BCSL: One Year Later

[PlaysLikeMyung]

It's been nearly a full year since BCSL was released

How has the album aged for you?

Personally, I still find it to be a fantastic album, although I've disliked Wither more and more since it's release

[glaurung]

Personally, I still find it to be a fantastic album, although I've disliked A Rite of Passage more and more since it's release

[Zydar]

Pretty well. I don't listen that much to it nowadays, but it's still a top tier album for me - perhaps 4th place.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Amazing album. It was not an easy listen, but as always...those not "so-easy-listens" prove to be great. 

[lateralus88]

I'd say pretty well. It's definitely not gotten any worse or old for me one bit. It's still such a solid album.

[orcus116]

Terribly. Not like I heard a lot of stuff that begged a second listen the first time around but I have zero desire to spin it.

[OperantChamber]

Terribly. Not like I heard a lot of stuff that begged a second listen the first time around but I have zero desire to spin it.

Not bad at all for me. I still enjoy what I initially enjoyed and some of the parts I didn't care for at first have grown on me.

[contest_sanity]

It has aged just fine for me.  I still have it in my Jeep's 10 disc changer, and it has only rarely come out of there.  I will say, though, that I probably spin ANTR and The Count much more than the other songs, not that I don't like them -- it's just how it is.

[Perpetual Change]

I actually like it better than when I first listened to it. A very solid release.

[Zook]

Holy shit, a year already?! I don't listen to the album in full, but I listen to The Count of Tuscany and The Shattered Fortress all the time still.

[John94]

I still love it. I still love Nightmare to Remember like it was my first play.

[DarkEternalNight]

I still love TCOT and the rest, I wore out AROP though.

[yeshaberto]

It is still in the growing stage for me, and gets better on each listen

[King Postwhore]

I always liked this better than TOT and SC. I don't mind what dT was trying to go for on those 2 albums but this album seemed brighter in more ways than one to me, so I still spin it.

[Cool Chris]

The tough thing for me about this album is that I never have a desire to put it in to listen to a song or two, which I often feel about all their other albums. So in that sense it's an all-or-nothing for me, and many times I'm not necessarily in the mood to listen to a whole album, so this one stays on the shelf. But when it does get played, I do enjoy it all the way through, which I can't say about their previous two albums.

[Marvellous G]

I never really listen to any of it anymore, I seriously think I've only listened to TCOT off of it in the last 4 months or something. I'd say after the 'new album smell' wore off, it's actually gone down in my rankings considerably, which apparently noone else has experienced.

[Ultimetalhead]

This album is like Awake for me. I know it's incredible and all of the songs are jaw-droppingly good, but I just don't listen to it that much.

[ZKX-2099]

Top 4 for me. I'm in the stage now where I'm kinda "geeze I shouldn't listen so much because I'm afraid I'll get sick of it." But I do.

Nightmare is solid. A Rite Of Passage is one of my favorite Dream Theater "singles." Wither is my favorite ballad by them. Shattered Fortress is awesome. Best Of Times has the best solo ever. And The Count is an awesome closer.

[pogoowner]

I didn't care for it all that much when I first listened to it, and I pretty much feel the same way now, unfortunately.

[Gadough]

It has since become my 3rd or 4th favorite DT album, and I still enjoy it just as much as when I first got it, and I still listen to it often. I think its primary strength is that it opens and closes with an epic, even though I agree that Wither is very out of place. It was a 9/10 when I first heard it, and it's still a 9/10

[Slain]

Definitely just, Good.  

[Setlist Scotty]

Pretty well. I don't listen that much to it nowadays, but it's still a top tier album for me - perhaps 4th place.

This fits me exactly, except I'd move it up to 2nd or 3rd place in my personal rankings.

[Sigz]

I loved it when it first came out, but now it's extremely meh. I don't think I've listened to it all this year.

[kingsXrocks]

i dont think it rates very high honestly. i'm in the minority i guess. the last great album they did was octavarium.. the last 2 have been a little more mainstream perhaps? i don't know if that's the right word.. perhaps conforming to the roadrunner association. the lyrics are less than stellar, the musicianship is high but not as inspired as octavarium or 6 degrees. i think the problem is there are so few songs that if you don't like one or two of the songs well that's a big chunk of the album.

i love the shattered fortress. whither does nothing to me, sounds like staind or something. the best of times is a little corny but it comes from the heart so i can respect that. a nightmare to remember has great parts but it sounds like DT trying to be something else.. a little too metal plus the riffs are way too repetitive. i'll give JLB major props though.. he makes the song work. a rite of passage is a very standard song.. it's not bad at all, but very 'phoned in' plus the middle instrumental section is SO out of place. they needed a section to show off the chops. for that song to work it should have just been standard without the crazy interlude.

now the count of tuscany gets a LOT of praise around here. it's certainly an epic. can't deny that. it does have absolutly epic amazing parts. the intro/outro are fantastic. the verses are pretty good too, perhaps not the most inspired melodies. what really ruins the song is the chorus. the I! (tough guy chant/harmony, you know what i'm talking about) so out of place!!! i just think that and the chorus melody is kinda cringeworthy noting what DT are capable of. it's a very good song.. but not legendary in my book.

better lyrics would have made this album one of the better ones. it doesn't really compare with anything in their catalog except for systematic chaos in tone / lyrical content / musicianship. i think their next record will be more like octavarium/6 degrees. it will definitly be a departure. if not.. well i duno...i'm just hoping.

[Marvellous G]

I loved it when it first came out, but now it's extremely meh. I don't think I've listened to it all this year.

Yeah, this is what I'd say if I was succinct in any way. 

[antigoon]

Meh. I like it when I listen to it, but that isn't very often.

[Quadrochosis]

Meh. I like it when I listen to it, but that isn't very often.

[ACID_FOX]

I'd say after the 'new album smell' wore off, it's actually gone down in my rankings considerably.

[TL]

I've found that is has aged quite well.
A year after Systematic Chaos came out, it had gone down considerably in my view of it. BC&SL on the other hand is pretty much where it was when it first came out.
I still listen to songs from it pretty regularly.

[Rafael Guerra]

I still listen to TCOT and Shattered Fortress. A while ago I was really into the best of times, but its gone now (sadly), so yeah...aged well, overall.

[The Letter M]

I said "Pretty well". I was at the nearby laundry mat doing some laundry (Duh) and during my time there washing and drying, I listened to the entirety of BC&SL and found it VERY enjoyable. It's held up quite well, and found the songs still fresh.

-Marc.

[Portrucci]

I loved it when it first came out, but now it's extremely meh. I don't think I've listened to it all this year.

[ZBomber]

Meh. I like it when I listen to it, but that isn't very often.

This... to some degree. I feel the album is way too inconsistent. For example, parts of ANTR, most of TBOT and all of TCOT are absolutely amazing. The rest ranges from OK to horrible.

TSF doesn't really do much for me anymore, even though I loved it the first time I listened to it (OH WOW THEY USED THAT RIFF THATS SO COOL!), Wither is an ok song but isn't really noteworthy..... AROP is pretty bad and I never was a big fan of the song to begin with. The last half of ANTR is completely unnecessary and forgettable.

With all that said... I'm gonna spin it again on June 23. Its an OK album, but like its two predecessors, it is too inconsistent, even though all three albums (Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, and BCSL) all have some of the best songs DT have put out (8VM, ITPOEpt1, TCOT....)

[hefdaddy42]

It's aged OK for me.  Songs 3-6 are really enjoyable for me.  I dislike ANTR more now.  And AROP has just become irrelevant, not much to like or dislike.

[GuineaPig]

Bad.  Because of several elements in many songs that I dislike, the only one I listen to semi-regularly is The Count.