Top three Astonishing songs

[smegolas]

OK I have been thinking about this for a long time.  Out of an album of 29 fantastic songs, I want to isolate the best three.  I tried doing it analytically, but I just couldn't separate the top songs that way, so I had to just go by feel.  Which ones made me feel the best when I was listening?  Here goes:

3. A Better Life.  Love the pinch harmonic-y chords in the beginning that lead to "Could things be any tougher?  Yes you bet your life!"  So powerful.  Killer solo and then "Evangeline!"

2. A New Beginning.  Ohhhh that intro.  I wish JP would do more straight forward rockers like this.  And it just gets better from there.  The back and forth between Nafaryus and Faythe leading to her realization.  And then "the solo".  Very unlike other JP solos, it has space to live and breathe.  Fantastic.

1. Ravenskill.  Beautiful slow minor key intro which builds to a devastating left hook to the face.  And then a right.  Heavy and aggressive without being overbearing, Mangini shines on this one.  Then slows right back down to a nice major key progression and into a typical DT epic ending.  Absolutely killer.


Now I have to cheat and list a few of the other contenders: When Your Time Has Come, Three Days (best ending), Brother (most different DT song), A Life Left Behind (love the Yes vibe), Road to Revolution (best melody), beginning and ending of Moment of Betrayal, Begin Again (the cello and acoustic guitar kills me, not to mention the ending), Our New World (best guitar riff).

Now, what are your top 3?

[bosk1]

There have been a few of these "top __" polls already, but I don't believe there was a top 3, and I don't believe we had to rank them.  I think I have listened to it enough to be able to do this, although it is still hard.  I think I would go with:

1.  A Better Life:  All the things you mentioned, and the chorus.  But great song all around.  This was a grower that I didn't really like all that much initially.

2.  A Temping Offer:  As I have said in numerous threads, the run of songs from Ravenskill through The X Aspect is my favorite part of the album, so I knew I was going to have to include something from that run.  I think this would be the one.  Xander's scream is just so perfect to go from the dark, eerie intro to the dark, heavy part of the song.  The sinister vocals really capture the plot well.  To me, this song is very similar to Ravenskill, which is one that just barely missed the cut.  If that riff from 2:22 on were developed and used more than the short 22 seconds or so that it gets, it might push that song over the top.

3.  A Savior in the Square:  I loved this song since before the album came out.  Hard for me to separate When Your Time Has Come from it, since the promo had them together as one track.  But even taking it as a standalone, there is so much good stuff going on.  So much of the lyrics have to do with Nefaryus that I initially confused this song with Lord Nefaryus.  Both lyrics and music are top notch, and I love the possible double meaning in the title to possibly be referring to Faythe as well as Gabriel.

[fischermasamune]

It's very hard to pick only 3. Some which are excellent include Dystopian Overture/A Savior In The Square/A Tempting Offer.

[smegolas]

It's very hard to pick only 3. Some which are excellent include Dystopian Overture/A Savior In The Square/A Tempting Offer.

thats kind of a point - its a challenge.  like i said i had to think long and hard about eliminating some exceptional songs.

[BelichickFan]

My three are :

Brother Can You Hear Me
Losing Faythe
Astonishing

I know it won't get a lot of agreement, but out of a CD that I like everything, those are my favorites.

[krands85]

1. A New Beginning
2. The Gift of Music
3. Moment of Betrayal

Pretty easy choices for me. Honourable mentions go to Three Days, The Path That Divides, A Tempting Offer and My Last Farewell.

[mike099]

A new beginning

A savior in the square

A life left behind

To me this cd is enjoyable to listen to straight thru and also as a shuffle on my ipod.

[Crow]

1-5. all the nomac tracks

[Iceyice]

Three Days - Maybe the best song on the album. The laugh, the lyrics, the double bass drum parts get me going.

The Path That Divides - The staccato 'rap' part is the most badass thing i've heard in any music in at least 5 years, except the VH Warner Bros. demo, lol

The Walking Shadow - DT at its creepy/brilliant best. After seeing a couple of guitar covers on Youtube, i appreciate this song even more. To see what's going on guitarwise in it is phenomenal.  JP fucking rules. Of course, the way they flip the beat is just infuckinsane. Puts this over the top.

[TheCountOfNYC]

3) Three Days
2) Dystopian Overture
1) A New Beginning

[Nearmyth]

1. A New Beginning

2. A Tempting Offer

3. A Savior in the Square

... Or A Life Left Behind. I can't decided.

[erwinrafael]

1. Our New World - this is Dream Theater's short sweet triumphant anthem. They already had a lot of triumphant epics, but they never had something like this.

2. Ravenskill - this captures the musical theater spirit of TA. Very dramatic, mirrors changes in emotions, follows a narrative, arranged like a musical score, with a climactic ending.

3. Chosen - my guilty pleasure. As I have been saying in other posts, I love singing this to my wife. 

[RoeDent]

Like many, I could have chosen any of these songs. Ask me another time and my choices may be different, but for now:

1. A New Beginning - I love the shift between Faythe's pleading in her verses/choruses and the sinister mood of Nafaryus' responses, not to mention some awesome double-BD action from Mangini during Nafaryus' first response. And then there's a diamond of a guitar solo from JP at the end, which is satisfyingly long enough for you to get into it for a bit.

2. Astonishing - Yes, I've gone for the closer. Because it's DT's most epic conclusion to an album since Octavarium, without question. Even though the first vocal part uses the "Brother" theme, the harmonies accompanying it make this appearance totally different to the others, and so so moving. If your heart doesn't melt at "Show him love and courage/That freedom knows no bounds", you should probably go see a doctor.

3. Chosen - The full-band rendition of the "Reason" chorus is why I've *ahem* chosen this song. It's stunning; one of DT's most moving passages on an album chock full of them.

[Estiui]

1. Three days
2. A better life
3. The answer

[Calvin6s]

A Life Left Behind:  I'm waking up is some of Petrucci's best work melodically and *orchestrally*
A Tempting Offer:  The intro is the best on the album.  Menacing seemed to be the goal and they nailed it.  If Subway Jared was forced to make that opening his traveling theme song, even the most innocent child would know it is time to call the cops immediately.
Three Days:  Great dramatic chorus.  Some of the stuff like the laugh and Rudess inspired sections take it down a notch.

Honorable mention, Dystopian Overture:  It might be my favorite in that it is like an instrumental best of themes, but that also somewhat disqualifies it as a standalone song.

[JLB-Fan2002]

1. Chosen (amazing ballad)
2. A Life Left Behind
3. Ravenskill

[hefdaddy42]

1. The Path That Divides
2. The Gift of Music
3. Chosen

[IceMan]

1. Ravenskill
2. Chosen
3. Moment of Betrayal

Honourable mention: Brother Can You Hear Me?

[Infinite Cactus]

1.The Gift of Music
2.A New Beginning
3.Our New World

[Tomislav95]

1. Better Life
2. The X Aspect
3. Ravenskill

Needless to say I like first CD more. If I had to choose song from CD2 it would be Our New World or Moment of Betrayal.

[smegolas]

Wow I cant believe all the Chosen nods.  I love it too, but Im surprised its that high up on a DT album.

[bosk1]

Wow I cant believe all the Chosen nods.  I love it too, but Im surprised its that high up on a DT album.

In general, I'm more a fan of "rockers" than "ballads."  However, on DT's last three releases, I feel like each one of them has a "ballad" that is so good it demands that you take notice.  To me, Chosen is that song on The Astonishing.  Even though it is not in my top 3, it is another that just missed out.

[Evermind]

1. Three Days
2. Ravenskill
3. Moment of Betrayal

[jakepriest]

Top three:
1. Ravenskill
2. Moment of Betrayal
3. A Life Left Behind

Bottom three:
1. Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
2. Begin Again
3. When Your Time Has Come

[smegolas]

Bottom three:
1. Hymn Of A Thousand Voices
2. Begin Again
3. When Your Time Has Come

no hating allowed in this thread!

[jakepriest]

I'm not hating. I'm saying what my least favourite songs are in addition to my most favourite. I'm not going "omg Raw Dog is so fucking bad how could DT ever release this".   

[As I Am]

1. Our New World
2. A New Beginning
3. Savior In The Square


Three worst?
1) The Astonishing.... 2) The Astonishing....&...... 3) The Astonishing. What a crappy song to end a pretty decent 2cd set!

[bosk1]

I'm not hating. I'm saying what my least favourite songs are in addition to my most favourite. I'm not going "omg Raw Dog is so fucking bad how could DT ever release this".   

You mean like this?

Three worst?
1) The Astonishing.... 2) The Astonishing....&...... 3) The Astonishing. What a crappy song to end a pretty decent 2cd set!

That is CLEARLY not constructive criticism, and is the kind of post that is NOT allowed here.  Find ways to voice your criticism more constructively if you do not want to end up on the banned list, please.

[CB]

My favourites always change, at the moment they are (no particular order)

Dystopian Overture. Perfect to get in the mood of the whole piece. The construction, the themes, a real opera overture.

Three Days. Best "bad guy" song I've ever heard, that performance!

The X Aspect. The calm beginning, piano, Hammond organ, guitar, then those beautiful vocals and the dramatic emotional struggle - gets me every time.

[fadetoblackdude7]

1. Ravenskill - Pretty much the same reasons as everyone else, the dramatic changes in emotion, he amazing piano intro to the aggressive middle part and the ups and downs. Labrie's best performance on the album and certainly one of the best of his career.

2. The Answer/A Better Life - I know I'm cheating here, but I just can't separate these 2, much like Through My Words and Fatal Tragedy. The Answer is such a beautiful short piece and although people think it's too Disney, that's what I love about it. A Better Life has such powerful vocal melodies in the verses and the chorus totally compliments those. Awesome solo and of course, "Evangeline!"

3. A Life Left Behind - Intro is fantastic followed by some of the most memorable melodies on the album.

[erwinrafael]

Three Days. Best "bad guy" song I've ever heard, that performance!

JLB did a Freddie Mercury on this one. Amazing.

Wow I cant believe all the Chosen nods.  I love it too, but Im surprised its that high up on a DT album.

I'm personally surprised that they were able to write a beautiful love song. I can't remember them writing a love song like this before and they knocked it out of the park.

3. Chosen - The full-band rendition of the "Reason" chorus is why I've *ahem* chosen this song. It's stunning; one of DT's most moving passages on an album chock full of them.

Yes, that part gets me all the time too. It's like the whole band is feeling the moment, especially with JP's guitar emotionally singing in the background.

2. Astonishing - Yes, I've gone for the closer. Because it's DT's most epic conclusion to an album since Octavarium, without question. Even though the first vocal part uses the "Brother" theme, the harmonies accompanying it make this appearance totally different to the others, and so so moving. If your heart doesn't melt at "Show him love and courage/That freedom knows no bounds", you should probably go see a doctor.

For me, it's the final stanza:

"And we'll live once more
Eternally in harmony
Our lives will be ASTONISHING AGAIN!"

EPIC! Standing ovation!

[425]

I've only listened to this about 4 times (I'm often slow getting into new albums, especially when they're over 2 hours long with 34 tracks), but I listened earlier today. Here's what I'd say at this point:

1. Chosen
2. The Gift of Music
3. A Tempting Offer

The best "ballad," the best single and the best story-centric song (Ravenskill is close in that category).

I have to admit I don't quite get the love surrounding Our New World. It's a solid song, but in my opinion the chorus is not nearly as great as people seem to think it is. I'd say it's a decent chorus in a decent song, but not a standout, particularly not on a 29-song album. Three Days is good, but also one that I see a lot of people ranking near the top that I would not put quite that far up there.

I don't actually know what my opinions are on this album yet, though. Those are the three songs that seem like the best to me right now, but who knows what I'll end up thinking down the road. There are 29 choices (considering 5 of the 34 tracks are NOMAC tracks), which is pretty overwhelming.

[jakepriest]

I'm surprised so many people love Chosen. It's a middle to low tier song for me.

[erwinrafael]

I'm surprised so many people love Chosen. It's a middle to low tier song for me.

Chosen is  when you are truly romantically in 

[legenden1]

This is close to impossible since I love every single song except A new beginning and Our new world.

Top 3 top of mind today:

- A tempting offer
- Astonishing
- The X Aspect