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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: Ultimetalhead on June 09, 2010, 10:56:52 AM
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My GOD this album is so good. :2metal:
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Seeing this from the main page I had really hoped the thread was started to TOX, having finally come to his senses. :p
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Or me. :lol :lol
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It's been a while for me, but every time I hear it......absolutely amazing! I'm probably due for another spin. :hefdaddy
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Hmm... me too. I'll have to give it a spin. It's been maybe six months or so.
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I literally cannot go a month without listening to AT LEAST one track from SFAM.
I listen to it routinely.
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I literally cannot go a month without listening to AT LEAST one track from SFAM.
I listen to it routinely.
I can't go a week :p
tis a masterpiece of an album
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I did the same thing one of my fav albums. Power Windows by rush is my favorite.
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Yeah, SFAM is a good album, really like the dance and fatal tragedy
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I haven't listened to this in a while. Must fix that.
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Listened to it as I took a walk on the beach. Listening again.
God tier music right here.
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Awesome album :metal
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Not nearly my favorite DT album, but it's still very :metal
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DT's best.
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I want to put it at the top (and I have before) but when I listen to Six Degrees I am a bit torn...
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A live version of of Fatal Tragedy just came on shuffle as I opened this thread... I will most definitely be listening to SFAM in its entirety tomorrow :metal
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I do have fond memories of listening to it back in November of 2008, when I bought it. Such a great time.... my school was still open.
Great album.
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After the lenghty discussion about epics, I listened to this playlist: The Spirit Carries on - Finally Free - Octavarium
It was EPIC
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Listened to Act I tonight in the car. It kicked my ass.
Will listen to Act II tomorrow on the way to work.
Man, I did forget how fucking awesome this album is.
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:metal
Best album ever made, much?
Honestly, I find myself often switching to a specific track just to listen to for a few minutes late at night, and then I somehow always get sucked in and end up listening to the entire album.
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all time fav for me
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Haven't listened to it in its entirely for about a year. I don't plan on fixing this any time soon, either.
But it's got some great tracks, like Overture, Home, The Dance of Eternity, and Finally Free. Can't say I'm fond of the rest. I don't hate them, I'm just indifferent towards the album. But it was the album that got me into Dream Theater, so I'll be forever thankful for that.
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As great as SFAM is, and it is great, it did introduce a few really bad trends that DT has been keeping up.
1. The extremely compressed thin sounding production
2. The overly wanky instrumental sections (though they get WAY worse after this album)
3. The JR/JP solo trade off then unison deal.
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As great as SFAM is, and it is great, it did introduce a few really bad trends that DT has been keeping up.
1. The extremely compressed thin sounding production
2. The overly wanky instrumental sections (though they get WAY worse after this album)
3. The JR/JP solo trade off then unison deal.
Wasn't too much compressed sounding production introduced with FII? At least in audacity it looks as compressed as SFAM
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No, FII sounds amazing compared to SFAM. All instruments have got the space they need (you hear the bass drum extremely well and the snare has the necessary punch) and it doesn't sound too compressed at all.
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On first listen, i thought that the instrumentals sounded too unnatural, but probably because i had listened to it through LSFNY before the actual album.
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No, FII sounds amazing compared to SFAM. All instruments have got the space they need (youcc hear the bass drum extremely well and the snare has the necessary punch) and it doesn't sound too compressed at all.
Yes I agree that FII has great sound but when I look at the waveforms of the songs I see a lot of almost full blue rectangles in some cases they are through whole songs. So maybe I'm missing somthing and the way how does the song look like in waveform may not tell if it's compressed too much or not correctly but I thought it does...
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Zoom in and take a look at a 30-second sample.
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What strikes me about SFAM is how the instrumentals don't seem as ridiculous and over-the-top as what came later. Yes, they go on for a while, and show off their chops and ability to dance through time signature shifts and all that. But the instrumentals seem to flow much more organically from the songs themselves. They support the lyrics and story, which is of course exactly what they should do. Somehow (to me) they don't feel like they were inserted just to provide a wankfest. There are many examples of later songs where the instrumental just comes out of nowhere and really does nothing for me.
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What strikes me about SFAM is how the instrumentals don't seem as ridiculous and over-the-top as what came later. Yes, they go on for a while, and show off their chops and ability to dance through time signature shifts and all that. But the instrumentals seem to flow much more organically from the songs themselves. They support the lyrics and story, which is of course exactly what they should do. Somehow (to me) they don't feel like they were inserted just to provide a wankfest. There are many examples of later songs where the instrumental just comes out of nowhere and really does nothing for me.
Agreed, and Fatal Tragedy is a good example of that. As much over the top as the instrumental section is, it flows very well with the rest of the song. Even BTL, which many people despise but I like a lot, evolves from within the song and has a nice flow. Maybe not their best instrumental section, but doesn´t have that feel of being completely unrrelated to the rest of the song.
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I think for the first time ever, I am itching to listen to this album. I'm actually looking forward to listening to it right now.
Am I dreaming?
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SFAM is IMO the most complete DT album from cover to cover. In a sense of the musicianship, the lyrics and the overall flow from song to song. SFAM is much more entertaining to me then some other DT albums because each song makes that album a whole, instead of a bunch of assorted songs that have no relation.
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You know there's only one issue I have with the album's narrative: Edward being the author of the note.
I felt like the ambiguity of it's meaning was perfect. It could have been a sweet gesture from Julian taken out of context because of what ended up happening, being the final tragic piece of the puzzle that left their deaths improperly solved for so many decades.
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Just listened to SFAM in its entirety.
I like the album now. Probably 7th on my list, inching just above FII. The music is just awesome.
New ranking:
1. SDOIT
2. BC&SL
3. 8VM
4. IaW
5. ToT
6. Awake
7. SFAM
8. FII
9. SC
10. WDADU
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... Does that mean that I'm alone on the field of those who don't really like SFAM now? :sadpanda:
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... Does that mean that I'm alone on the field of those who don't really like SFAM now? :sadpanda:
No.
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:D
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... Does that mean that I'm alone on the field of those who don't really like SFAM now? :sadpanda:
We...we have grown distant. *looks into the sunset*
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... Does that mean that I'm alone on the field of those who don't really like SFAM now? :sadpanda:
Nah. While there are some great tracks that I like listening to individually I just can not stomach the album as a whole anymore.
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Okay, random thing, I'm listening to Finally Free and;
Who here besides me gets chills every time Edward says, "Open your eyes, Victoria." ?
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Yeah, that's a freaky line. While I think the idea was to reinforce that Edward is the Hypnotherapist with a parallel line ("Open your eyes, Nicholas"), what it means in the narrative itself is that Edward is going to shoot her, but he wants her to see it coming. It's like, shooting someone in the back in cowardly; look them in the eyes and do it. Of course, shooting an unarmed woman (or man, for that matter) doesn't exactly make you a hero.
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Okay, random thing, I'm listening to Finally Free and;
Who here besides me gets chills every time Edward says, "Open your eyes, Victoria." ?
I don't, but the part right after, with the One Last Time reprise and the half-tempo feel? Yeah, chills like insanity during that. One of their most awesome reprises.
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Although I love the whole album, I usually listen to the Dance of Eternity/One Last Time/The spirit Carries On/Finally Free at least once a week.
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Okay, random thing, I'm listening to Finally Free and;
Who here besides me gets chills every time Edward says, "Open your eyes, Victoria." ?
I don't, but the part right after, with the One Last Time reprise and the half-tempo feel? Yeah, chills like insanity during that. One of their most awesome reprises.
Those are supposed to be their dying words right? That's how i've always interpreted it.
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Me too. Edward has just shot both of them, and Julian manages to crawl over to Victoria and ends up laying across her. They embrace, or at least touch, one last time.
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Until they fade away.
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And they become Finally Free.
This album has been the best musical experience I've ever had. My musical taste changed (for good) thanks to this album.
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Not that influential as Images and Words for me, but this album is great.
I usually pair the songs like;
Regression - Overture 1928
Fatal Tragedy - Beyond This Life
The Dance of Eternity - One Last Time (my favorite)
Beyond This Life and Home are the songs that bring this album down. They are just too lengthy.
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I had been a casual fan of DT since about 2001 or so, and had a copy of I&W that I listened to reasonably frequently. It wasn't until I picked up this album around 2004 or so that I really became a die-hard fan.
Awesome album :tup
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Not that influential as Images and Words for me, but this album is great.
I usually pair the songs like;
Regression - Overture 1928
Fatal Tragedy - Beyond This Life
The Dance of Eternity - One Last Time (my favorite)
Beyond This Life and Home are the songs that bring this album down. They are just too lengthy.
I really like Home, but I agree about Beyond this life. It gets a little boring for me : /
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Beyond This Life and Home are the songs that bring this album down. They are just too lengthy.
Too lengthy? Are you new to Dream Theater?
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Too lengthy as in it's just dragging and boring. Well Home > BTL For sure. Home is unnecessarily lengthy because of the long and nothing-special instrumental section.
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Wow, those are two of my favorite tracks. "Home" always amazes me with how quickly it goes by, maybe because of the long break. By time it's done and they come back to the song, I'm ready for more. Same with BTL.
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Okay, random thing, I'm listening to Finally Free and;
Who here besides me gets chills every time Edward says, "Open your eyes, Victoria." ?
I get several chills throught the entire song. One of DT's best, for sure.
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Too lengthy as in it's just dragging and boring. Well Home > BTL For sure. Home is unnecessarily lengthy because of the long and nothing-special instrumental section.
Damnnnn.. that is one my favorite JP solos hands down
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Too lengthy as in it's just dragging and boring. Well Home > BTL For sure. Home is unnecessarily lengthy because of the long and nothing-special instrumental section.
Damnnnn.. that is one my favorite JP solos hands down
And the übar-pwning keyboard solo. One of JR's best.
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Oh well, personal opinions are personal.
Totally random SFAM track ranking
1. Overture 1928
2. Fatal Tragedy
3. Finally Free
4. One Last Time
5. The Dance of Eternity
6. The Spirit Carries On
7. Home
8. Through Her Eyes
9. Beyond This Life
10. Regression
11. Through My Words
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SFAM makes me crazy when I'm not listeng to it. It truely is one the greatest albums of all time. I yearn to one day see the album performed live by DT. If only I was in Ney York a decade ago...
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... Does that mean that I'm alone on the field of those who don't really like SFAM now? :sadpanda:
Nah. While there are some great tracks that I like listening to individually I just can not stomach the album as a whole anymore.
Pretty much this, although it's always been that way for me.
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Great album, even if it only ranks fifth in their discography for me.
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I think it's also one of DT's most 'sing alongable' albums. The vocal melodies are all fantastic and catchy, a trait that actually stood out to me on BCSL as well.
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I partly agree with the post above, but Falling Into Infinity might be a contender.
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I never really got all the love for this album, to me it was cheese extreme and kinda pretentious. I put it on during a long drive the other day and I have to say it was quite an experience. Such a well constructed album, great story, great performances by everyone. A+ would trade again.
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Fatal Tragedy is the only track I have serious problems with and struggle to listen to any more. Every time I listen to it I get Mike in my head going...
"What a... phenomenon... what a... phenomenon"
:censored >:( :censored >:( :censored
:sadpanda:
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For some reason, I just cannot stand listening to Beyond This Life. It's way too lengthy for a song of its nature, imo.
Other than that of course, the concept is absolutely stellar. The Dance of Eternity is the best track on the album, for me.
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For some reason, I just cannot stand listening to Beyond This Life. It's way too lengthy for a song of its nature, imo.
Other than that of course, the concept is absolutely stellar. The Dance of Eternity is the best track on the album, for me.
Agree, kinda like, totally! can completly! the dance and fatal tragedy...and home are all awesome :D
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"The Dance of Eternity" remains the only weak spot on the record for me. It is not a bad song, but is sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise fantastic second half of the record.
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Since we're on this subject, Finally Free is a really weak song overall. It does have some cool parts, though.
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For me
The first 5 song are great.
The last 5 song are amazing(The dance of eternity is not that good, but it's still a good song.)
Beyond This Life and through her eyes, are almost unlistenable for me. BTL drags so muuuuuuuch.
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Finally Free is a cool song, I love it, but I think it is a bit poorly constructed. I can't explain, but when I hear the track it just doesn't flow well.
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I think "Finally Free" is awesome in every way: great melodies, great atmosphere, great way to wrap the whole story up, and is perfectly constructed.
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For me
The first 5 song are great.
The last 5 song are amazing(The dance of eternity is not that good, but it's still a good song.)
Beyond This Life and through her eyes, are almost unlistenable for me. BTL drags so muuuuuuuch.
Through Her Eyes is as good as One Last Time for me. It has a fantastic vocal melody with cool guitar solos at the back. I love JLB's voice there.
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For some reason, I just cannot stand listening to Beyond This Life. It's way too lengthy for a song of its nature, imo.
I had a similar problem until I listened to the LIB version, now I love the track.
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I think "Finally Free" is awesome in every way: great melodies, great atmosphere, great way to wrap the whole story up, and is perfectly constructed.
Maybe I was mistaken since it's been such a long time since I heard that track. Gonna listen to it now.
Edit after listen: It's an awesome song indeed and definitely a perfect ending to the album. Nevermind what I've said earlier, I was probably just Jedi mind tricked by Master Jamesman :P
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1. The dance
2. Fatal tragedy
3. Home
4. Finally Free
5. Overture 1928
6. Through her eyes
7. Strange Dejavu
8. The Spirit carries on
9. One last time
10. Through my Words.
11. Beyond this life
12. Regression
All songs are cool IMO not a single one of them are like BAD! but that's my ranking
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I'd personally rank Regression higher than Through My Words.
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Master Jamesman :P
That's the second time a woman has called me that today.
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Master Jamesman :P
That's the second time a woman has called me that today.
Your mom calling you to dinner doesn't count.
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That's why I didn't count it, it was your mom who called me that. She said she was finally free and wanted to go "one last time".
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Touché :hat
Oh wait.
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That's why I didn't count it, it was your mom who called me that. She said she was finally free and wanted to go "one last time".
Touché :hat
Oh wait.
Zydar kills Jamesman after the mother incident: a fatal tragedy, indeed.
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That's why I didn't count it, it was your mom who called me that. She said she was finally free and wanted to go "one last time".
Sir, I commend you. :clap:
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Listened to this album earlier. Still amazing.
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That's why I didn't count it, it was your mom who called me that. She said she was finally free and wanted to go "one last time".
:rollin
Didn't even see this until hefdaddy42 quoted it :lol :clap:
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Fatal Tragedy is the only track I have serious problems with and struggle to listen to any more. Every time I listen to it I get Mike in my head going...
"What a... phenomenon... what a... phenomenon"
:censored >:( :censored >:( :censored
:sadpanda:
Hahahah yeah that happened to me the other day. I put it on whilst doing the vaccuuming and that's what immediately popped into my head during the 'shrink and grow' section.
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What are you talking about? Anyway, my girlfriend started the album over. I think she might like it. :metal
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What are you talking about? Anyway, my girlfriend started the album over. I think she might like it. :metal
Liquid Drum Theater. Watch it.
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What are you talking about? Anyway, my girlfriend started the album over. I think she might like it. :metal
Liquid Drum Theater. Watch it.
Only if you don't mind ruining that song though :P
Nah, It's an awesome Drum DVD
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I think "Finally Free" is awesome in every way: great melodies, great atmosphere, great way to wrap the whole story up, and is perfectly constructed.
Agreed 100%. LaBrie's performance in this song is stellar in every sense of the word. I find the sound of Victoria's screams kinda weird, though. As if she wasn't human or something.
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Darth Nihilus is badass!!
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Yeah, "Finally Free" is a perfect way to end the album.
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Finally Free is definitely one of the high points of the album, really excellent song. I wish that cool evil melody popped up somewhere else in the album, though (unless it does).
I agree on BTL being too long, but it would be more bearable if it weren't paired right up with Fatal Tragedy. Having them both together is a little overkill. But other than that it's a really great album.