Train of Thought appreciation!

fleaman · July 23, 2011, 08:57:16 AM

I really like to say how great this album is!!Its their heaviest one which is why i like it so much and the songs are AWESOME!!Really like the band's perspective on this one!What a great album!If you feel the same post everything you want about this masterpiece!

Knguro · July 23, 2011, 09:07:01 AM

In The Name of God my fav DT song!

Zook · July 23, 2011, 09:07:56 AM

Awesome album. And Myung is super audible and has some great shit going on.

fleaman · July 23, 2011, 09:23:35 AM

Really love the fact that Myung is SO loud on this album!

reo73 · July 23, 2011, 09:24:11 AM

I used to not like it so much but I now find it very listenable and motivating when you have it on in the background.

fleaman · July 23, 2011, 09:33:46 AM

If i had to pick the best DT album to listen to my car when driving TOT would definitely be the one!!

hefdaddy42 · July 23, 2011, 10:05:55 AM

I liked it a lot when it first came out, and then it slid down in my estimation. But it's risen a little lately. Good stuff.

Vajra · July 23, 2011, 10:10:27 AM

It's an amazing album indeed.

Chrissalix · July 23, 2011, 11:07:05 AM

Had it on in the car the other day. Very stripped down and awesome, showing a different side to the band. You can tell it was jammed out in 3 weeks. Myung is loud, which is amazing too.

wammabe · July 23, 2011, 11:11:42 AM

I'm not that fond of Dream Theater's metal, but I actually like how they did it in Train of Thought. I really like the album, but I wouldn't want Dream Theater to make an album like that again though...

WildeSilas · July 23, 2011, 11:57:58 AM

My favorite headbanging album, BUT I've been listening to all the DT albums in order on headsets the last few nights, and I notice that this is the album where the unison playing became more predominant, the comparatively simplified, and the key/guitar wankfest solos start to get out of hand (culminating later in some of the SC and BCSL tracks). I love the album, but IMO it is the least 'DT' feeling album to me because the focus is on a very direct and aggressive approach, rather than nuances and diverse parts in the arrangements.

nikatapi · July 23, 2011, 11:59:20 AM

My first DT album, i still love it and i think it is the best of the modern era DT.

Ħ · July 23, 2011, 12:38:51 PM

The songs are great on their own, but going through the entire album is exhausting.

Ranking time:

1. Honor Thy Father
2. As I Am
3. Endless Sacrifice
4. In the Name of God
5. Vacant
6. This Dying Soul
7. Stream of Consciousness

krands85 · July 23, 2011, 12:56:27 PM

This was my favourite album for quite a while when I first got into DT, the heaviness of it really appealed to me at the time.

It's been overtaken by I&W now, but it's still easily my second favourite album of theirs. That being said, I agree with the poster who said he wouldn't want another album like this. I appreciate the other aspects of DTs music more now and I'd prefer a more balanced album.

As for individual rankings of the songs: In the Name of God top and Endless Sacrifice second. No idea about the other songs (aside from Vacant being at the bottom). Such a consistent album, it's hard to rank most of the songs against each other.

fleaman · July 23, 2011, 02:04:25 PM

QuoteI love the album, but IMO it is the least 'DT' feeling album to me because the focus is on a very direct and aggressive approach, rather than nuances and diverse parts in the arrangements.

That direct and aggresive approach is why this album is so great to me!Personally i d really like another album like TOT!

Setebos · July 23, 2011, 03:19:02 PM

Mhh, yeah, ToT is not a bad album by any means. It's just... every single other DT album is better.

MasterShakezula · July 23, 2011, 03:22:29 PM

I think it's a real fun heavy album, though I don't necessarily have too much of it imbedded into my memory, aside from DAT INSTRUMENTAL in EGGNOG.

Not my favorite, but not my least favorite, either, and discounting ITPOE1 and Eigthalbum, it probably has their best song since Six, in EGGNOG.

yorost · July 23, 2011, 03:36:57 PM

Quote from: Knguro on July 23, 2011, 09:07:01 AM
In The Name of God my fav DT song!

Me too. Train of Thought is my favourite album from Dream Theater.

I hated it at first, though, only figured the last 2 or 3 songs were even worth listening to. One by one, and slowly at that, I started to like then love every song. Funny how Awake and Train of Thought are the only two albums I ever genuinely hated from Dream Theater but are both firmly entrenched as my two favourite albums now.

MasterShakezula · July 23, 2011, 03:37:56 PM

Quote from: yorost on July 23, 2011, 03:36:57 PM
Quote from: Knguro on July 23, 2011, 09:07:01 AM
In The Name of God my fav DT song!
Me too. Train of Thought is my favourite album from Dream Theater.

I hated it at first, though, only figured the last 2 or 3 songs were even worth listening to. One by one, and slowly at that, I started to like then love every song. Funny how Awake and Train of Thought were the only two albums I ever genuinely hated from Dream Theater but are both firmly entrenched as my two favourite albums now.

How did you end up initially hating Awake?

yorost · July 23, 2011, 03:48:09 PM

I hardly remember other than feeling it was an overblown mess and obnoxious. It upset me listening to it and I couldn't really listen to more than 5-10 minutes at a time before feeling ...drained maybe?

There are posters, albeit very few, that currently hate this album around here, maybe they're better to ask. It's been years now since I felt that way. I do know I'm not the only one to express having an overnight revelation with the album, where it just clicks all of a sudden. It was literally one random listen that made such a drastic change of opinion.

MasterShakezula · July 23, 2011, 04:10:02 PM

I can empathize, actually. Though it's also my second favorite, I actually couldn't get past Voices for over a month, after getting it as my 2nd DT album. It was only after trying out FII and SC and then returning to Awake, when I was really able to appreciate it, and actually sit through the entire thing.

peruvianskynewhampshire · July 23, 2011, 04:31:46 PM

Quote from: Samara on July 23, 2011, 10:10:27 AM
It's an amazing album indeed.

THIS

FlyingBIZKIT · July 23, 2011, 04:33:11 PM

That breakdown in This Dying Soul, (the one also in The Glass Prison).

PixelDream · July 23, 2011, 05:38:30 PM

At the time ToT sounded exactly like what I wanted to hear from DT. Ultimately I prefer the diverseness of most of their other records, but this is just such a focused metal album. And there still is mood, I don't know, the cover art really helps the album. Energy is running high on all tracks, and it just feels good. Tracks 1 - 4 are good headbangers (don't forget As I Am, that song is rock solid), and after the introduction of the SoC theme in Vacant, the album really gets to another level. The album climaxes confidently in ITNOG, which is just a huge song. The only complaint I now have with it, is that it doesn't have that awesome JP solo that they do live.

Jaffa · July 23, 2011, 06:47:03 PM

Well, I come from a metal background, and I'm a Dream Theater fan. That pretty much guarantees I'm going to like Train of Thought.

And I do. Probably my second favorite DT album right now.

juice · July 23, 2011, 07:32:57 PM

In the Name of God is a top 5 DT song. The rest of the album is pretty awesome as well!

*Appreciates*

Metrovarium · July 23, 2011, 07:40:23 PM

The individual songs are pretty good, especially This Dying Soul, Honor Thy Father, and Vacant, but I don't really like to listen to the album as a whole. There aren't enough distinctive moments to keep me interested, unfortunately. I'd rank it pretty low out of all their albums, but I still enjoy it.

m0hawk · July 23, 2011, 09:22:49 PM

It's quite an extraordinary feat to have a simple harmonic as the most chill-inducing moment in an album. Trust DT to do something like that! My face melts every time I hear DAT HARMONIC

The transition from As I Am to This Dying Soul is superb. Probably my favourite song transition from DT, just besting Fatal Tragedy -> Beyond This Life

ToT's primary weakness is the flow of the first 4 tracks. Endless Sacrifice has such a note of finality that it shouldn't be immediately followed Honor Thy Father's in-your-face intro. It should have been followed by Vacant.

ALBUM RANKING:
1. In the Name of God
2. This Dying Soul
3. Vacant
4. Honor Thy Father
5. As I Am
6. Stream of Consciousness
7. Endless Sacrifice

tgstk2 · July 24, 2011, 02:35:58 AM

Because nothing can evr top i&w this is my nr 2 dt album

JayOctavarium · July 24, 2011, 04:42:31 AM

1. Endless Sacrifice
2. Vacant / Stream of C.
4. In The Name of God
then everything else

Jirpo · July 24, 2011, 04:51:32 AM

Great album, in the 4-6 range for me. ITNOG and Endless Sacrifice are in my top 5 DT songs.

tri.ad · July 24, 2011, 04:52:20 AM

Least favourite DT album for me, sorry. But there's still some really great stuff on it.

As I Am needs more love.

DejaVu · July 24, 2011, 06:02:59 AM

It's a great album, the problem is for me is that it doesn't stand out amongst the others. But there are some really amazing songs on there!

In terms of ranking...

1. In The Name of God
2. Endless Scarifice
3. Stream of Consciousness
4. Honor Thy Father
5. This Dying Soul
6. Vacant
7. As I Am

Sketchy · July 24, 2011, 07:36:53 AM

I have to say, I'd heard that a lot of proggers considered it to be their worst, but when I heard it (hoping I wouldn't feel the same) I absolutely loved it. From the bass harmonics in As I Am through to the final piano in ITNOG, I loved all of it. My favourite part is the run of Vacant through to ITNOG, as I love Vacant (being such a beautiful track and all), then the insanity of SOC (I'm a huge fan of instrumentals, especially DT ones, and also how King Crimson that main riff is), and then ITNOG is so eastern sounding, and has the wonderful instrumental section, oh and not forgetting the riffage immediately after... I love the whole album, but those three tracks would make it worth it even if the rest was unlistenable.

IdoSC · July 24, 2011, 07:42:40 AM

Great album. If I could leave out some awkward moments, it could really be a classic heavy metal album.

News:

Train of Thought appreciation!