride.

[jjrock88]

Its fantastic

[Outcrier]

I don't see it. Scarred even was at the top 10 DT songs in DT League 2015:

1. Octavarium
2. Breaking All Illusions
3. A Change of Seasons
4. Metropolis
5. Learning to Live
6. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7. Voices
8. Take the Time
9. Scarred
10. Home

[Crow]

for what it's worth Scarred is the best DT song, so

[mrrct]

I must be one of the few to find "Scarred" a middle of the pack song, with no strong feelings for it.  It is not even one of the better or worse songs on Awake.

[MoraWintersoul]

I'm only in this thread to fight Blob when he inevitably appears

[425]

Personally, I'm predicting a very late appearance of Blob with a kind of exasperated "why do people always talk about this" tone to his post, which will explain, yet again, why he doesn't like Scarred.

[sneakyblueberry]

I don't get why people hate Scarred either, its fantastic, the keyboard lines are fantastic in the quieter bits.

[Zook]

1. Surrounded
2. Scarred
3. The Glass Prison

Scarred is amazing, and I don't get the "disjointed" criticism. Flows along just find for me. Fun to sing along to as well. great music, Great lyrics, great melodies. Amazing.

[Infinite Cactus]

My favorite Dream Theater song, and possibly favorite song of all time, even though I don't really listen to Dream Theater anymore.

[Tom Bombadil]

My favorite Dream Theater song, and possibly favorite song of all time, even though I don't really listen to Dream Theater anymore.

Yeah this.

[KevShmev]

Scarred is amazing, and I don't get the "disjointed" criticism. Flows along just find for me. Fun to sing along to as well. great music, Great lyrics, great melodies. Amazing.

This. 

Scarred is arguably Dream Theater's best song to date.

The dislike of it by some just goes to show that no matter what, there is hatred out there for every DT song.

[jammindude]

I've been in the DT community since 1997, and I can count the people I've seen that hate Scarred on one hand. 

[TheGreatPretender]

Scarred is generally pretty polarizing. People either love and worship it, or they don't get it and hate it as a result. I used to be the latter, but now I get it. Not my favorite on the album, but that speaks more for all the other gems the album has.
Anyway, thems be opinions, I suppose.

[Lucien]

I don't listen to much DT anymore, but I'd say it started growing on me once I really appreciated what JLB was doing for it

[ThatOneGuy2112]

While Scarred is polarizing, I'd say those who hate it are a vocal minority. Personally, I know for sure it's a top 3 DT song for me. It arguably shows and encompasses the best of DT's sound, and shows what they're all about in such a superb way.

[ZKX-2099]

Vocal Minority for 500, Alex.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't know where you got the impression that this forum dislikes Scarred (and before anyone says anything, the last time I even mentioned Scarred in passing was a month before the OP even signed up a few weeks ago, so try again).

I can only speak for my own dislike of Scarred of course, but being disjointed is only one of its many problems imo, although it is a definite factor. I feel the heavy riffs are contrived, the chorus is DT's weakest, and there's the tacked on random outro that doesn't serve the song. The laid back intro with JP's lead is the only part that's ok for me.

And it's called having an opinion. Nothing at all wrong with that.

[Calvin6s]

Scarred is arguably Dream Theater's best song to date.

It's a "classic".  Just like the album.   

[wasteland]

I'd say it's either my 4th or 5th best song. I'm unsure of its placement with respect to Breaking All Illusion, which is the source of the uncertainty, but it's probably going to end up 4th. It's such a great, complex and iconic song. As many of us already said, it took me quite a number of years before I came to appreciate it as much as I now think it deserves.

I'd like to hear from Zydar about the song, don't you all do? 

[erwinrafael]

I would even say that Scarred has the best vocal performance by JLB. And one of the best lyrics ever. It evokes a lot of emotions - despair, anger, ironic calmness - but it is also poetic because it is not sraightforward and is open to a lot of interpretation.

Kevin Moore also delivers an  amazing solo.

[Zydar]

I'd like to hear from Zydar about the song, don't you all do? 

Not a fan of it, no. I don't hate it, it's just... there. Nothing in there that grabs me or holds my interest for long.