If ToT is their heaviest album, musically speaking, which would be the 2nd?

[Misirlou]

Not lyrically or emotionally, just musically. Petrucci and Portnoy were adamant in making a balls to the wall metal album with Train of Thought, that thing is full of killer riffs, and it´s pretty much their most straightforward metal release.

But which record do you think is the 2nd heaviest musically speaking, coming behind that?

[TheCountOfNYC]

Parasomnia is pretty heavy.

[gzarruk]

Systematic Chaos.

[Jamesman42]

SC seems to aim for the heavy sound, I would say that one.

[Dream Team]

Parasomnia or BCSL.

[The Letter M]

I would also say SC, BC&SL, or Parasomnia. I'd also say there's a fair amount of heaviness in AVFTTOTW, but it's been awhile since I've spun that one all the way through, but I recall it feeling like the heaviest Mangini-era album at least.

-Marc.

[voncorn]

Distance Over Time

[TAC]

With TDEN, SC may have their heaviest moment, but that album as a whole really isn't all that heavy. In fact, I think it has a ton of variety.

[MidnightSlice]

Parasomnia

[BeatriceNB]

I'll go with, perhaps, an unusual pick: Awake, especially with LaBrie's raspy voice.

[CraftyCaleb2483]

Black Clouds and Silver Linings

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Hmmm I'm not sure I agree it's the heaviest but probably View or Parasomnia.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

My gut response was Parasomnia. I think reasonable minds can differ and perhaps choose other albums, such as SC or BC&SL. Awake is in the running too, but that album also has so many songs that are decidedly not heavy. DOT and View probably deserve special mention as well.

[Xaves]

I would have to say BCSL because of its pretty heavy tunes but Parasomnia is also pretty heavy and would work at that spot.

[DTiwbwMP]

Parasomnia

[dualpalmpilots]

Seeing some of the responses...I don't think some of you know what "heavy" means 

I think the answer is probably Parasomnia. But each album from Distance Over Time onward has been trending toward the heavier side of things.

[wolfking]

It's a tough one.  Awake and SC have heavier moments than say Parasomnia, but Parasomnia is more consistently 'heavy' throughout.

Honestly though, I don't think the band have ever really been heavy in any situation.  TOT is definitely the outlier and I guess definitely can be classed as a heavy album for sure, but nothing else really falls under the 'heavy' banner for me at all.

[SeRoX]

Parasomnia is their second heaviest album. Awake is their darkest album. Different class.

[Mladen]

Awake probably. And then, I'm not the biggest fan of AVFTTOTW, but it might be the heaviest Dream Theater album after those two.

[hefdaddy42]

IDK, probably Parasomnia.  Although there are parts of other albums that are heavier than anything on Parasomnia.

[dualpalmpilots]

IDK, probably Parasomnia.  Although there are parts of other albums that are heavier than anything on Parasomnia.

Right. Parasomnia is the heaviest record front to back in awhile, but we could probably make a list of 20 songs as heavy or heavier than Dead Asleep, etc.

[EPIC Outro]

Distance Over Time is pretty damn heavy - but that heaviness is so well balanced with the other elements of DT's sound that it may not hit you as a 'heavy' album on first listen. But it gets my vote!