Which Single Is Better?

[SeRoX]

Maybe a bit early to set the poll but here we go.

[hefdaddy42]

I like Night Terror, but I like The Alien a lot more TBH

[DTiwbwMP]

The Alien 4/10
Night Terror 7/10

[Wim Kruithof]

Easily Night Terror by a mile... but I really like The Alien though...

[jammindude]

They are kind of neck and neck to me. But I think "new car smell" made me vote for Night Terrors.

I will say that Alien has a better chorus, but the NT "Glass Prison vibe" along with Mike's splash cymbals made me smile more than Alien ever did.

[Magic]

No, I don't think it's too early for a poll. 

I'll start with an obvious observance, two completely different paced songs.  So I won't critique each song.  Just so everyone knows I don't listen to a 1st single over and over, I want an album experience.  Obviously, I have had several listens to The Alien & the whole album.

I am assuming since MP was mentioned in the actual poll, that my thoughts on his performance is what is being assessed.  MP is bringing his magic to the game.  I am pleased with his performance.

I feel that The Alien is MM's shining beacon.

My choice for the better 1st single is The Alien.

[Peter Mc]

The Alien was insane from a technical standpoint but I feel like this is a more listenable song.  More melodic in my opinion and more something you can rock out to.  I like that there's a proper music video too rather than those animated things they've done of late.

[devieira73]

NT is grower, I'm digging it even more after more (spontaneous) listenings. But The Alien is more creative and cause me more impact on first listen. I still think it's one of the best songs from View. Well deserved Grammy IMO.

[lovethedrake]

The Alien is better imo, more unique, great outro. 

[gzarruk]

The Alien managed to do a lot more in less time.

[emtee]

Never like the term "better" when talking about subjectivity. The radio edit of NT is basically a tie for me with The Alien. Full length...The Alien is my preference at this point in time.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Yeah...I don't even think it's close for numerous reasons but it could change over time. The day Alien was released I thought it was an 8 or so.

Alien: 9/10
Night Terror: 6/10

Similar guitar riff quality but Alien has way better lyrics, a better guitar solo, intro, ending, drumming, flow from one section to another. Alien is big dong intro and epic outro.

[wolfking]

First impressions when both came out, I'd vote Night Terror.  Comparing them as they are now, The Alien.

[Shadowmangini]

Night Terror significantly.    The Alien just isn't a good song. 

[Laughingplace56]

The Alien might be DT's best single of all time for me. It surprised me, and 3 years later it holds up. Night Terror was a bit disappointing for me at first honestly, But after a few listens/playthroughs on the drums I'm starting to dig it a lot more. The Alien feels more creative and fresh to me. Night Terror has elements that feel new and interesting (namely the bridge between the first verse and chorus with that sweet mini keyboard solo and the amazing groovy second verse), but overall just feels like a really good DT song that may not stand out too much once it settles into the catalog in the months/years to come. Also I find the chorus to be quite lame lol

As it stands, The Alien is still a 9/10 for me. Night Terror's probably a 7/10.

[TAC]

I love The Alien. It's a great song.

[Parasomnia]

I love hearing Portnoy with the band again and that the mix sounds better than in the Mangini era.
But I vastly prefer The Alien over Night Terror, and The Alien ranks as second lowest off that album to me. Maybe Night Terror will rank lowest on this new album but we'll have to wait and see.

[Dedalus]

I love hearing Portnoy with the band again and that the mix sounds better than in the Mangini era.
But I vastly prefer The Alien over Night Terror, and The Alien ranks as second lowest off that album to me. Maybe Night Terror will rank lowest on this new album but we'll have to wait and see.

Not even the album voted on its own single.

[hefdaddy42]

Not even the album voted on its own single.

[Magic]

Not even the album voted on its own single.

[RandalGraves]

The first minute of The Alien REALLY cooks. The rest of the song is fine but I don't return to it often. Night Terror sounds more generic to me and I don't really feel the need to return to it until the album is out. Definitely on the low end of the singles for me.

[BlackInk]

Musically, The Alien is pretty cool. But I simply cannot and likely will not ever be able to vibe with those lyrics. The lyrics of Night Terror aren't pulizer-worthy either, but they're at least more neutral and easier to just accept.

Night Terror every day of the week.

[Kyo]

The Alien is a far more interesting song musically.

It also hits you in the face right away while NT wastes a minute and a half stretching about five seconds of musical content to the max before it actually gets going.

[dualpalmpilots]

Give me Night Terror just because I like more elements of the song. The Alien has one of my favorite JP solos of all time, though.

[MinistroRaven]

"There's not better, only favorites" 
MP

[sfam2112]

Probably too soon for me. I forgot to say this in the Night Terror thread but I remember having similar "generic/DT by the numbers" thoughts about "The Alien" that I currently have about "Night Terror" and now I love The 👽. So, I probably need more time with "Night Terror".
But, I will comment. 😁 I prefer "The Alien". Even though it's only just about 20 seconds shorter, it feels more concise and easier to digest. Plus, it got me into that 17/16 rhythm. 😛😁

[javidt]

I enjoyed The Alien since the first listen.

On the other hand, Night Terror bores me. I had high expectations when I saw the song length but almost nothing remarkable happens. It's the first time that I prefer a radio edit, and that's not a good sign.

[geeeemo]

I picked Alien, but reserve the right to change my mind in a year. Thats about how long the Alien grew on me.

[Max Kuehnau]

The Alien clearly is, but not because it got a Grammy, but because it is wonderfully involved.

[bosk1]

I really don't know.  The Alien is great.  Night Terror is too new, and I haven't even begun to digest it enough, to many any assessment as to how good it is. 

[Zydar]

I prefer Night Terror, although The Alien is nice too. This one is more straight ahead and works more like a single. 

[CraftyCaleb2483]

Night Terror by a long way, The Alien was awful

[hefdaddy42]

Night Terror by a long way, The Alien was awful

GTFO

[evilasiojr]

I listened these two one after the other last night. The Alien is better by some remarks for me:

- As a song, it is more diverse. It has heavy riffs, great soloing, better vocal melodies and harmonies (although not the greatest ever too), and a at least 3 very epic moments (first JP solo, "I am the Alien..." Section and last JP solo). Night Terrors lacks this dynamic for me a bit

- As a drummer, you can clearly see how much more effort MM puts into a song than MP. Don't get me wrong, I love MP drumming, possibly my favorite drummer ever, but Mangini is on another level. His grooves and feels are much more complex and creative. MP repeats his same 4 very famous drum fill throughout the song, MM rarely repeats fills and TA is one of his best performances

- The one thing I'm glad it didn't happen in NT for me is the Keyboard/Guitar solo trading, it got repetitive in A View for me, it's it 5 of the 7 songs! Although they still relied a lot on the duos, both melodic and fast, and then JP's solo, I was just glad they didn't switch to a JR solo after

[brakkum]

It also hits you in the face right away while NT wastes a minute and a half stretching about five seconds of musical content to the max before it actually gets going.

This is one thing that really bugs me about NT, I hate intros to intros