Do you prefer old or new DT?

[Gadough]

Like many bands, Dream Theater seems to have a fanbase that prefers the older material to the newer material. Many fans put heaps of praise on Images and Words and Awake, while expressing the opinion that DT's newer output, while good, just doesn't match up to the older stuff.

I disagree. I prefer DT's newer output. I'd like to see if anyone else agrees with me.

So what say you? Old or new?

Edit: The cutoff point has changed, with SFAM being included in the "older" group. The votes have been reset. If you were one of the 9 or so people that voted before this, please feel free to vote again.

[Adami]

I like everything up till 6 Degrees, everything after is.........ok, not great.

[wammabe]

I like everything up till 6 Degrees, everything after is.........ok, not great.

I think the major changes that most Dream Theater fans dislike started after 6 Degrees. Not after Falling Into Infinity.

[Jarlaxle]

I can't decide..I love them all equally

[ariich]

Neither, and I find that cut-off point to be a little arbitrary. I think their sound has evolved a bit with each album, and I think it's been up and down but, by and large, consistently good with the occasional gem.

[Gadough]

I like everything up till 6 Degrees, everything after is.........ok, not great.

I think the major changes that most Dream Theater fans dislike started after 6 Degrees. Not after Falling Into Infinity.

Neither, and I find that cut-off point to be a little arbitrary.

Ok, should I change it?

[ZirconBlue]

Since SFaM is a sequel to a track off of I&W, I would tend to include it with the "older" albums.

[Gadough]

Since SFaM is a sequel to a track off of I&W, I would tend to include it with the "older" albums.

I think you might be right...ok, I'll do that.

[Adami]

He split it between the JR era and the Pre JR era.

[lithium112]

Can't really decide. I like the new sound (production) more than the old, but in terms of writing I love songs from both periods. I might be leaning a bit towards modern DT but my favourite song* is ACOS so... hard to say.

*Favourite half the time.. shares the top spot with TCOT.

[Gadough]

He split it between the JR era and the Pre JR era.

Well after thinking about it, I agree with Rich. That was kind of arbitrary. SFAM seems to fit more with the older albums.

[nikatapi]

I cant decide, i really like songs from both periods.
I guess older albums were more thought out and eclectic than the recent ones, but there are also newer songs i love.

[robwebster]

I disagree. I prefer DT's newer output. I'd like to see if anyone else agrees with me.

That'd be me, then.

I'm very drunk right now, so I'm not going to be able to advocate this quite as well as I feel it deserves, (and may even let the side down!) but their newer music is more bombastic. Stronger melodies, more rousing choruses... Images and Words is the only one of the pre-Jordan four which really compares, qualitywise. Awake is consistently "great" but never "brilliant," Falling Into Infinity is inconsistently "great" with moments that are "brilliant," whereas Dream and Day is just plain inconsistent.

Even the relatively overlooked songs like Losing Time (and yes, I'm going to call it a "song") in the newer era tug on my heartstrings far harder than a much-lauded song like Voices, and soar much farther still. One thing I can definitely say in the early-era's favour is that the weaker material is never truly weak. A song like The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun isn't guilty of any crime but being really boring, whereas a song like A Nightmare to Remember has some pretty fundamental flaws in its structure. On the other hand, though, it's got so much stuff running in its favour that I'm more than happy to overlook its shortcomings if it means I can bask in the bona-fide gorgeousness of Beautiful Agony.

New DT makes me want to like it. It's exuberant and bolshy and grandiose, and that's fantastic. Honestly, and this is a bit weird, of the songs on Awake, Scarred and Voices are the ones I'm least likely to listen to. Give me Blind Faith or, heck, I'm going to be tremendously uncool now and say Panic Attack.

...And the moment I said the word "Panic Attack" is the moment my argument has become a little too ambitious for me to supplement, at the moment, with the room spinning, but I stand by it. Or rather, I will in the morning, when I'm sober. Probably. If I'm not hanging my head in shame. (The forum effect! Wouldn't've gone that far sober! That bloke was right!)

Er, long story short, something about Dream Theater. Distraction time: Ooh, don't ADToE look nice? I'm going to buy it all up.

[Gadough]

I love how your drunk posts are more eloquent and well-written then the rest of us when we post sober.

[robwebster]

I love how your drunk posts are more eloquent and well-written then the rest of us when we post sober.

Yeah, well CHECK THIS SHIT OUT:

hello babykicks can i lick your elbow or not

How drunk am I?! Also I've just noticed "this" is an anagram of "shit." The more you know.

[VioletS16]

Old DT for me. They are both great, but nothing can give me a "magical" feel like some I&W.
Then again, OTBOA rocked pretty hard too. I think that from 8VIUM-BC&SL were the "eeeeeeh" points for me. BC&SL has a lot of solo fillers, just random guitar solos and keyboard solos. I don't think they are making it very memorable anymore. Just jamming in a bunch of solos and such into a song to make it long doesn't make it good. I'd rather have a wonderful, quality 5-6-minute song than a song that's just "didididiidididid duuunnn dun dunddundundun beeeeeboooo beeeebooo deepdeepdeep pzooooww" for 20 minutes, and it seems thats what a lot of the songs on BC&SL were like.
IDK, I'm ramblin'. Don't listen to me, I'm just the girl in the background.  

[MasterShakezula]

My favorite period is I&W through F-ing.   

I do not dig SFAM

Then, Six is my favorite album.

And then Train of T onwards is a bit of a mixed bag.  TOT is pretty strong, if not mindblowing; Eighthalbum is a great softer album and my favorite post-02, SC has some really awesome moments counterbalanced with some really dull ones, and BC is rather bland, aside from TBOT and TCOT. 

[JediKnight1969]

Already done:

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=21866.msg832473#msg832473

[Gadough]

Already done:

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=21866.msg832473#msg832473

I figured as much, but I did several searches and found nothing. Oh well.

[JediKnight1969]

Already done:

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=21866.msg832473#msg832473

I figured as much, but I did several searches and found nothing. Oh well.

It's OK. Maybe ADToE will bring balance to the force.

[bss4life15]

Undecided.  I love both era's for completly different reasons. 

[Ħ]

Old DT has their best and worst material for me.  New DT is really static, not many classics but not many lame-o songs.  Tough to say.

[reo73]

Old DT...here's why:

-Kevin Moore
-Proggier songs (with the song Octavarium being the exception)
-More thoughtful lyrics
-More fusion based instrumental passages and solos
-James' growly voice
-MP not overplaying
-A lot less dueling key/guitar solos
-A Change of Seasons

[Chrissalix]

It's not the case for a lot of bands that they were better when a certain member was in them but it is for DT. DT was better when Kevin Moore was in the band. Sure Rudess smokes him in terms of chops but KevMo was the right player for the band. Shame it didn't last.

[snapple]

Old as in WDADU-FII. Leaps and bounds superior to anything released after.

[PuffyPat]

I'm into the new(er) stuff, but that's only because that's what I heard first. My first DT album was Train of Thought.

[pogoowner]

Old, of course.

[senecadawg2]

Well seeing as how my 3 favorite albums (I&W, SFAM, and Awake) are all considered to be 'old', the vote is easy for me. However, I do love SDOIT, TOT, and BCSL.

[lithium112]

My favorite period is I&W through F-ing.   

I do not dig SFAM

Then, Six is my favorite album.

And then Train of T onwards is a bit of a mixed bag.  TOT is pretty strong, if not mindblowing; Eighthalbum is a great softer album and my favorite post-02, SC has some really awesome moments counterbalanced with some really dull ones, and BC is rather bland, aside from TBOT and TCOT. 

Man, I sincerely hate your abbreviations for album names lol.

[YtseJam]

I can't vote in this pole because I can't feel the split from SFAM and 6DOIT. I think those two albums go hand in hand.

[ricky]

old by a long shot.

[MetropolisxPt1]

I can't vote in this pole because I can't feel the split from SFAM and 6DOIT. I think those two albums go hand in hand.

This everything with JR should be new DT

[Vajra]

For me it's like this...

Old DT:
-WDADU
-I&W
-Awake
-ACOS
-FII

New DT:
-Scenes
-6 Degrees
-TOT
-Octavarium
-SC
-BC&SL

With that in mind, I choose New DT without a doubt. Most of my favorite DT songs are from their "New" period.

[krands85]

I voted 'can't decide' because both eras have a lot going for them with plenty of incredible highs on either side (as well as both having some weaker moments).  One doesn't easily win out over the other for me.

If I try and look at it from an album rankings point of view, 'old' would win since it has my first, 4th and 5th favourite albums. But if I look through the playlist I recently made of my top 25 tracks - the 'new' would win out, with 15 songs to 10. No idea why I'm analysing it like this, I just find it kind of fun I suppose 

Anyway, if I was forced to give up one era of music and never listen to it again, I think it would probably have to be the new. I couldn't live without Metropolis and Learning to Live! 

[Vajra]

Anyway, if I was forced to give up one era of music and never listen to it again, I think it would probably have to be the new. I couldn't live without Metropolis and Learning to Live! 

If I had to live with one era, I'd pick the new, because idk about you guys, but New DT sounds much more, down to earth, and accessible. Old DT was more like Art-Metal. I would have gotten sick of it after awhile if I could only listen to that. New DT would keep me a little more sane.