Sacrificed Sons is so underrated

[npiazza91]

I love everything about it.  To me, it's like a mini Octavarium.  It has a slow build up where the first half is like a ballad, then it gets heavy leading right into the ending.  Being a huge thrash metal fan, that part from 7:50 to 8:23 is just awesome.   It seems like I don't hear about it on here much, it seems to get pushed under the radar.  What do you think about this song and do you agree that it's underrated?

[wolfking]

Nah, I'm not a big fan of it.  It's alright though.  No way would I compare it to 8VM.

[npiazza91]

Nah, I'm not a big fan of it.  It's alright though.  No way would I compare it to 8VM.

So you wouldn't say it's the second best on the album, huh?  In my opinion, the only thing that gives it competition as second best is TROAE and that really depends on my mood.

[Rodni Demental]

I dunno if this is controversial because I know it could be a sensitive subject. But to me, this is how I honestly feel about songs like this (certainly not always). I probably half agree with you, I think it's a great song, great composition. But you know why I don't come back to it much? The concept. Not the lyrics specifically, or presentation of them, just the contrived nature of the subject. Pretty much, the whole thing feels kinda 'preachy' which isn't necessarily a bad thing and normally says more about the person making the claims than the nature of the song itself. But as a listening experience, I feel the more specific the meaning of a song is, the less replay value I get out of it. I'm just not that interested in channel surfing with JLB on a Tuesday morning and re-experiencing that journey everytime I listen to the song ya know? I wouldn't say they shouldn't write songs like this, it may be completely relevant and perhaps meaningful to the artist and many listeners but as a general rule, conceptually I don't think it's a good way to write a song. Too much being told what to feel instead of evoking the emotion if that makes sense?

Other examples of DT music I really like instrumentally, but don't listen to very much for similar reasons: In The Name of God, Ministry of Lost Souls, and to a lesser extent the entirety of SFAM and Six Degrees (the song). Although by far the worst culprit for this is In the Presence of Enemies.

Interestingly songs I absolutely love that can get away with doing the very thing I'm complaining about: TCOT, ANTR, IT

[pcs90]

I agree, very underrated. I love it, it's a beautiful song. My only complaint is the instrumental goes on a bit too long (which I almost never say about DT instrumentals).

[Cable]

Agreed.

I have always loved this song, pretty much everything about it. The lead in, the vocals and melodies. The instrumental section riff. The unison is just incredible. So melodic. And the heavy riff fits very well.

I would put it at the top of 8V for me, or #2 at the lowest.

[ZKX-2099]

I think it just suffers because it's the song before OCTAVARIUM.

[TheGreatPretender]

I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot more before I bothered paying attention to the lyrics. I thought Sacrificed Sons was some kind of a fantasy story about war, but 9/11... Maybe if it was on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, or even Train of Thought. But Octavarium, I mean, nobody forgets the terrible tragedy that it was, but by 2005, everyone had a chance to reflect on it, and process it, and interpret it in their own way, so the lyrics really didn't add any new or unique perspective on the events. That's the downfall of this song I'd say.

The composition, though, is absolutely magnificent, from the music, to the vocal melodies, there's nothing bad I can say about it at all.

[wolfking]

Nah, I'm not a big fan of it.  It's alright though.  No way would I compare it to 8VM.

So you wouldn't say it's the second best on the album, huh?  In my opinion, the only thing that gives it competition as second best is TROAE and that really depends on my mood.

Nope.  TROAE, TW are better.  I'd probably take IWBY and PA before it too.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree it's an underrated song, at the very least under-mentioned. Beautiful from start to finish, especially the second half of the solo, and that outro. Great use of the orchestra.

[Enalya]

I love everything about it.  To me, it's like a mini Octavarium.  It has a slow build up where the first half is like a ballad, then it gets heavy leading right into the ending.  Being a huge thrash metal fan, that part from 7:50 to 8:23 is just awesome.   It seems like I don't hear about it on here much, it seems to get pushed under the radar.  What do you think about this song and do you agree that it's underrated?

Agreed with every sentence! Very enjoyable and powerful song. It's great how they switch between rhythms in the main theme.

[krands85]

I agree it's an underrated song, at the very least under-mentioned. Beautiful from start to finish, especially the second half of the solo, and that outro. Great use of the orchestra.

This, I've always loved the song. Definitely my second favourite on Octavarium, behind the title track.

[McNugg]

It's has probably my favourite JP solo.  So many feels.

[mikeyd23]

Really great song for sure, I have always loved it. Lyrical content of the song has never bothered me at all.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

I love everything about it.  To me, it's like a mini Octavarium.  It has a slow build up where the first half is like a ballad, then it gets heavy leading right into the ending.  Being a huge thrash metal fan, that part from 7:50 to 8:23 is just awesome.   It seems like I don't hear about it on here much, it seems to get pushed under the radar.  What do you think about this song and do you agree that it's underrated?

Love this song. Actually prefer it to Octavarium by a long shot. The second half of the instrumental section until the end of the song is (IMO) one of the most epic things the band has ever put together.

[kaos2900]

LOVE this song.

[hefdaddy42]

I think the music is pretty awesome, and I'm glad they wrote it.

But for me, the lyrical subject matter is real and heavy enough that I am rarely in the mood to listen to it.

[425]

So you wouldn't say it's the second best on the album, huh?  In my opinion, the only thing that gives it competition as second best is TROAE and that really depends on my mood.

These Walls.

I like Sacrificed Sons, though. Just, These Walls.

I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot more before I bothered paying attention to the lyrics. I thought Sacrificed Sons was some kind of a fantasy story about war, but 9/11... Maybe if it was on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, or even Train of Thought. But Octavarium, I mean, nobody forgets the terrible tragedy that it was, but by 2005, everyone had a chance to reflect on it, and process it, and interpret it in their own way, so the lyrics really didn't add any new or unique perspective on the events. That's the downfall of this song I'd say.

But when you listen to that song in 2015, are you really thinking "well, this came out in 2005, therefore these lyrics are so not timely"? It seems like that shouldn't even be a factor listening to the album today.

And even so, artists have written touching songs about wars and tragedies that were a lot older than four years at the time they wrote the songs.

[Dublagent66]

Music is ok, but needs to be heavier.  Don't care much for the subject matter unless the mood of the song fits.  If you're gonna write songs about terrorism, it better be heavy and angry.  Otherwise, it's not really getting the message across.  Even ITNOG isn't heavy enough or ITPOE for that matter.  I'm talking heavy like HTF in terms of DT type heavy.

[Kotowboy]

Rank The Octavarium album.

Rank the Octavarium Album ? Fine...


1. Octavarium
2. Sacrificed Sons
3. Root Of All Evil
4. These Walls
5. Panic Attack
6. The Answer Lies Within
7. I Walk Beside You
8. Never Enough


And I  I walk Beside You & The Answer Lies Within. Just shows you strong I think this album is.

[Ben_Jamin]

Music is ok, but needs to be heavier.  Don't care much for the subject matter unless the mood of the song fits.  If you're gonna write songs about terrorism, it better be heavy and angry.  Otherwise, it's not really getting the message across.  Even ITNOG isn't heavy enough or ITPOE for that matter.  I'm talking heavy like HTF in terms of DT type heavy.

I don't think it's about Terrorism, more a song about the tragedy that occured. It was an emotional event that affected a lot of people. The line "Who would wish this on our people?" portrays the songs mood.

Sacrificed Sons is my favorite from 8vm.

Rank The Octavarium album.

Rank the Octavarium Album ? Fine...

I'll play...

1.Sacrificed Sons
2. These Walls
3. Octavarium
4. The Root of All Evil
5. Panic Attack
6. I Walk Beside You
7. Never Enough
8. The Answer Lies Within

[TheCountOfNYC]

As a New Yorker, the song hits me in a very emotional way. I also love the instrumental section. My biggest issue with it is that the instrumental section doesn't belong in the song. You can't throw a progressive section like that into a song about one of the worst things to happen to the United States. It takes away from the entire mood. That said, it's still a great song.

I guess I'll rank Octavarium as well.

1: Octavarium
2: Panic Attack
3: These Walls
4: Never Enough
5: Sacrificed Sons
6: The Root of all Evil
7: The Answer Lies Within
8: I Walk Beside You

[pcs90]

I don't think it's about Terrorism, more a song about the tragedy that occured. It was an emotional event that affected a lot of people. The line "Who would wish this on our people?" portrays the songs mood.

Agreed. I mean, the last verse is a little more angry, but I don't think taking the lyrics that they used, with those melodies, and trying to make it heavy would have the intended effect. In my opinion, it works so well because it's not too heavy.

Rank The Octavarium album.

1. These Walls
2. Sacrificed Sons
3. Octavarium
4. I Walk Beside You
5. Panic Attack
6. The Answer Lies Within
7. The Root of All Evil
8. Never Enough

[mikeyd23]

Haha every thread turns into rankings, but I'll bite...

Octavarium is actually hard for me to rank, there are several really good songs all kinda bunched together and then a couple songs I don't really care for all bunched together...

Something like this:

1. Octavarium
2. TW
3. SS
4. PA
5. TROAE


6. IWBY
7. TALW
8. NE

[connolla]

I thought the lyrics were  written specifically so that they apply equally to both sides? Maybe I'm wrong, but both the US and the terrorists had "sacrificed sons" that they praise. They also both used religious justifications for their actions.   So the song initially sounds initially like it's from a US perspective but its actually pretty neutral.

Dunno, totally could be wrong.

[Kotowboy]

Does nobody rate The Answer Lies Within ? I know i've ranked it quite low above but only because I love the album so much that I actually prefer the other songs..

But The Answer Lies Within & I Walk Beside You are two of my favourite Dream Theater " ballads".

I'll take them over Along For The Ride ANY DAY of the week...

[hefdaddy42]

Music is ok, but needs to be heavier.  Don't care much for the subject matter unless the mood of the song fits.  If you're gonna write songs about terrorism, it better be heavy and angry.  Otherwise, it's not really getting the message across.  Even ITNOG isn't heavy enough or ITPOE for that matter.  I'm talking heavy like HTF in terms of DT type heavy.

I don't think it's about Terrorism, more a song about the tragedy that occured. It was an emotional event that affected a lot of people. The line "Who would wish this on our people?" portrays the songs mood.

Agreed.

Does nobody rate The Answer Lies Within ? I know i've ranked it quite low above but only because I love the album so much that I actually prefer the other songs..

But The Answer Lies Within & I Walk Beside You are two of my favourite Dream Theater " ballads".

I'll take them over Along For The Ride ANY DAY of the week...

I think TALW is awful, easily one of DT's worst songs.

[Kotowboy]

Cool. i think the same about Along For The Ride.

[hefdaddy42]

Cool. i think the same about Along For The Ride.

I'm sure you have your reasons.

[Kotowboy]

That horrible snare is the main reason.

It works ok for the big rock songs but when you have a gentle ballady song with a massive thumping muddy snare - it just ruins it.

Plus I think the melodies are really generic and sound forced. To me it sounds like the kind of song you write right at the end of the sessions and it's not so great that it's definitely a keeper -

- but not so terrible that you immediately delete it.

It's more of a " well we've got 8 songs already - may as well keep that one and put it on there. It's ok I guess ..it'll make up the numbers. "

[MarkFitDT]

Does nobody rate The Answer Lies Within ? I know i've ranked it quite low above but only because I love the album so much that I actually prefer the other songs..

But The Answer Lies Within & I Walk Beside You are two of my favourite Dream Theater " ballads".

I'll take them over Along For The Ride ANY DAY of the week...

I love the Answer Lies Within but Along for the Ride is in a different league - in a good way.

[Kotowboy]

Jordan's Moog solo starting a fraction of a beat late irks me every time.

[MarkFitDT]

Jordan's Moog solo starting a fraction of a beat late irks me every time.

That's one of my fav DT keyboard solos!

[As I Am]

I agree, very underrated. I love it, it's a beautiful song. My only complaint is the instrumental goes on a bit too long (which I almost never say about DT instrumentals).

Different strokes. The instrumental part is the only thing I like about this song!

[Kotowboy]

Jordan's Moog solo starting a fraction of a beat late irks me every time.

That's one of my fav DT keyboard solos!

It's nowhere near as good as the one in Octavarium.