Black Clouds & Silver Linings: Reactions

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Listening to BCSL and then ADTOE right after I am just struck by how different these two albums are from each other.

[Zydar]

With some hindsight I wish I could change my vote from "It's up there with the best of 'em" to "It's OK".

It was my first new album after becoming a fan right after Systematic Chaos in 2007, so the anticipation was high from me. I instantly liked the first single, A Rite Of Passage. I also saw them live for the first time on that tour, in Stockholm. But as I got more and more into their back catalogue, this album dropped on my album rankings (same thing with SC). Now I rarely listen to it. None of the two epics (Nightmare and Tuscany) are among my favourites either. I don't know if it's DT going through the motions, or if there wasn't much inspiration around at the time.

[macneil]

Years ago I used to think SC was a pretty weak album, but was a big fan of BC&SL and played it on repeat.

Recently though I've swapped my view. I think SC is better than I gave it credit for, if you approach it more as just a fun album and don't take it seriously it's a pretty good listen, if not completely consistent.

In contrast, listening to it these days I do think Black Clouds is a pretty tired sounding album and a real mixed bag. It has some amazing moments and I would say higher highs than SC, but a lot of the material sounds pretty uninspired. If it wasn't for The Count of Tuscany, I don't think I would come back to it that much. I like ANTR too but it could have used some tightening up.

[Whitefish]

here''s my unpopular (maybe?) opinion.  Longer songs were never DT's strong suit.  For being a prog metal band.....they're just not great at it.

and i love this band to death but yea.  it's one reason i kinda prefer the Mangini era.  the songs were......mostly tight with little fat.

DT definitely have a selection of overlong songs, but in spite of that I feel that they are the most skilled epic-writers with which I am familiar. Certainly if you look at Octavarium and earlier there are very few 10+ minute songs that fail to zip along nicely, and they mostly feel very cohesive.

I do feel that since Octavarium their longer songs have been a bit less successful.

[hefdaddy42]

I'll say this, BCSL has aged well for me.

It's aged like bread for me.

Hey, different tastes.

[jingle.boy]

I do feel that since Octavarium their longer songs have been a bit less successful.

Everything is going to be less successful than (for my tastes) their best song ever.  And (for most peoples' tastes) a Top 5 or Top 3 song.  In all the rankings/polls/top lists we've done here, I don't think anything post-8vm has ever rated higher than 8vm itself (the song that is).

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

It's aged like bread for me.

Hey, different tastes.

hard and moldy? 

[Max Kuehnau]

depending on storage 

[Whitefish]

Everything is going to be less successful than (for my tastes) their best song ever.  And (for most peoples' tastes) a Top 5 or Top 3 song.  In all the rankings/polls/top lists we've done here, I don't think anything post-8vm has ever rated higher than 8vm itself (the song that is).

Definitely, but my general feeling is that nearly all of the 10+ minute songs they recorded before Octavarium were very cohesive and enjoyable, whereas post-Octavarium their epics have been much more patchy, and have felt more 'stitched together'. Obviously, other people may feel otherwise.

[gzarruk]

Black Clouds was the latest album when I became a fan (and MP hadn't left yet), but I didn't connect with it immediately, as the direction seemed too much in the dark and heavy end of the spectrum for me at the time vs the more proggy stuff I was absorbing first (SFAM, IAW, etc). Now I enjoy it but it still ranks in the lower tier and I'd take SC any day over it. That one gets a lot of hate but it's quite good IMO.

[Jamesman42]

It's aged like bread for me.

Hey, different tastes.

Yeah, I prefer bread to wells

[genome]

For me BC&SL is two brilliant opening and closing tracks with the middle 4 tracks quite underwhelming


I think of it like a sandwich with lovely artisan bread but with a sandwich filling bought from Lidl