Poll

How has the album aged for you?

Even better than when I first listened!
25 (12.7%)
Pretty well
85 (43.1%)
Good
44 (22.3%)
Bad
21 (10.7%)
Terribly
4 (2%)
Meh
18 (9.1%)

Total Members Voted: 192

Author Topic: BCSL: One Year Later  (Read 37102 times)

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Offline moffatt

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #35 on: June 20, 2010, 05:45:34 AM »
I've overplayed it way too much. I have played ANTR over 120 times according to my itunes. But overall the atm i like it more than the day it came out, it has just grown on me.

Offline Aniland

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #36 on: June 20, 2010, 08:55:21 AM »
A Nightmare to Remember - Don't listen to this as much. Even the Peaceful Sedation part got overplayed in my household.
A Rite of Passage - Didn't like it then, didn't like it now.
Wither - Gets the occasional spin, and when I do, I like it. This is a top 10 Dream Theater song, though.
The Shattered Fortress - Just as interesting as it was when I first heard it (decent, but that's it)
The Best of Times - I like certain parts a tad more, but all of the parts I did like have grown tired
The Count of Tuscany - The introduction is still gorgeous and incredible. I can't handle much of the vocal parts except for the great acoustic ending.

Back then: 8/10
Now: 7/10

This is my 3rd least favorite album of theirs, though.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #37 on: June 20, 2010, 09:00:04 AM »
I still dig it; the last three songs get played much more than the first three.  I still like "A Nightmare to Remember," but it can be difficult to dedicate 16+ minutes to a song when the second half of the song isn't nearly as good as the first half.  Sometimes, I will skip to something else once the mellow middle section ends and the soloing starts.

Overall, it is probably my 6th favorite DT studio album.

Offline Dr. DTVT

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #38 on: June 20, 2010, 11:28:23 AM »
It's not cracking the top half of my DT line-up.  TCoT is still great, but each of the other songs has lost some their shine, particularly TSF, ARoP, and the second half of ANtR.
     

Offline Mladen

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #39 on: June 20, 2010, 01:34:44 PM »
A Nightmare to remember - I think this is the one I play the most, it's just a great song all around. The part with MP singing grew on me a lot, I enjoy it because it's so fun. The instrumental section after MP's bit is awesome.

A Rite of passage - It got a bit boring, but it's pretty cool anyway. The chorus is still catchy, and JP's guitar work is exceptional.

Wither - Used to be my least favorite back when the album came out, but now it's certainly one of my favorites. A wonderful ballad with a great performance by James LaBrie.

The Shattered fortress - Keeps me interested for the first couple of minutes, but from the moment Jordan kicks in with his never-ending solo, the song goes horribly downhill. Even the Responsible part isn't as great as I originally thought.

The Best of time - Great one, grew on me as well. So emotional, with some beautiful bits, especially the string section in the 6th minute. Needless to say, Petrucci rocks in the last couple of minutes. An excellent song all around.

The Count of Tuscany - I got a bit tired of the second half, but the song is still the best on the album. I love the faster driving riff starting before ''Several years ago''. I still laugh at some of the words, but what can you do, that's how their lyrics are now.

Offline Darkes7

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #40 on: June 20, 2010, 01:57:37 PM »
I remember I thought it could be my new #2 favourite DT album, now it's definitely fallen down but I still like it a lot and consider it a very strong album. And A Nightmare to Remember and The Shattered Fortress still rock just as much as they did in the beginning.

Offline perfectchaos180

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #41 on: June 20, 2010, 02:57:50 PM »
Was disappointed at first and I still am. Second worst DT album.

Yeah I know you guys disagree, I don't like it don't bug me about it >_>

Offline ariich

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #42 on: June 20, 2010, 04:01:34 PM »
Just as good as when I first listened, which is excellent, and my #3 DT album. None of the options seem to really fit that though, as it's not better than when I first listened, but "pretty well" just seems a bit tame. "Very well" would be my real answer.

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Offline wolfking

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #43 on: June 21, 2010, 05:30:27 AM »
Pretty damn well.  Was actually listening to it today at work and it was a great listen, very fresh.  TBOT is the only part that lets it down IMO.  It's okay but nothing too great.
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Offline zxlkho

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #44 on: June 21, 2010, 06:25:55 AM »
Pretty damn well.  Was actually listening to it today at work and it was a great listen, very fresh.  AROP is the only part that lets it down IMO.  It's okay but nothing too great.
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Offline wolfking

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #45 on: June 21, 2010, 06:46:33 AM »
Pretty damn well.  Was actually listening to it today at work and it was a great listen, very fresh.  AROP is the only part that lets it down IMO.  It's okay but nothing too great.
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That's cool, I actually found that quite catchy and enjoyable.  Good stuff.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #46 on: June 21, 2010, 08:24:40 AM »
I think it has aged well for me.  But unlike most of their albums, my opinions on the individual songs really hasn't changed much.  I think this album has more of a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" feel in that there isn't a whole lot that clicked at some point down the road.  It all either clicked or didn't fairly quickly and has stayed that way.  That's a bit different for DT, but that's fine.  Song by song:

-A Nightmare To Remember:  About as flawless as it gets.  Really, really good song on every level.  Great structure.  Great instrumentation.  Great singing.  Great lyrics.  The experiment of Mike singing a whole verse in a gruff but now growly way absolutely works.  The eery Beautiful Agony section is a perfect counterpoint to the heaviness of the rest of the song and is both soothing and unsettling at the same time.  Overall, just a terrific song.  Love it.
-A Right Of Passage:  A fun, interesting song.  Not overly complex, but it's a fun listen.  Structurally and in terms of feel, it reminds me a lot of Constant Motion, but doesn't feel quite as strong.  Still a good song.
-Wither:  Great choice for a single.  I doubt I would often specifically want to listen to the album for this song, but I'm glad they did it.  
-The Shattered Fortress:  I really love it most of the way through up until the big Repentence reprise through the "take all of me" reprise, which don't work for me, but then I live it again after that.  Part of me wishes there was more original material.  Part of me loves the originality of them taking so many bits of the earlier songs, standing them on their ear, and making them even better in very unexpected ways.  So, overall, there are some parts of the song that don't work for me, but overall, I like it a lot.
-The Best Of Times:  Some of DT's more emotional, very personal songs really hit me (such as A Change Of Seasons, Take Away My Pain, Disappear, and Vacant).  But for some reason, even though I feel what Mike is saying when I really focus on the words, this song just doesn't really connect with me.  Definitely my least favorite on the album.  Not that it's bad, but again, I just don't connect with it for some reason.
-The Count Of Tuscany:  Overall, I really like it.  But although I know I'm in the minority on this one, the volume swell instrumental section really drags for me, and I wish it either wasn't there or was a lot shorter.  To me, it doesn't add to the song at all, and is so long that instead of feeling like a nice interlude, it kills the momentum of the song for me.  But otherwise, this is a terrific song.  This and ANTR are perhaps the two best examples of JP's more narrative lyrical style really working.  The verses really remind me of Lucretia, and while that isn't a bad thing by any stretch, it's a bit distracting when I start hearing Dave Mustaine in my mind instead of James.  :lol  

I know a lot of peple commented when this first came out that it was such a "return to form" that people were ranking it in their top 3 DT albums, and so on.  As much as I like it, I wouldn't go that far.  But it is still a great album, and it doesn't need to be a "return to form" to be great.  A year after it's release, I realy enjoy it and still think it is a very solid offering.
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Offline Dublagent66

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #47 on: June 21, 2010, 08:37:00 AM »
It's held up pretty well for me.  ANTR is great (except for the CM vocals), AROP is still good (regardless of all the hate it gets), Wither is just a really cool ballad, TSF is a great closer to the TSS, TBOT is a cool tribute but just an ok song (outro is the best), TCOT is fantastic and a great album closer.
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Offline ClairvoyantCat

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #48 on: June 21, 2010, 09:12:36 AM »
It's pretty weak.  The last 2 songs have some incredible moments, as well as some incredibly ridiculous moments.  The first four are at best reincarnations of their previous works and at worst just plain stupid.  Why do they want to fit in with the modern metal scene so much?  I can hope to god Mike won't bring back influences from Avenged Sevenfold for the next album....

Offline Mebert78

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #49 on: June 21, 2010, 09:47:17 AM »
My main problem with BC&SL is that it should be more than 6 songs.  DT has a thing lately about creating long songs.  Sure, Octavarium the song was great from start to finish, but it's hard to create a great long like that.  In BC&SL, their long songs have great moments but mediocre moments too.  And, as a result, that leaves us with no great songs.  When you keep a song shorter, you have a better chance of it being great and not watered down with mediocre moments.  Like Wither.  Very good song.  The only one on the album that's solid from start to finish, if you ask me.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2010, 09:53:01 AM by Mebert78 »
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Offline walmartsecurity

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #50 on: June 21, 2010, 11:34:50 AM »
The album has aged nicely for me, I voted "pretty well". ANTR is almost as ethereal as when I first heard it, it's still a top 5 DT song to me. AROP only gets played once in a while, but it is a solid song (minus that certain part in the instrumental passage). Wither is the least played song because I've always preferred more 'busy' songs over ballads. TSF.. before I moved I played this on my brothers 7 string at least a couple times a week. I still throw it on sometimes. TCOT lost some of its flair since I first heard it, though it's still one of DT's best epics and a brilliant closer to the album.

if I were rating this album when I first heard it compared to now, it was 9/10 before and 8/10 now.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #51 on: June 21, 2010, 12:12:17 PM »
My main problem with BC&SL is that it should be more than 6 songs.  DT has a thing lately about creating long songs.  Sure, Octavarium the song was great from start to finish, but it's hard to create a great long like that.  In BC&SL, their long songs have great moments but mediocre moments too.  And, as a result, that leaves us with no great songs.  When you keep a song shorter, you have a better chance of it being great and not watered down with mediocre moments.  Like Wither.  Very good song.  The only one on the album that's solid from start to finish, if you ask me.

Interesting viewpoint, and one that has a lot of merit on the surface (meaning, without considering how much each individual likes each song).  When you think about it, if you are bothered by the Portnoy singing section in ANTR to where it disrupts your overall enjoyment of the song and/or TCOT's lyrics, two of the most oft-criticized things on the album, that is a good chunk of the album.  I doubt DT will make a habit out of having only six songs per record, but it does have leave a smaller margin for error, when it comes down to how much fans like it on a per song basis.


Offline orcus116

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #52 on: June 21, 2010, 01:44:19 PM »
To add to Mebert's thoughts I personally think if they had 'Hell's Kitchen'd' the middle section of ANTR they would've had absolute gold on their hands.

Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #53 on: June 21, 2010, 02:14:04 PM »
I still listen to some of the songs. The Shattered Fortress being the most played while The Best Of Times is the least. I feel TSF is the best song on the album with A Nightmare To Remember a close second. I'd put TCOT up there but the lyrics bring it down a lot. Musically it's amazing.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #54 on: June 21, 2010, 02:46:40 PM »
To add to Mebert's thoughts I personally think if they had 'Hell's Kitchen'd' the middle section of ANTR they would've had absolute gold on their hands.
Gold, I'm telling you.  As it is now, if the song comes up for me, or if I'm listening to the album, I just skip straight to Wither after the "Beautiful Agony" section.
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Offline bodiesinflight

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #55 on: June 21, 2010, 02:57:45 PM »
ANTR - Still really like it although it does drag a little after the middle section.
AROP - Rarely ever listen to it unless I'm listening to the album as a whole.
Wither - Has actually grown on me, one of my fave DT ballads.
TSF - Meh, apart from Repentance it's the worst AA suite song.
TBOT - Mega meh, I just find it boring tbh.
TCOT - Ok, despite the crappy lyrics, I love it unashamedly...still.


Overall: at the time I rated it 4.5/5 (Superb) on Sputnikmusic and now I rate it 4/5 (Excellent). It is good but it hasn't got any better, that's for sure. Probably rests about 5th in my DT album rankings behind IAW, Awake, SFAM and ToT.
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Offline glaurung

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #56 on: June 21, 2010, 04:12:44 PM »
ANTR - Awesome.
AROP - It's been meh from day one.
Wither - Pretty good song.
TSF - Pretty good song. My third favorite in the suite behing TGP and Repentance.
TBOT - Decent song. I still don't like the violin but it has one of my very favorite guitar solos ever.
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Offline dedSurroun

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #57 on: June 21, 2010, 04:58:49 PM »
Still can't get over the lyrics. I mean, damn they suck. Across the board.

Only reason why it's not a top 5 album for me. Now it's a bottom-dweller along with Train Of Thought.
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Offline bosk1

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #58 on: June 21, 2010, 05:04:17 PM »
Still can't get over the lyrics. I mean, damn they suck. Across the board.

Still can't get over your opinion.  I mean, damn it sucks.  Across the board.
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Offline Orbert

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #59 on: June 21, 2010, 05:08:23 PM »
I still consider Dream Theater one of my favorite bands, but it's been a long time since they did anything that really excited me.  SFAM blew my mind, and is still one of my favorites, but every album since then feels like they're now trying too hard to be prog, trying too hard to be metal, trying too hard to be... something.  Their albums used to be amazing because they felt genuine.  They weren't trying to be anything, it's just how they were.

Anyway, I think I've listened to the disc of covers more than the actual album.

Offline AcidLameLTE

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #60 on: June 22, 2010, 03:14:04 AM »
It's not aged amazingly well for me but I still listen to a few of the songs every now and again. Which is a lot more than I can say for Systematic Chaos.

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #61 on: June 22, 2010, 04:27:46 AM »
I still enjoy the album, though I have web too busy with finding new music as of late to listen to it.

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #62 on: June 22, 2010, 05:02:37 AM »
The only songs I make an effort to listen to anymore are TCOT and ANTR so meh for me (I didn't think it was that good when I first heard it anyway)

Offline Dream Team

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #63 on: June 22, 2010, 07:10:25 AM »
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.

Similar to my views. AROP is listenable only for JP's face-annihilating solo; even the chorus doesn't seem to be as catchy as I once thought. I still think TCOT absolutely rules and that ANTR is a very wasted opportunity. I still enjoy TSF despite its flaws (INVENTORY!!), and I still appreciate TBOT.

Offline dedSurroun

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #64 on: June 22, 2010, 11:03:24 AM »
Still can't get over the lyrics. I mean, damn they suck. Across the board.

Still can't get over your opinion.  I mean, damn it sucks.  Across the board.
Still can't get over your attitude. I mean, damn it sucks. Across the board.
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Offline Zantera

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #65 on: June 22, 2010, 11:21:36 AM »
I would say somewhere in between of 'good' and 'meh'.
Compared to other DT-albums, i don't really have much urge to listen to it, and when i look at the playlist, ANTR is probably the only song i would rank very high compared to the other DT-stuff.
The album isn't bad at all, but when the majority of songs (in this case 4 out of 6, with 1 being almost 10) are 14-15 minutes long, the album just gets a bit hard to listen to IMO.
I still prefer a bit more variety length-wise, if i would rank this among the other DT-albums, it would probably end up as nr6-7 or so, with the top3 being: 6DOIT, SFAM and Awake.

Song-wise, i would sum up the album like this:

A Nightmare to Remember - still fantastic. I love these type of songs, the atmospheric build-up, i don't even care about the MP singing-part. :P

A Rite of Passage - Still very good, but compared to other DT-songs that has a bit of the same structure/length/sound, it gets lost in the shadow of songs like Panic Attack and Under a Glass Moon.

Wither - I disliked this song when i first heard it, and i still do. One of the 'worst' DT-songs IMO.

The Shattered Fortress - Sums up the cycle pretty well, and contains probably the best riffs from all the earlier songs.
However, a collection of mostly old riffs doesn't make a new album awesome.
Solid overall.

The Best of Times - I really liked this one back when the album came out, and i still do.
Some fantastic parts, the solo for example.
However, i do think it drags a bit, and im not sure anymore if it would beat simular DT-songs.

The Count of Tuscany
- I see a lot of people have praised this song a lot, personally i like it, but there was no "instant love" or something.
It's still good, but its not comparable to their other epics.



Offline TAC

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #66 on: June 22, 2010, 02:43:19 PM »
To me, the album is still notable for two songs, TBOT & TCOT. Musically, TCOT is one of my favorite DT tunes.

.. ANTR is a very wasted opportunity...
I agree. I wish I liked it more. There's a lot going on, but I feel somewhat hollow after listening to it.


I feel the same way I did when it came out. It's OK. I was a little disappointed. Where I thought SC was a big exhale, not too serious, album after the climactic Score performance, I was expecting a DT masterpiece, a sort of kick off to the next chapter of DT. And this clearly wasn't it. There's still a lot to like, and I'm hopeful for better things on the next album. This short tour notwithstanding, I believe this is a much needed break for the band.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline MetalManiac666

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #67 on: June 22, 2010, 10:37:35 PM »
It's still pretty damn good, so I voted "Pretty well."

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #68 on: June 23, 2010, 12:34:20 AM »
Being my first 'new' DT album, it holds a special place. I like most of the songs except for the singles. I don't play those often. My biggest gripe isn't one that DT did necessarily, but the album is still a bit 'loud' Better than SC though
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Offline Arcaeus

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Re: BCSL: One Year Later
« Reply #69 on: June 23, 2010, 01:05:30 AM »
I still dig it; the last three songs get played much more than the first three.  I still like "A Nightmare to Remember," but it can be difficult to dedicate 16+ minutes to a song when the second half of the song isn't nearly as good as the first half.  Sometimes, I will skip to something else once the mellow middle section ends and the soloing starts.

Overall, it is probably my 6th favorite DT studio album.

This, except it's my 4-5th favorite.