This is all for today, tomorrow I will write and post a few more, and probably figure out a way to post that youtube clip...
43. IN THE NAME OF GOD
Here we go, the magnus opus that shines at the end of Train Of Though. Well, that’s supposed to shine. I never fuly understood my stance on this song. That’s pretty weird, I know. I am not a fan of DT’s heavy side, and such this song is not among those that make my heart beat faster. However, I have to admit that the main riff the song is built around is arguably among the best of DT’s catalogue, one of those you have to try very hard not to headbang to. The lyrical side of the song is okay to, but what once again throws me off this song is the long shredfest in the middle section. I usually love JP’s fast guitar work (and I’m going to prove this before this song’s review is over), but I can’t really name any other purpose for that solo beside proving that the man can play that fast without catching fire. Sure, it’s mildly entertaining to listen to him and Jordan creating a huge swirly tornado of notes, but this is once again among the cases when I find an extended middle section detrimental to the song’s overall structure. Fortunately, what follows is on the awesome side of music, from the majestic theme introducing the last chorus to the final nose note on the piano, via the haunting background singing (same sort of Psalm, I recall). Even then, I must admit that I have never listened to the studio outro in the last two years or so, rather going with the mindblowing live guitar solo that was used to close song and shows during the Train Of Thought tour and later. I don’t want to waste any more time describing it, so I uploaded a clip of the best version of the solo I know.
42. ABOUT TO CRASH
About to Crash, besides lending its name to Jackie, is a clear example of what makes Six Degrees so undeniably unique among DT albums. Together with Solitary Shell, ATC strongly revolves around the disconnection between the general vibe of the song, positive and uplifting, and its heavy lyrical content, discussing the bipolar disorder of the character. It can be argued that this weird dichotomy was intentionally sought after to convey on a deeper level the chaotic duality of the girl’s psyche, thus piercing the curtain of standard narration and achieving an interesting meta-narrative goal. Speaking of my liking of the song, I’m going through a (long) period of general dislike of SDOIT (with a few notable exceptions that you will later see), and, to a certain extent, the song suffers from this, although not as much as other songs (namely, Solitary Shell, The Test and Blind Faith, as you have already read). Though I don’t listen to it very often, when it comes randomly on my playlist, or on a live bootleg tracklist, I enjoy a quick listen and never fail to appreciate the interesting vocal melody and the incredible solo from its inception to the central shreddy build-up to the majestic theme that develops until the end, which to me is the truest and most haunting theme of the whole SDOIT suite. At times, expecially live, that part of the solo feels like a man enveloped in a plastic cage, or drowning in the quicksands, uttering a harrowing, at times agonizing, cry.