Is it likely that Dream Theater has not yet written their "fan favorite" CD yet?

[gummyfish]

Maybe it's the cynic in me, but i doubt it, on the basis of their rising commercial success. i won't go so far to say they're going to sell out, but imo, the creativity and originality of a given band's sound decreases as sales increase.

[gilpdawg]

I think the new album is going to rule, because of the newness of working with MM and everything. They seem inspired, just judging from tweets and things like that. However, I think the holy trinity of Scenes, Images, and Awake will never be penetrated from the outside as far as "being a fan favorite" goes.

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but 6 Degrees would replace Awake in my "holy trinity."

They could do their best work ever but they probably wouldn't sway that portion of the fanbase that likes the older shit and that's pretty much it. Same thing goes for a band like Maiden. Brave New World was one of the best albums of their career but all you hear about is the early stuff, and that sucks. Every band has that portion of the fanbase that wants to hear the stuff they "grew up with" and that's it and I think DT has been around long enough to have that happen. As probably one of the older posters here, I have witnessed that phenomenon from other fans in my age bracket.

[nikostheater]

I think that especially now they are all creatively in a very good position and I am very optimistic . I don't know if they ever be able to top the "holy trinity" but I am sure the not so distant future will bring us another jaw-dropping masterpiece.I completely trust the guys.

[yorost]

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but 6 Degrees would replace Awake in my "holy trinity."

As far as this forum has ever shown in polls and rankings there is no holy trinity for fans as a whole.  Six Degrees is one of the four fan favourites along with the three you refer to.

[ariich]

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but 6 Degrees would replace Awake in my "holy trinity."

As far as this forum has ever shown in polls and rankings there is no holy trinity for fans as a whole.  Six Degrees is one of the four fan favourites along with the three you refer to.

That.

[IdoSC]

I believe they can still make another fan favorite, though on the other hand it sometimes seems like SFAM and IAW are as high as it can get.

[Dream_Theater01]

I think the new album will be great, and I'm sure the band wants to prove that they can still rock on with MP.  I'm very anxious to hear Mr. Mangini on the new album!

[7thHanyou]

I'd say Scenes and Images are the most "fan-favorite" any DT album can ever get.

They're about as "fan-favorite" as any album can get.  Not only are they highly acclaimed by DT fans, but by people who have little to no regard for DT.

Yes, Awake also has a following, but it's not nearly as popular, nor are any of the other albums.

They could do their best work ever but they probably wouldn't sway that portion of the fanbase that likes the older shit and that's pretty much it. Same thing goes for a band like Maiden. Brave New World was one of the best albums of their career but all you hear about is the early stuff, and that sucks. Every band has that portion of the fanbase that wants to hear the stuff they "grew up with" and that's it and I think DT has been around long enough to have that happen. As probably one of the older posters here, I have witnessed that phenomenon from other fans in my age bracket.

I got into Maiden in 2005.  Brave New World was the first full Maiden album I owned.  While I love it and their other newer albums (except for Final Frontier, which I haven't gotten into yet), I can still tell you there's nothing like their 80's material.  I'm about as "new" to Maiden as a fan can possibly be, and that's my opinion, free of nostalgia.  Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is my personal favorite, but really, everything they wrote in the 80's is a masterpiece, while their newer stuff has more mixed results for me.

Sometimes the fanbase is right.

[Bone_Daddy]

SFaM
Done deal.

[yorost]

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is my personal favorite, but really, everything they wrote in the 80's is a masterpiece, while their newer stuff has more mixed results for me.

Sometimes the fanbase is right.

Most of their 80's albums are just bland rehashes of the same thing.