The Path That Divides appreciation thread

[The Astonished]

This, is for me THE highlight of Act 2. I can't help but immensely like this track. I like the eerie start, the "No, he won't!" heavy riffs, it has the clever reprises of the chorus of When Your Time Has Come, and A Tempting Offer (with tremendously good vocals). Did I mention James Labriminem?  Act 2 for me is in its peak starting from this song until the very end of TA. Are their more people feeling this way? 

[hefdaddy42]

Hell yes.  Perhaps the best song on the whole album.

[KevShmev]

I agree that this song is really good, but I don't agree about Act II.  After The Path That Divides, it loses me until Hymn of a Thousand Voices.  The songs in there aren't bad, except maybe The Walking Shadow, which I think has replaced Constant Motion as my least favorite song from a DT studio album (not counting the NOMAC tracks), but those 13-14 minutes just kind of meander along from a musical standpoint.

Anyway, back to The Path That Divides, I'd say it is a top three song from Act II and maybe a top 10 song overall from the whole record.

[fischermasamune]

The verse starting with "You dare defy your prince" is one of the highlights of the album.

[Enigmachine]

I'm getting the feeling that TPTD may be not just be one of the best songs on TA, but one of DT's best songs overall. Incredibly emotional and dynamic.

[The Astonished]

I agree that this song is really good, but I don't agree about Act II.  After The Path That Divides, it loses me until Hymn of a Thousand Voices.  The songs in there aren't bad, except maybe The Walking Shadow, which I think has replaced Constant Motion as my least favorite song from a DT studio album (not counting the NOMAC tracks), but those 13-14 minutes just kind of meander along from a musical standpoint.

Anyway, back to The Path That Divides, I'd say it is a top three song from Act II and maybe a top 10 song overall from the whole record.

I always thought that Act 2 was very underrated. My Last Farewell is another great song with tasty riffs, combined with Losing Faythe it is another emotional highlight for me. Whispers on the Wind could've been left out though, or at least coped with Losing Faythe.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm getting the feeling that TPTD may be not just be one of the best songs on TA, but one of DT's best songs overall. Incredibly emotional and dynamic.

It's definitely climbing up the ranks for me.

[Mladen]

One of my favorites on the album and maybe even the best song of the entire second act. The recurring themes are excellent, the speedy drums and guitars are extremely refreshing, not to mention LaBrie's tremendous performance on those faster verses. And then there's the gorgeous yet brief guitar solo which leads into one of the two most emotional sections on the album, the ending gets me almost every time. Truly a remarkable feat of a song. This is what Dream Theater is all about.

[TAC]

TPTD has pretty much been one of my Top 5 tracks from Day 1.

Kev, The Walking Shadow is awesome.


My Last Farewell and Losing Faythe are great as well. They both kind of sneak up on you big time.

[hefdaddy42]

Kev, The Walking Shadow is awesome.

This also.

[The Astonished]

The Walking Shadow has Mangini all over it, it's glorious.

[KevShmev]

It also has the worst vocal melodies in any Dream Theater song, ever.  Those opening lines sound...not good.  I am sure someone will pop in and tell how relevant that delivery was to the storyline, but that doesn't matter to me if the melody itself is that ugly and poor.  That organ in the middle of the song is kind of cool, but that is really the only redeeming feature the song has.

[Peace and Love]

The Walking Shadow has Mangini all over it, it's glorious.

I agree, and find this quite interesting.

Given how this album was composed completely by JP+JR, how did this come about? Did they write this crazy rhythmic stuff without MM? Or was the demo slightly different - and when it came time to record drums, did MM make suggestions to alter the composition? It's very cool!

[Lax]

I love listening to a heaven's cove, path, walking shadow, last farewell, when I have just the time to, I even have difficulties singing over it, because I'm REALLY into it XD

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

It also has the worst vocal melodies in any Dream Theater song, ever.  Those opening lines sound...not good.  I am sure someone will pop in and tell how relevant that delivery was to the storyline, but that doesn't matter to me if the melody itself is that ugly and poor.  That organ in the middle of the song is kind of cool, but that is really the only redeeming feature the song has.

The ending is weird, but the intro and the organ part are cool as hell. I don't care if the melody isn't DT's best, but it's just awesome for its raw quality and sheer power.

YOU MURDEREEEEER

[V_R11]

The verse starting with "You dare defy your prince" is one of the highlights of the album.

While I prefer ACT 1, TPTD would be one of my favorite songs on the album

[pdurbin22]

Yep, it's one of the best tracks of the album for sure. I sorely disagree with anyone who tries to make a "single-disc edit" and doesn't include this song.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

IT'S NOT TOO LATE

I WON'T BETRAY HIM

*RIFF*

Badass.

[bosk1]

Really strong song.  Definitely one of the highlights of Act II. 

I also agree somewhat with Kev that Act II feels like it meanders a bit.  And while there is plenty of original music, and the reprises are done very well and very creatively with nice twists and turns put on them, it does start to feel a bit like a re-hash of Act I from a musical perspective.  That said, I do really like Act II, in case that wasn't clear.  But although the album is already long enough, one thing I personally feel would have helped make Act II and the entire story even stronger and take it over the top, would be the inclusion of an additional song near the beginning.  If I had been so privileged as to have the band ask for my creative input ( as if that would happen!), here is what I would have suggested:  Create a song with almost entirely new riffs and melodies (i.e., no reprises or different versions of what we have already heard) that deals with the impending revolution from the two opposite but parallel perspectives:  From the Ravenskill perspective, the militia are gearing up for war and conflict.  They are hopeful, but afraid, and are preparing for devastating losses and bloodshed.  Despite the inevitable loss of life, they see war as their only option, especially now that Naf' has given his 3-day ultimatum.  On the GNEA side, despite that Naf' has agreed to meet at Heaven's Cove, he orders only a temporarily power-down of the NOMACS to appease Faythe, while secretly also issuing an order that the NOMACS will subsequently ramp up their activity and oppression, and the GNEA army will launch a series of pre-emptive strikes against the rebellion to stamp it out before it starts.  Naf' is conflicted because part of him hopes that his meeting with Gabriel will go as Faythe hopes and will bring peace.  But he is simultaneously making preparations for what he believes the more likely scenario--i.e., the meeting failing and ending in conflict that could be the initial spark of rebellion.

From a story-telling perspective, the above would up the ante a bit in terms of the tension of the story and the rebellion itself being more real.  It would also help remind the listener that, although the main thrust of the story focuses on the interpersonal relationships of the main characters and how those relationships end up shaping history, the conflict is much bigger in scale and scope.  From a musical perspective, having one more song that uses original motifs instead of reprising existing ones would help Act II feel stronger as its own entity.  All in my humble opinion, of course.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I somehow didn't understand its awesomeness until recently. Maybe the best song on the album!

[bosk1]

I somehow didn't understand it's awesomeness until recently. Maybe the best song on the album!

You know, I tend to think I would have initially overlooked it as well if not for the fact that it was on the 9-track press promo I received a few months ago, so I was already familiar with it. 

[MirrorMask]

The verse starting with "You dare defy your prince" is one of the highlights of the album.

It is also one of the best moments on the album where the mood of the song matches the story and they enhance each other as a result.

First time I was listening the tragic outcome of the battle left me speechless, the lyrics are very clever in describing Arhys' demise and the music after "Cost him his very life" is very dramatic and makes you really realize "Oh dammit, he's dead".

Chilling and powerful moment, can't wait to witness it live!

[erwinrafael]

Excellent track. My favorite moment? Mangini's bass following JLB's rap, which is not phrased in 4/4, while the hi-hat and snare maintains a steady 4/4 beat. Was he able to do this live?

[Enigmachine]

Excellent track. My favorite moment? Mangini's bass following JLB's rap, which is not phrased in 4/4, while the hi-hat and snare maintains a steady 4/4 beat. Was he able to do this live?

Yes. It was awesome.

[jonny108]

I somehow didn't understand it's awesomeness until recently. Maybe the best song on the album!

You know, I tend to think I would have initially overlooked it as well if not for the fact that it was on the 9-track press promo I received a few months ago, so I was already familiar with it.

What songs were included on that?

Love this song, definitely one of the highlights of Act 2.

[bosk1]

I somehow didn't understand it's awesomeness until recently. Maybe the best song on the album!

You know, I tend to think I would have initially overlooked it as well if not for the fact that it was on the 9-track press promo I received a few months ago, so I was already familiar with it.

What songs were included on that?

Let's see...I believe it was:

Descent of the NOMACS
Dytopian Overture
The Gift of Music
Lord Nafaryus
A Savior In the Square/When Your Time Has Come
Chosen
Moment of Betrayal
The Path That Divides
Our New World

Not a bad sampling.

[TAC]

I feel like if they do a second leg and do not the The Astonishing live, that could likely be the second set.

[pcs90]

Great song all around. My favorite part is right after the fight, where Petrucci has a mini solo. That section, with the revisiting of Daryus' theme from A Tempting Offer is so dramatic and emotional. The When Your Time Has Come reference is also really nice with the reversed echo effect, and the fast verses with MM's awesome independence are super cool. Lots of good stuff here, with many moods and emotions.

[hefdaddy42]

I feel like if they do a second leg and do not the The Astonishing live, that could likely be the second set.

That would be a great sampling.

[Vandalism]

Excellent Song. Good ad for the JP-2C Shred mode.

In fact its soo good that Begin Again has been garnering a lot of hatred from me just because it makes me wait for this masterpiece!