DT compared to other prog bands

[RuRoRul]

^ As far as I'm concerned Train Of Thought, Octavarium and Systematic Chaos all have very unique sounds and don't sound like they could be on the same album at all. Black Clouds and Silver Linings on the other hand has more of a general DT sound, with songs sounding like they could be on other albums before it. Its sound is closest to Train Of Thought I'd say, but it's considerably different since it's a more varied album.

[TL]

most prog metal bands don't excite me at all. It's all so same-y. The drums with a barrage of double bass at lightspeed, the same guitar tone on every song, all the way through. The singers sound the same, though some are pretty good. There's just no breathing room anywhere.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds this to be true.
With guitar tone, it honestly seems sometimes like there's one "generic prog metal" tone. I mean, I'm not a guitarist, but it doesn't seem like finding a different tone that makes you stand out a bit would be that difficult.
The same goes with the singers. A LOT of prog metal singers sound the same to me. The best singers out there are the best not just for their ability, but because they sound unique. When I hear a singer like James LaBrie or Geddy Lee, I immediately know who's singing, even if I've never heard the song before. Most of those more generic prog metal singers just sound too much like each other, and it makes it all blend together.

It's sad that a genre that is supposed to be all about creativity and uniqueness has such a formulaic wing to it. So many bands out there don't seem to understand that, on top of being technically talented, you also have to actually sound unique.
One of the things I love about Dream Theater is that they don't sound like any other band. Even on songs or albums that I'm not as crazy about, they sound unique.

[Nekov]

I think there are a couple other prog metal bands worth listening to. Aghora for example (First album is much better than the second), Ayreon though lately I feel it's getting repetitive, Circus Maximus is cool. But I think it is fair to say that DT is far above every other prog metal band out there.

[Daso]

I agree with prog bands being similar. And that is basically what makes them not stand out. If they were unique, or had a unique element, people would notice them more, but having all singers sound like Geoff Tate doesn't really work. All the songs sound similar, everything is basicaly the same in all prog metal bands. While I think there should be a core that all of them attach to, they shouldn't be as similar as they are.