Parasomnia Timeline Thread

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Blind Faith is one of my favorites on the album. Disappear is one of the band's greatest achievements, in my opinion, but also a very difficult song to listen to given the subject matter.

My absolute favorite will always probably be Misunderstood. I can't even explain why, it's just freaking awesome.

[Dream Team]

And don't forget that Mike Portnoy said way back at the time that had they been forced to make it a single album of under 80 minutes, Blind Faith and Disappear would have gotten the axe and not made the record. 

Hmmm, the 2 that James wrote the lyrics for . . . anyway, yeah, that would have been one of his worst decisions as band leader.

[Dream Team]

Blind Faith is one of my favorites on the album. Disappear is one of the band's greatest achievements, in my opinion, but also a very difficult song to listen to given the subject matter.

My absolute favorite will always probably be Misunderstood. I can't even explain why, it's just freaking awesome.

The beginning of Misunderstood is absolutely sublime; wish they would revisit that type of soundscape construction again.

[Stadler]

Blind Faith is the worst song on the album, so that wouldn't have been the worst. Disappear is great, though.

You have those flipped. 

[fadetoblackdude7]

Blind Faith might be my favorite song on that album.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Blind Faith is one of my favorites on the album. Disappear is one of the band's greatest achievements, in my opinion, but also a very difficult song to listen to given the subject matter.

My absolute favorite will always probably be Misunderstood. I can't even explain why, it's just freaking awesome.

Agreed on Disappear 100%.

Blind Faith is one of the ones I think is forgettable, and then I listen to it and it absolutely rocks. I love the "Angry Chair" drum beat during the intro, the verses are super strong, James sounds great, the instrumental part is fantastic. Just a strong song all around.

Misunderstood is also fantastic. The ending doesn't need to exist, but it absolutely doesn't need to be cut either. I think it's fun. But the meat of the song is some of the moodiest stuff the band has ever done. I'd be okay with more songs like this.

For me the weakness of the album is the long metal songs, The Great Debate, and to a much lesser extent, The Glass Prison. TGD is my least favorite song on the album by miles. It's very uninteresting to me. I'm not a fan of the lyrics all that much, and I really hate the voiceovers with a passion. The Glass Prison rocks, but it's just not my favorite on the album.

Six Degrees I've always loved. Lyrics are fantastic throughout. WIMH and TTTSTA were favorites from the get go. Saw them live in 2004 when I was just getting into the band and they played five of the eight parts. That summer, Disc 2 lived in my CD player. This past tour (2023) I was in tears when they played Solitary Shell. It brought me right back to that summer. My #1 album and song by this band, probably forever.

[TAC]

The Glass Prison might be my worst aging song in their catalog for me.

[hefdaddy42]

Blind Faith is the worst song on the album

That's just crazy talk.

[Stadler]

1. Misunderstood
2. Blind Faith
3. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
4. The Great Debate
5. The Glass Prison
6. Disappear (though I love James' vocal)


Remember, this is a top four album for me, so even "6" isn't "suck".

[gzarruk]

I always chuckled at the idea that he would axe two songs right away but would never consider the ending of Misunderstood and the long ending note of Gran Finale, those two parts alone are already 5 minutes to spare that should have been the very first things to cut if needed be 

This man speaks the truth.

Trimming the Overture a bit wouldn't have hurt either, it feels longer than it is.

[brakkum]

Trimming the Overture a bit wouldn't have hurt either, it feels longer than it is.

This is true. Honestly my least favorite part of 6DOIT as a whole is the keyboard patches used for Overture, they sound so dated 

[HOF]

I always chuckled at the idea that he would axe two songs right away but would never consider the ending of Misunderstood and the long ending note of Gran Finale, those two parts alone are already 5 minutes to spare that should have been the very first things to cut if needed be 

A proper producer might have made something of SDOIT.

[MirrorMask]

A proper producer might have made something of every song we bitched about in their "copy and paste solo sections" era.

A Nightmare to Remember is the ultimate example - a producer would have solved the "Day after day" empasse offering a detached point of view, and maybe would have suggested how to structure better the second half of the song, since many complain that it falls off the rails after the Beautiful Agony section.

[pg1067]

I remember being so disappointed when Disc 2 began. It was Disney music! I loved Disc 1 on first Listen, and I thought Disc 2 wasn't in its league.

Honestly, if Disc 2 was actually the first disc, I think my first impressions would've been way more favorable. I've come to accept it for the most part.

Interesting.

I'm 99% sure that, when I first got SDOIT, I played disc 2 first because I was intrigued by a 42 minute, 8-part suite/song.  I fell in love with it to the point that I hardly ever played disc 1, and it took me years before I regarded disc 1 as anything but trash/filler.

My abridged 6 D's disc is..

The Glass Prison
Blind Faith
Misunderstood
Solitary Shell
Losing Time/Grand Finale
Disappear

Mine:

1. SDOIT
2. TGP
3. Misunderstood
4. Blind Faith

Fits on a single disc and likely would surpass SFAM as my #1 DT album.

Hmmm, the 2 that James wrote the lyrics for . . . anyway, yeah, that would have been one of his worst decisions as band leader.

Yeah...he also thought that New Millennium and Just Let Me Breathe "were [among] the strongest pieces that had to make" it onto FII, but Anna Lee wasn't originally going to make it.

For me the weakness of the album is the long metal songs, The Great Debate, and to a much lesser extent, The Glass Prison. TGD is my least favorite song on the album by miles. It's very uninteresting to me. I'm not a fan of the lyrics all that much, and I really hate the voiceovers with a passion. The Glass Prison rocks, but it's just not my favorite on the album.

The Glass Prison might be my worst aging song in their catalog for me.

TGD is a bottom-5 DT song.  Like New Millennium (very vibe, obviously), it's just a meandering mess.  TGP is hit or miss for me.  It's a bit TOO METAL!!!!!!! in places, but it's also got some really good melodies.  It's probably a big part of the reason it took me a while to get into disc 1.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I'm 99% sure that, when I first got SDOIT, I played disc 2 first because I was intrigued by a 42 minute, 8-part suite/song.  I fell in love with it to the point that I hardly ever played disc 1, and it took me years before I regarded disc 1 as anything but trash/filler.

Mine:

1. SDOIT
2. TGP
3. Misunderstood
4. Blind Faith

Fits on a single disc and likely would surpass SFAM as my #1 DT album.

TGD is a bottom-5 DT song.  Like New Millennium (very vibe, obviously), it's just a meandering mess.  TGP is hit or miss for me.  It's a bit TOO METAL!!!!!!! in places, but it's also got some really good melodies.  It's probably a big part of the reason it took me a while to get into disc 1.

I kind of with you on all this, except I'd have to get Disappear on there somehow. The Great Debate was a great failure in my opinion, so that is obviously not going to make my abridged version. Then I would just trim Misunderstood and the title track in a few places to fit everything on one disc.

Hmm, I should try my hand at this.

[SuperTaco]

Blind Faith and Disappear are objectively great songs.

[Jamesman42]

Don't get me wrong, Blind Faith is awesome. SDOIT is my favorite album and there are only great songs on there. It's just every other song is better.

[Glasser]

I was stoked that 6 Degrees was a double when it came out, still am.

[jammindude]

I remember making a single disc version that went like this:

1. TGP
2. BF
3. Misunderstood (single edit)
4. Disappear
5. SDOIT

It was a huge improvement to me.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I remember making a single disc version that went like this:

1. TGP
2. BF
3. Misunderstood (single edit)
4. Disappear
5. SDOIT

It was a huge improvement to me.

I just finished my abridged version which goes as follows:

1. The Glass Prison (very minor edit)
2. Blind Faith
3. Misunderstood (fairly significant edit)
4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Minor edits to Overture, Goodnight Kiss, and Grand Finale)
5. Disappear

Whole thing sits at 77 minutes.

[KevShmev]

As always, I will defend the end of Misunderstood to the pain.  Yes, the ending is chaotic and a bit messy, but it's awesome.   When the whole band drops out and then comes back following Petrucci's chaotic solo with the heavy breathing in the background...that results in goose bumps every single time. 

[Glasser]

My only issue with Six Degrees is the album is beyond brick walled and clips too much. They need a remaster or a full dynamic range version of it. How does the band not notice this?

[HOF]

My only issue with Six Degrees is the album is beyond brick walled and clips too much. They need a remaster or a full dynamic range version of it. How does the band not notice this?

Can't say I've ever noticed or thought this. Maybe it's mostly on the heavier tracks that I skip? Seems like a lot of people hold it in high regard in terms of sound quality for DT albums.

[Glasser]

Can't say I've ever noticed or thought this. Maybe it's mostly on the heavier tracks that I skip? Seems like a lot of people hold it in high regard in terms of sound quality for DT albums.

Very noticeable all over for me but of course the heavier parts are more evident. The mix is great but the mastering DESTROYS it. That said, I love the songs on the album but rarely return to it for this reason.

[BlackInk]

I don't love love Misunderstood, but it's such a unique addition to the discography that it's still a valuable contribution to the DT canon for me.

[Adami]

The last thing I ever want a band to do is stick to their core sound and do a "typical (insert band here) style."

That's why I love a lot of the 6DOIT songs.

Also one reason I don't care much for the last 3 or so albums. Among other reasons.

[TAC]

6 D's is the Portnoy Era's Astonishing.

[Progmaniac1988]

Glass prison, Blind faith, TGD, SDOIT are all top tier to me. I love the rhythm section in TGD.  I gotta say this is one of the biggest split albums for the fans lol

[BlackInk]

6 D's is the Portnoy Era's Astonishing.

Low blow 

[Mladen]

6 D's is the Portnoy Era's Astonishing.

Yep, it's just as great. 

[Adami]

6 D's is the Portnoy Era's Astonishing.

In some ways! It was a huge swing. More so than Met. 2. While I don't care for 80% of TA, I'm glad they took a big swing and went for it.

[Stadler]

Low blow 

Hahaha

[TAC]

In some ways! It was a huge swing. More so than Met. 2. While I don't care for 80% of TA, I'm glad they took a big swing and went for it.

Well, that's kind of it.

I find both extremely bloated and large parts unnecessary. Yet I can make an abridged version and come up with a full album's worth that goes right to the near top of my DT album standings.

It makes me struggle to accurately rank these two albums. I guess it's not unlike most albums though.

[Bardic Tortoise]

TAC, I'd love to get the track listing for your abridged version of The Astonishing. I just never really got into it, but heard a couple tracks that I enjoyed when I had to listen to head to head comparisons when participating in the "rank every DT song" thread.

[Jamesman42]

TAC, I'd love to get the track listing for your abridged version of The Astonishing. I just never really got into it, but heard a couple tracks that I enjoyed when I had to listen to head to head comparisons when participating in the "rank every DT song" thread.

Would also like it, it's the last MM era album I want to check out, and an abridged version of a very long album sounds like a good step in that direction.