What's the longest it ever took you to like a Dream Theater song?

[DT05]

I have two, strangely enough both songs that begin with the letter L.

LINES IN THE SAND
first heard: 2006
first loved: 2023

I just plain didn't get it. I thought it was too long. I didn't like the guitar tone. I didn't like the King's X cameo. At the time too I was anti-religious so I didn't like the Jesus allusion. Maybe it came with converting to Christianity or maybe it came from exposure to tons of '90s rock, but now when I hear "Lines in the Sand" come on right after "Hell's Kitchen" (my all-time favorite instrumental by DT), it feels so right. The song clicked hardcore. Funny enough, when my wife heard Falling Into Infinity for the very first time, she picked LITS as her favorite immediately.



LOST NOT FORGOTTEN
first heard: 2011
first loved: 2023

Same thing happened to me in 2023 with this song, but as it came out later, it was mostly after I had binged on Dream Theater for years. I was cautiously optimistic and then really letdown by the Mangini era, like a lot of hardcore fans. I tried to make it work but there were moments on ADTOE that agitated me with how dull the songmanship felt compared to the 1999-2009 albums. This was the poster boy for my hatred, and now, I just love the way it approaches itself, like some alternate universe Under a Glass Moon. I'm shocked I love this song now.


These were the two longest-running "I hate these songs by my favorite band" tracks, and now I love them both. Funny how that works. I'd love to hear what songs were slow burners for you to accept.

[CraftyCaleb2483]

The Enemy Inside, first heard 2022, first loved 2024, though it's worth bearing in mind that I've only been an avid fan since 2021, and all their songs apart from that one I have either loved immediately or hated immediately

[CraftyCaleb2483]

"Hell's Kitchen" (my all-time favorite instrumental by DT)

I've gotta agree on that one

[hefdaddy42]

I guess Space-Dye Vest.  I first heard it (and disliked it in 1994, but it's only been in the last decade or so that I've come around to liking it.

I still don't love it.

[crystalstars17]

I still strongly dislike Lines in the Sand and Constant Motion. I'm not pressuring myself to love everything they've ever made. With such a vast catalog, there's bound to be some duds.

[Adami]

Hmm. I can't think of any songs I really disliked at the beginning and came around on. I've usually liked most of their stuff (minus the last few albums) on first listen and it either grew or didn't, and songs I didn't like I continue to not like very much.

So I guess the song it took me longest to like is Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Took me about 40 or so minutes to like the song as a whole.

[Buddyhunter1]

The only thing that jumps to mind is Misunderstood. I wasn't really a fan when I first heard the album, but now it's one of my favorites from it.

[TAC]

The only thing that jumps to mind is Misunderstood. I wasn't really a fan when I first heard the album, but now it's one of my favorites from it.

So, you misunderstood it? 

[hefdaddy42]

I'm not pressuring myself to love everything they've ever made. 

Same.  DT or any other artist.  No reason to do so.

[TAC]

I mean, some songs age well and some do not.
For me, I think one of the better aging songs is Bridges In The Sky.

[Jamesman42]

Trial of Tears took me a while. I get why people adore it. It just didn't have the same effect on me.

Same with Learning to Live, now that I think about it.

[Buddyhunter1]

So, you misunderstood it? 

Yup, and judging by the number of people who still complain about the experimental guitar bits towards the end, I guess I'm not the only one

[TAC]

Yup, and judging by the number of people who still complain about the experimental guitar bits towards the end, I guess I'm not the only one

I think it's a cool bit, but I'm not all holyshithowcoolisthis. I don't really even associate it with the song.

[Buddyhunter1]

You don't have to enjoy it, though I've seen people say it ruins the song with feels extremely hyperbolic to me.

[Trav]

The first disc of Six Degrees. The second disc I fell in love with easily. Misunderstood, The Great Debate and Disappear took at least a year before I really enjoyed them.

Come to think of it, Train of Thought as well. I was one of the critical ones when it came out, and took a while for me to really appreciate it. Now it's one of those that I seem to enjoy more and more over the years.

And I know this wasn't asked in the op but, I've had the opposite experience with the last three albums. When I listen to them recently I can't even get through them in one sitting without stopping and changing to something else.

[CraftyCaleb2483]

So I guess the song it took me longest to like is Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Took me about 40 or so minutes to like the song as a whole.

[pg1067]

The Mirror:  30 years and counting (31 years if you start the clock with the first time I heard Puppies on Acid in June 1993)....

EDIT:  Same with To Live Forever.


As far as stuff I actually like, probably The Glass Prison, Blind Faith and Misunderstood.  Because of how amazing disc 2 of SDOIT was, I pretty much disregarded disc 1 for several years.  Sometime prior to the SC tour, I saw a couple videos on YouTube with snippets of a song I didn't recognize. I was able to figure out it was Blind Faith, so I made a conscious decision to really check out disc 1.  I have to be in the right mood for TGP, but Blind Faith and Misunderstood hooked me right away.  I was super geeked when they played Blind Faith on the SC tour.  I still think TGD is hot garbage, and Disappear is a snoozefest.

[krands85]

Repentance was always one of my least favourite songs by the band. But for some reason, when I was watching the Doug Helvering reaction video to it, I found myself enjoying the song much more than I had done in the past. I don't think it was even anything to do with his thoughts on the song, I just suddenly thought "actually, this track is pretty good!". It hasn't become one of my favourites or anything, but at least it's not bottom of the barrel anymore

I would have sworn that video was from no more than a year ago, but actually it's very nearly 2. So I guess 2007-2022 is the longest it took for me to like a DT song.

[Revenge319]

I wouldn't say I ever disliked these, but the two that come to mind are 6:00 and Take the Time, both of which I first heard in 2017. 6:00 I remember thinking was kind of dull and uninteresting on first listen, but when I gave it another try on an early Christmas morning, I realized, "Oh hey, this song's not bad at all, actually." These days I enjoy it a lot.

Take the Time was a song I thought was okay, but never really cared for, and I never understood its praise as one of Dream Theater's best songs. This didn't really change until late last year, when I was marathoning every Dream Theater album, and Take the Time just clicked with me. It didn't become one of my favorites, but I finally got why people love it so much. The last ~2 minutes in particular is really good stuff.

[DT05]

So I guess the song it took me longest to like is Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Took me about 40 or so minutes to like the song as a whole.

[DT05]

6:00 I remember thinking was kind of dull and uninteresting on first listen, but when I gave it another try on an early Christmas morning

lmao you people are priceless with your references, I missed this place (haven't had an account here since Portnoy left the band) I thought 6:00 was so boring the first time I heard it, but I found a lot of Awake to be too dense for me when I first heard it because I had almost no prog knowledge and no metal knowledge going in. I had to sort of see the context of that song over a year or two before it clicked. Totally sympathetic to people who never like 6:00 for this reason. I'd even say that nowadays its replay value has been dulled from overuse like an unsharpened knife

[MirrorMask]

The Mirror.

Sat four months as filler at the end of a cassette my cousin copied for me. He was a DT fan and he was trying to get me into them but I wasn't really vibing with them.

Then one day it finally clicked and it started the avalanche effect that made me a lifelong fan 

[crystalstars17]

Same.  DT or any other artist.  No reason to do so.

This 💯 My other favorite band is Firewind, I love them to the moon, but there are at least two songs of theirs too that I just don't like.

[hefdaddy42]

There are multiple DT songs I don't care for.  I could probably assemble an album's worth at least.

[crystalstars17]

There are multiple DT songs I don't care for.  I could probably assemble an album's worth at least.

This is actually a really good idea for a new thread...🤔💡

[hefdaddy42]

This is actually a really good idea for a new thread...🤔💡

Don't let me stop you lol

[TheCountOfNYC]

Honestly, A Change of Seasons. Its composition seemed disjointed to me and it took me probably a dozen or so listens for everything to click, mostly due to the lyrics fully registering in my head, and now it's my number three Dream Theater song.

[DT05]

Honestly, A Change of Seasons. Its composition seemed disjointed to me and it took me probably a dozen or so listens for everything to click, mostly due to the lyrics fully registering in my head, and now it's my number three Dream Theater song.

I was on a car ride when it clicked in 2006-07. We were on the way to the airport to pick up my stepdad and the narrative of the song was suddenly a lot starker and sadder to me than I'd initially realized. Definitely one of their most strangely put-together epics, the shift in tone throughout can jar to some degree when you're less familiar with it.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Octavarium. I did not care for it for a long time. Once you get past the bloated beginning it gets good. I still think it is in the bottom half of epics but it's a solid listen for me now.

[DT05]

I wonder so much if I would have liked Octavarium if I heard it for the first time nowadays. The opening felt so beautiful and stellar when I was young, but I've gotten over music with that kind of an atmosphere and only enjoy Octavarium through nostalgia goggles. The Count of Tuscany has such a good opening, something that energetic in the front of Octavarium could have been interesting, or even something like the first few minutes of ITPOE1