Black Clouds & Silver Linings: Reactions

[Gadough]

Still love this album. It's what introduced me to Dream Theater back in 11th grade. I like it more than...uhh...I guess I'd say it's my 5th favorite.

[SuperTaco]

It's still a good album that has great moments. ANTR was always my top track and it still is. It's been said hundreds of times here but the Beautiful Agony section really is one of the most beautiful sections of music the band has ever made. I really dig JR's synth leads in the song too. I think it's miles better then his solo parts which are too wanky for my liking. This will probably always be one of my favorite DT tracks.

AROP and Wither didn't catch on with me that much. I appreciate them as part of DT's great history but I didn't feel as much of a connection as I did with most DT songs.

TSF is a great song that is bogged down by being too long and too compressed. I get major ear fatigue after listening to it all the way through. I could go listen to ACOS or 8VM at an even louder volume and my ears will be totally fine, but this just kills me. Also, I knew MP said it would have some musical and lyrical elements from past AA songs, but I feel like maybe they ripped themselves off a bit too much. I don't think there was enough original content in the song to warrant it's length. It's a solid end to a great saga of songs though.

TBOT is a song that caught on with me quickly but also lost it's flair quickly. It does have some terrific JP moments and a good lyrical theme, but it feels like could have been hashed out more. The lyrics themselves need some improvement and the music feels quite regular for much of the song. It still has a great solo and a great outro.

TCOT... similar thing to the above. I loved it at first and it just kind of died down a bit after a while. It seems like the band went into this one with the clear idea of making a really long epic to close the album with. They did their job, but it's still too long. I'm not even opposed to lengthy tracks, hell, 8VM is my top DT track of all time at over 23 minutes, but those 23 minutes are filled with such high quality music that it makes the length ok. TCOT tries to accomplish 'epic' but to me it feels more 'drawn out'. The story is great and it has awesome musical moments, but there is some definite filler here. This track could have been cut down to about 13 or 14 minutes and it would have, IMO, worked better as a song and as a closer.

If they shaved time off TSF and TCOT, they could have added another 7-9 minute song to the list. That might have helped in making a more cohesive, varied album with better flow. Instead of 'long epic followed by two singles followed by 3 long epics'.

I feel that this is the most MP influenced album they've ever made as well, with SC being a close second. I think they took a big step back with SC, a small step forward with BC&SL, and a huge step forward with ATDOE.

Overall it's not one of my favorite albums anymore, not even top 5. If not for ANTR, it would probably be my least favorite DT album. If they had cut those two songs down a bit and made another solid track to even the flow, it would be in my top 5 for sure.

[Scorpion]

This was the first Dream Theater release that I was waiting for to come out, because I had become a fan sometime between SC and BC&SL came out. I bought it rather quickly after it came out and, initially, I was very happy with it.

However, when I first heard ADTOE, I was literally blown away and I, when I listened to BC&SL again afterwards, I found it lacking in many areas, which mostly make ADTOE that enjoyble, the first and foremost of these issues being the lacking balance of guitar and keyboards on this album.

Still, I don't understand why some people seem to hate it that much. It's still a very good album, and compared to very many other bands, it's even a masterpiece.

A Nightmare to Remember: Like many people, I love the beginning, but I find that the instrumental section drags on for a while too long. Portnoy's growls don't really bother me, but I don't miss them either on ADTOE. The intro, up to "Beautiful Agony" is

A Rite of Passage: This song is catchy, but too standard for me to truly enjoy. The chorus is cool, and Petrucci's soloing is great as well, but Jordan's soloing doesn't hold that standard.

Wither: I like the restraint shown with this song, though I find that it is quite standard as well. Especially the repetitiveness (DT has often shown that they don't need to have identical verses - why do it here?) irk me. The solo is stellar, though.

The Shattered Fortress: Mediocre track. It is fairly enjoyable in the middle, but the soloing is too long, imo. The "Responsible" part is great, probably the best moment of the track. One a side note: why does it end with "The Glass Prison" intro - isn't the goal to leave alcoholism behind, not to begin anew?

The Best of Times: I can't understand why people dislike the song's lyrics. I find that they capture the subject perfectly. The Rush-esque intro is great, just as the softer parts later, though the key part in the middle wouldn't have been needed, really. Oh, and even though pretty much everyone agrees on this: DAT SOLO!!! 

The Count of Tuscany: Great song. The lyrics don't bother me, they add to the fun, imo. The soft part in the middle could have been shorter and I always skip the noises at the end, but other than, this track is truly great.

There you have it. All in all, a good album, but ADTOE (and of course, all the other great albums like I&W, Awake, FiI, ACoS, SFaM and SDoiT) blow it out of the water, ranking it as one of DT's bottom three albums - that doesn't stop it from being good, because I love most of DT's discography anyways.

EDIT: After listening to it twice more, I find it to be better than SfaM, but only just.

[darkshade]

This album got me back into Dream Theater after 2 years of disinterest in DT, prog, metal, and most other rock music. Thanks to BC&SL, I spent a great deal of time and money getting into a lot of modern prog I missed out on and newer stuff since. BC&SL holds a very special place in my heart, along with Octavarium.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

This album got me back into Dream Theater after 2 years of disinterest in DT, prog, metal, and most other rock music. Thanks to BC&SL, I spent a great deal of time and money getting into a lot of modern prog I missed out on and newer stuff since. BC&SL holds a very special place in my heart, along with Octavarium.

Funny, BCSL almost made me give up on DT and get more into other prog bands...seeing as there's not that much prog on the album.

[Phoenix87x]

This album got me back into Dream Theater after 2 years of disinterest in DT, prog, metal, and most other rock music. Thanks to BC&SL, I spent a great deal of time and money getting into a lot of modern prog I missed out on and newer stuff since. BC&SL holds a very special place in my heart, along with Octavarium.

Funny, BCSL almost made me give up on DT and get more into other prog bands...seeing as there's not that much prog on the album.

BCSL did make me give up on Dream Theater. After being a fan for over 10 years, that was pretty it much it for me.

From July 2009 to September 2010 I didn't listen to a single DT album or song. I thought I was done for good, but since then ADTOE has been released and it has revitalized all my love and passion for the band and I'm back to listening to them constantly.

[KevShmev]

This album got me back into Dream Theater after 2 years of disinterest in DT, prog, metal, and most other rock music. Thanks to BC&SL, I spent a great deal of time and money getting into a lot of modern prog I missed out on and newer stuff since. BC&SL holds a very special place in my heart, along with Octavarium.

Funny, BCSL almost made me give up on DT and get more into other prog bands...seeing as there's not that much prog on the album.

[darkshade]

That's funny guys. Systematic Chaos made me give up on DT, along with other factors.

I had gone through a 2 year period of only listening to jazz, fusion, and funk. I heard a leak of ANTR in early 2009 and thought it was cool, which led me to get the album, and get back into DT; which led me to check out more prog stuff.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

This album got me back into Dream Theater after 2 years of disinterest in DT, prog, metal, and most other rock music. Thanks to BC&SL, I spent a great deal of time and money getting into a lot of modern prog I missed out on and newer stuff since. BC&SL holds a very special place in my heart, along with Octavarium.

Funny, BCSL almost made me give up on DT and get more into other prog bands...seeing as there's not that much prog on the album.

BCSL did make me give up on Dream Theater. After being a fan for over 10 years, that was pretty it much it for me.

From July 2009 to September 2010 I didn't listen to a single DT album or song. I thought I was done for good, but since then ADTOE has been released and it has revitalized all my love and passion for the band and I'm back to listening to them constantly.

Truth. I completely 100% concur.

[BlobVanDam]

ADTOE is actually the first DT album to completely lose my attention. Haven't had any urge to listen to it all year. Hopefully the next album can get me back into current DT.

[nikatapi]

ADTOE is actually the first DT album to completely lose my attention. Haven't had any urge to listen to it all year. Hopefully the next album can get me back into current DT.

The same thing happened to me with BC&SL. And i only liked ANTR and TCOT a lot, the other songs were mediocre to me since the beginning.
On the other hand, i still listen to most of the songs from ADTOE, and especially OTBOA, BITS, and Outcry

[BlobVanDam]

ADTOE is actually the first DT album to completely lose my attention. Haven't had any urge to listen to it all year. Hopefully the next album can get me back into current DT.

The same thing happened to me with BC&SL. And i only liked ANTR and TCOT a lot, the other songs were mediocre to me since the beginning.
On the other hand, i still listen to most of the songs from ADTOE, and especially OTBOA, BITS, and Outcry

I listened to SC and BCASL for weeks solid with basically nothing else. After listening to ADTOE, I really had to push myself to keep listening to it at all, and I only ever halfway got into it, then quickly stopped listening to it altogether. It's a more consistent album than the last two, and I like all of the songs aside from Outcry, but for me it's just nowhere near as exciting or interesting.

[darkshade]

I (im)patiently awaited ADTOE's release, and Ive listened to it about over 30 times or so (according to my last.fm), to the point where I have no desire to listen to it (because I over-listened). It kind of happened with BC&SL, but not as badly.

I don't know how old you guys are, but Ive only been into the band since Train of Thought when I was 15 or 16, so Ive gone through so many changes in musical taste, being so young, since 2003. DT has somehow kept my interest and came out with the right music at the right time for me (excpet SC). Octavarium had the title track, and I was just getting into bands like Yes and King Crimson at the time, not to mention I enjoyed the entire album as well. BC&SL was more metal, which is what I was feeling then, and ADTOE was more prog, which is what Ive been feeling lately, so it's all worked out for me. 

[ColdFireYYZ]

This was the first real Dream Theater album that I got about a year and a half ago (I had the Greatest Hit collection before) and it didn't really do much for me. I think I got Octavarium next and that's what made me a fan. Now I think its good but its at the bottom of my list for favorite albums. If I had to pick a favorite I'd say The Count of Tuscany.

[MasterLomaxus]

ADTOE is actually the first DT album to completely lose my attention. Haven't had any urge to listen to it all year. Hopefully the next album can get me back into current DT.

I am having the same issue.  That is the first DT album to ever do that to me.   As for BC&SL, I still love it.  Top 3 or 4 albums for me.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

[lumpy33]

maybe i've just simply been brainwashed over two decades plus of being a super-fan, but there's nothing dream theater could release that would make me not want to listen to them.

[darkshade]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

[antigoon]

ADTOE is actually the first DT album to completely lose my attention. Haven't had any urge to listen to it all year. Hopefully the next album can get me back into current DT.

The same thing happened to me with BC&SL. And i only liked ANTR and TCOT a lot, the other songs were mediocre to me since the beginning.
On the other hand, i still listen to most of the songs from ADTOE, and especially OTBOA, BITS, and Outcry

I listened to SC and BCASL for weeks solid with basically nothing else. After listening to ADTOE, I really had to push myself to keep listening to it at all, and I only ever halfway got into it, then quickly stopped listening to it altogether. It's a more consistent album than the last two, and I like all of the songs aside from Outcry, but for me it's just nowhere near as exciting or interesting.

This is me, pretty much. I think I only listened to ADTOE through about 4 times. DT definitely refined its signature sound on the album, which is good for them since they seem to be really thrilled about it, but didn't do much for me. Nothing in ADTOE blew me away like the Beautiful Agony section, parts of The Shattered Fortress, and all of The Count of Tuscany did.

Speaking of The Count, I just listened to it for the first time in nearly a year. Still fantastic.

SUCKING ON HIS PIPE

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

Are they? 

Yes, I know. I'm exaggerating. It's a prog-metal album, but barely. Meanwhile, as the other poster mentioned, the new album displayed the signature DT prog-metal sound that changed the genre when Images came out.

BCSL is a mediocre album at best, sadly.

[BlobVanDam]

This is me, pretty much. I think I only listened to ADTOE through about 4 times. DT definitely refined its signature sound on the album, which is good for them since they seem to be really thrilled about it, but didn't do much for me. Nothing in ADTOE blew me away like the Beautiful Agony section, parts of The Shattered Fortress, and all of The Count of Tuscany did.

Speaking of The Count, I just listened to it for the first time in nearly a year. Still fantastic.

SUCKING ON HIS PIPE

I did listen to ADTOE a decent amount right around when it came out (like once or twice a day at most for about a week), but it just never grabbed me to the point where I felt like I had to listen to it again like other DT albums, or other new albums that I've loved.
While the vocal sections of TCOT have always slightly let the song down for me, the rest of the song still excites me like nothing on ADTOE has even come close to. Definitely among their most underrated instrumental work.

[Scorpion]

This is me, pretty much. I think I only listened to ADTOE through about 4 times. DT definitely refined its signature sound on the album, which is good for them since they seem to be really thrilled about it, but didn't do much for me. Nothing in ADTOE blew me away like the Beautiful Agony section, parts of The Shattered Fortress, and all of The Count of Tuscany did.

Speaking of The Count, I just listened to it for the first time in nearly a year. Still fantastic.

SUCKING ON HIS PIPE

I did listen to ADTOE a decent amount right around when it came out (like once or twice a day at most for about a week), but it just never grabbed me to the point where I felt like I had to listen to it again like other DT albums, or other new albums that I've loved.
While the vocal sections of TCOT have always slightly let the song down for me, the rest of the song still excites me like nothing on ADTOE has even come close to. Definitely among their most underrated instrumental work.

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

That said, I like ADTOE much more than BC&SL, mainly because of its balance between different styles, not the focus on the metal side of DT.

[BlobVanDam]

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

You're right, I guess I just don't hear people specifically mention it, and also because I think it slays anything on ADTOE, and yet people talk about ADTOE as if instrumental work like in TCOT doesn't even exist.

[Scorpion]

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

You're right, I guess I just don't hear people specifically mention it, and also because I think it slays anything on ADTOE, and yet people talk about ADTOE as if instrumental work like in TCOT doesn't even exist.

True, the instrumental work on TCOT is better than anything on ADTOE, but ADTOE is consistent (all songs are good, imo) as well as lyrically - I find that it blows most of BC&SL out of the water easily. But then, everyone is entitled to a different opinion and I can see that you don't like ADTOE as much as I do - even if your opinion is wrong

[BlobVanDam]

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

You're right, I guess I just don't hear people specifically mention it, and also because I think it slays anything on ADTOE, and yet people talk about ADTOE as if instrumental work like in TCOT doesn't even exist.

True, the instrumental work on TCOT is better than anything on ADTOE, but ADTOE is consistent (all songs are good, imo) as well as lyrically - I find that it blows most of BC&SL out of the water easily. But then, everyone is entitled to a different opinion and I can see that you don't like ADTOE as much as I do - even if your opinion is wrong

I completely agree that ADTOE is more consistent, but for me it's only consistently "good", whereas BCASL has lower lows, but also much higher highs.

[Scorpion]

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

You're right, I guess I just don't hear people specifically mention it, and also because I think it slays anything on ADTOE, and yet people talk about ADTOE as if instrumental work like in TCOT doesn't even exist.

True, the instrumental work on TCOT is better than anything on ADTOE, but ADTOE is consistent (all songs are good, imo) as well as lyrically - I find that it blows most of BC&SL out of the water easily. But then, everyone is entitled to a different opinion and I can see that you don't like ADTOE as much as I do - even if your opinion is wrong

I completely agree that ADTOE is more consistent, but for me it's only consistently "good", whereas BCASL has lower lows, but also much higher highs.

True that BC&SL has lower lows, but the highs are about as high as ADTOE is consistantly. Pretty much every song on ADTOE (except for FFH and BMU,BMD maybe) can easily stand beside TCOT or TBOT, which are the best moments on BC&SL, in my opinion.

[BlobVanDam]

Considering the praise that TCOT is getting here, I wouldn't call it underrated - pretty much everyone agrees that the instrumental is rather good.

You're right, I guess I just don't hear people specifically mention it, and also because I think it slays anything on ADTOE, and yet people talk about ADTOE as if instrumental work like in TCOT doesn't even exist.

True, the instrumental work on TCOT is better than anything on ADTOE, but ADTOE is consistent (all songs are good, imo) as well as lyrically - I find that it blows most of BC&SL out of the water easily. But then, everyone is entitled to a different opinion and I can see that you don't like ADTOE as much as I do - even if your opinion is wrong

I completely agree that ADTOE is more consistent, but for me it's only consistently "good", whereas BCASL has lower lows, but also much higher highs.

True that BC&SL has lower lows, but the highs are about as high as ADTOE is consistantly. Pretty much every song on ADTOE (except for FFH and BMU,BMD maybe) can easily stand beside TCOT or TBOT, which are the best moments on BC&SL, in my opinion.

ADTOE has a lot of great moments, like most of BITS/LNF/TITL (my favourites from the album), but nothing on the album comes close to the chills I still get listening to TCOT or ANTR. They have magical moments for me, whereas ADTOE doesn't quite reach that level of magic that makes me come back for more time and again, hence the fact I haven't had the urge to listen to it in months, whereas I still listen to stuff like TCOT much more regularly.

[skydivingninja]

BC&SL has a lot of fantastic moments, and its a pretty good album to listen to all the way through when I'm in the mood for the last four songs, but its not DT's best.  I thought (and still think) that ADTOE is one of their most consistent albums in a long time, and still holds a lot of replay value for me. 

[KevShmev]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

Tis BOOLsheet is all about confusing statements.  He seldom seems to make sense.

[Scorpion]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

Tis BOOLsheet is all about confusing statements.  He seldom seems to make sense.

Well, I think that he is trying to say that ADTOE is proggier than BC&SL is. Personally, I don't agree (they're both progressive), but from a first glance, BC&SL seems to be much more in-your-face than ADTOE, so I can understand where he is coming from.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

Tis BOOLsheet is all about confusing statements.  He seldom seems to make sense.

Hey, one day you'll catch on, just keep thinking about it! 

[Tis BOOLsheet]

The instrumental tracks are not the problem with Count. In fact, the instrumental tracks are not usually a problem in DT.

Also, LMAO @ saying Count is better instrumentally than the songs on Events.

[theseoafs]

Hey, one day you'll catch on, just keep thinking about it! 

Both albums are metal, and both albums are progressive. What you said would make sense if ADTOE were progressive and BCSL wasn't, but that's not the case.

[darkshade]

Progressive metal isn't for everybody. That could explain the exuberance over BCSL and the lack of interest in ADToE.

This is a confusing statement. Both albums are progressive metal.

Tis BOOLsheet is all about confusing statements.  He seldom seems to make sense.

Well, I think that he is trying to say that ADTOE is proggier than BC&SL is. Personally, I don't agree (they're both progressive), but from a first glance, BC&SL seems to be much more in-your-face than ADTOE, so I can understand where he is coming from.

ADTOE took many more listens to wrap my head around it, whereas BC&SL didn't take as many and much of its excitement is in the riffs and patterns. ADTOE is a little more complex and technical, so it took a while to reveal some of its beauty.

I'd say it's hard to compare and both albums do different things and achieve different goals. BC&SL has some of the band's heaviest moments, and some of their lightest moments. ADTOE has some of their proggiest and technical moments. I just love both albums.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Hey, one day you'll catch on, just keep thinking about it! 

Both albums are metal, and both albums are progressive. What you said would make sense if ADTOE were progressive and BCSL wasn't, but that's not the case.

You're trying to make what I said very literal, which is not how it was intended to be understood. It's pretty obvious BCSL is less prog and more metal. The bigger problem, which may be a symptom of that imbalance, is that none of the songs is good from beginning to end. Some of the songs aren't even good at all. It's a better album than Systematic Chaos, but it's still a mediocre at best album.

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