Transatlantic poll - comparing the two new long epics vs the first three

[KevShmev]

Big 3 (which I called them that to make the poll question not as long, and for simplicity's sake) obviously refers to All of the Above, Duel with the Devil and Stranger in Your Soul.  Those three and the two new ones are all in the 25-32 minute range, and have similar structures, so it is easy to compare them.

The option is there to vote for two, in case you want to vote for option 2 and 5 or 6.

Me, I voted for option 1.  Both are pretty great, but I can't say either is as awesome as those original three.

[Bolsters]

Neither are as good as any of the Big 3

[Evermind]

I like Kaleidoscope more than All Of The Above, so my vote goes for option 4.

[jingle.boy]

I like Kaleidoscope more than All Of The Above, so my vote goes for option 4.

I also like Into the Blue more than All Of The Above, so I went 3 and 4.  'twas close though

[bosk1]

Can't find the "The Whirlwind is better than them all" option.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Can't find the "The Whirlwind is better than them all" option.

[bosk1]

And, yes, I realize the point of the poll is not necessarily the pinpoint the "best" epic, but merely to see how the new ones compare in people's minds to the "classic" mega-epics.  I went with the first option.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I'll just do what we here at DTF do best:

All of the Above/Duel With the Devil
Stranger In Your Soul
Kaleidoscope
Into the Blue

I'd probably have chosen DWTD at the very top, but those last couple of minutes in AOTA really move it up for me. So in general, I don't think the two new epics are quite as good as those that came before, but I still enjoy them a whole lot.

[hefdaddy42]

Big 3 > New 2

[KevShmev]

Like others, I enjoy the two new ones a lot, but I don't know if it's saturation from having so many Neal Morse-penned songs with that structure over the years, but it's impossible to not compare the new ones to not only the previous TA epics of similar length, but to the Neal Morse solo songs of similar ilk (Seeds of Gold, World Without End, So Many Roads, The Door, The Conflict, etc.), and while the climaxes to both of them are really nice, they aren't totally mind-blowing like the endings to, for example, Stranger in Your Soul or The Door.  The meat of both songs are freaking great though, without a doubt (sections like Written in Your Heart, Black Gold, A New Beginning, etc. are all terrific).

[ronnibran]

I like the two new epics best, with into the blue taking the top spot - just barely as I love kaleidoscope almost as much

[Elite]

I voted option 3 and here's how I would rank the epics:

1. Duel With the Devil
2. Stranger In Your Soul
3. Into the Blue
4. All of the Above



5. Kaleidoscope

[Bolsters]

Oh, list time. Okay.

Stranger In Your Soul
Duel With The Devil
All Of The Above
Kaleidoscope
Into The Blue