Official DT Top 50 Thread Mark II (bss4life15 up now - starting page 79)

[Scorpion]

It would be in my top 20.

LITS would be in my top 10.

Top 5, bitches.

[BlackInk]

It's time for the daily update.

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45 - Peruvian Skies (Falling Into Infinity)

I like the groove. I like the chorus. Even this bottom Dream Theater offer some gold pieces. Peruvian Skies is pretty simple and still contributes with some real nice moments, like the chorus I mentioned, the solo is very nice and the riff at 4:40 is pretty good. After the tempo increase, this song sounds more like an old classic from Awake to me rather than a "single" from Falling Into Infinity.

44 - Lie (Awake)

This song got this spot on the list probably only because it's heavy and aggressive. Musically I wouldn't say it's a masterpiece but it's above the line of acceptance that's for sure and so here it is. The throwback to The Mirror about five minutes in is really great though and clearly brings it farther up my list than it would have been without it.

43 - Caught in a Web (Awake)

This is here for more or less the same reason Lie is; it's heavy and aggressive, only slightly better than Lie. The main riff is really good and overall arrangement is enjoyable. The thing that goes through my head when I hear is that this is Dream Theater (duh). I mean of course it's Dream Theater but this is how they were made, this is how they sounded near the beginning of their career and shows where they came from musically as a band.

42 - On the Backs of Angels (A Dramatic Turn of Events)

When this song was released as a single I was so excited. I mean, new DT is always exciting, but there was sooo much pressure on this song alone. It was the first song with Mangini and most importantly the first piece of music without the musical influence of Portnoy. And it came out great.

I like pretty much everything about this song. From the regenerating shield from Halo in the beginning to the epic finish. I also remember immediately thinking "Opeth" when I first heard the opening pick. This song reinstated true progressiveness to Dream Theaters music. That was something that I felt had been missing on the previous two albums, mostly BC&SL.

I also feel like I have to mention Rudess wonderful piano solo. Something about the way he plays it and over those chords just fits so well.

41 - The Shattered Fortress (Black Clouds & Silver Linings)

Not a huge fan of this album either. In pretty much everything that could have been a good song, something comes along and ruin it for me. Like with this song; lots of good heavy riffs, nice throwbacks to the previous installments in the AA-saga, at some points really nice vocal melodies and nice instrumental work which all would make this song worthy of a much higher position. But then comes SERENITY, HAPPINESS, HONERED, OPEN, WILLINGNESS, JUSTICE, KINDNESS, SELF-RESTRAINT, INVENTORY, ANALYSIS and whatever. I don't know what they were thinking with this really and it really contributes to dragging this down to 41. Another reason for that is the lack of originality, everything is reused things from the other 12 Step songs.

But it is still on the top 50 because the good in this song still triumphs and keeps it above the rest.

[SeRoX]

Those choices are valid and well-placed.

[Onno]

Cool to see The Shattered Fortress

[Lolzeez]

Nice to see CIAW

[BlobVanDam]

The last batch were much better songs than these!

CIAW and PS are great songs though.

[BlackInk]

40 - Prophets of War (Systematic Chaos)

Like Misunderstood, a very underrated Dream Theater to me. A reason for that might be that Systematic Chaos was the first Dream Theater album I ever heard, and that usually becomes one that you like. The fan-chants are epic and a really nice addition to the song. The overall feeling I get when listening to this is that it's fresh, everything sounds clean and "unfilthy".

And I actually do enjoy Portnoy's background rap or whatever. There's not enough power from some heavy metal delusion to make it ridiculous.

39 - Panic Attack (Octavarium)

Opening bass-riff is awesome. Main full band riff is awesome. Song is awesome. This song combines the heavy/aggressive aspect that I really enjoy, with the sense of freshness I love in music. Favorite Panic Attack moment: "rapid heartbeat pounding through my flesh", that line with that riff behind it is just pure power. The solo is okay I suppose but what really gets my attention during the instrumental section is the unison, which I think is great.

Also, closing the song with weird noises and tiger roars and what sounds like a door opening in slo-mo is pretty funny and something to enjoy if you know Dream Theater and progressive music in general.

38 - The Dance of Eternity (Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory)

To me one of Dream Theater's most classic instrumental. While being completely crazy it plays around with themes from the rest of the album as well as from Metropolis Part 1 so well. 1:45 = great moment. As a guy who writes music, I find it very difficult to find inspiration to push an instrumental song to this length. But this song keeps changing and it keeps introducing new themes without somehow going astray from the original feeling it introduced. And for that, I am truly impressed by not so much the technical abilities of the band here, but more by the musicianship.

37 - Beyond This Life (Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory)

I'm usually not a fan of lyrics that describe what literally happened, I like more vague, metaphorical stuff. But here it's obviously there to help tell a greater story than just this song, and it contains a lot of important information too. But if I were shown this song individually, without knowing Dream Theater of anything about the story about Scenes From a Memory, I would probably have thought that this was a cool song, with ridiculous lyrics.

I enjoy the simplicity of the main riff although I am not crazy about it. Also, without the softness of the "our deeds have traveled far" and "all that we've learned" verses to balance the rest, this song would probably not be here.

36 - Fatal Tragedy (Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory)

A large concentration of SFaM songs here...

A sudden change of tone from the previous song of the album. I like this song for pretty much the same reasons I like Beyond This Life, I only think this one takes all that is good with Beyond This Life and makes it a bit better, in less time.

[Scorpion]

Prophets of War

It's not quite in my Top 50, but it gets way too much hate, it's a great song.

However, both Panic Attack and The Dance of Eternity have no business anywhere on Top 50 lists.

[Unlegit]

Don't care for Prophets of War at all, but the rest of the songs are great!

[Elite]

bleh, Dance and Tragedy.

[Onno]

Interesting choices^^

[Elite]

Yeah, definitely. All five of those are miles away from being in my top 50. Panic Attack is one of my 10 least favourite DT songs, Prophets of War is close and the Scenes tracks aren't too good either imho.

[BlobVanDam]

BTL and Fatal Tragedy are two of the best tracks on SFAM (probably equalled only by TSCO) , and Panic Attack is awesome too.
I'm kinda indifferent towards the other two.

[Lolzeez]

BTL fuck yeah! 

[54_diplomats]

Really glad to see Panic Attack there. Not sure if it would make my top 50, but it was one of the first DT songs I listened to and I still love it to this day.

[Ruba]

Prophets of War!

Don't really care about FT, but otherwise, a good batch.

[?]

Don't really care about FT, but otherwise, a good batch.

For me it's the other way round, I think FT is the only great song out of these 5.

[Nekov]

I like the last batch. Half of those songs should be higher.

[Sycsa]

BTL and Fatal Tragedy are two of the best tracks on SFAM, and Panic Attack is awesome too.

+1

[BlackInk]

Realized now that I forgot to even rank Beneath the Surface. It probably would have made the top 50 and been posted already if I had remembered it. I feel like I had to say that, I feel like it deserves to be mentioned. It means something personal to me to the point that it even hurts a little while listening to it. Still, very good song.
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35 - These Walls (Octavarium)

One of my favorite Dream Theater singles. The verses in this song are lovely and the chorus is great. Even more epic though are the "watch me crawl from the wreckage" bridges before the choruses. Another thing I really like about this song is the "solo", proving that Petrucci can make something beautiful out of simple things too and doesn't need to do his 587 notes/sec thing to make a great solo (or whatever that classifies as).

Also, epic outro is epic.

34 - The Count of Tuscany (Black Clouds & Silver Linings)

From 0:00 - 3:21 is some of Dream Theater's best work. The opening pick and solo are so great that the intro alone would have made it way further up this list. Pure progressive music at it's best.

But then the symptoms of BC&SL-syndrome starts to show around the time they start with the 4/4-5/4 "DA! DADADA! DA! DADA!" riffs and from there the song starts going downhill. This is an example of when un-metaphorical and literal lyrics fail miserably. However the chorus is pretty good. But not until after the second chorus does the song start to get better again. The post-chorus passages is pretty great and the Pink Floyd section is very atmospheric and nice. The whole outro section is nice I suppose but here the literal lyrics somewhat ruins it again.

In the end though the good in this song outweighs the bad and to me it is worthy of the 34th place. But still...

MY BRUTHAH!

33 - Disappear (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence)

A long time favorite of mine. Sadness and depression everywhere, which hurts in a way that feels so good (I'm totally not a masochist psycho...). Great vocals which together with the lyrics transforms this song into something more than just a sad song.

Even though most of this song is sad, it doesn't become truly heartbreaking until acceptance is introduced to the lyrics through the "so I'm moving on..." parts. It's pretty much impossible for me to listen through the final vocal passages without tearing up at least a little.

32 - The Spirit Carries On (Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory)

A song that earned this spot mostly because of the epic theme and emotional meaning to the character Nicholas. I also think it sounds a lot like a Pink Floyd song, at least during the piano-vocal intro, which is good. Also, wonderful solo and a great grand finale that really sums up the album for the character so that he can have peace and be finally free... or can he...

31 - Hell's Kitchen (Falling Into Infinity)

I'm normally not crazy about instrumental tracks, they usually get boring fast even though they can be entertaining to listen to from time to time. But the way this piece is preformed really grabs me. I just really like the feeling this song gives me, it almost feels ambient at times which I really like. There is something pure about it that puts it at the near top of Dream Theater's instrumental work.

[Scorpion]

Great songs all around, I think I would have all of them on my list as well.

THOUGH HOW CAN YOU FORGET ABOUT BENEATH THE SURFACE GAWD

[BlackInk]

THOUGH HOW CAN YOU FORGET ABOUT BENEATH THE SURFACE GAWD

I know, I'm sorry! It's a disgrace!..

[54_diplomats]

Great update, each song is amazing. These Walls and The Count of Tuscany are definitely a lot higher for me with These Walls nearly being in my top 10.

[Jarlaxle]

Great batch of songs, all except The Spirit Carries On would make my list, I love the other 4 though!

[Nekov]

I like the love for Hells Kitchen 

[Unlegit]

Besides Disappear, good batch of songs.

[Lolzeez]

Never was a fan of These Walls

[BlobVanDam]

FANTASTIC update.

These Walls is hugely underrated, and TCOT is better than you're giving it credit for in your writeup.

[Glass Moonlight]

Nice. These Walls and TCOT are some of my favorites. The Spirit Carries On is always good, Disappear gets me every time, so damn sad. Hell's Kitchen is also great. I would only put Disappear higher, the other 4 seem fine where they are.

[BlackInk]

Here are the last ones from the first half of the list. After this update I will take a break for a day or two. But don't worry, I won't leave you hanging for long. I just need to put some work into the next write-ups and stuff like that. Look at this like the final episode before a short mid-season break.

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30 - A Mind Beside Itself - II. Voices (Awake)

Old music, oh well. Not usually a fan of music from pre2000 because the sound of old ruins it for me. Though with this song it's okay it's very good. What more to say? This is excellent progressive metal from the mid-90s. Plus it's pretty long I guess, and I like long.

29 - This Is the Life (A Dramatic Turn of Events)

Liked this one from the start. Soft but still epic. This song is exactly what I expected from A Dramatic Turn of Events that really had been missing from albums before it in songs like this; very unbound by rules of regular music. Simple, but still very different. I really hope Dream Theater continue in this direction in the future, wonderful song.

28 - The Root of All Evil (Octavarium)

One thing has always gone through my mind whenever I have heard this song: This must be awesome live. Like the other 12-step songs this one aggressive sure, but it has that pump pretty much all the way through that together with that "epic" feeling and sound of Octavarium really creates something special.

I have unfortunately not heard it live, but I suspect that if I do, The Root of All Evil will be my favorite live Dream Theater. Please comment and tell me if this is true or not, of it is an awesome live song.

27 - Stream of Consciousness (Train of Thought)

Dream Theater's without a doubt best instrumental song. I wasn't going to be that enthusiastic at first, but then I put the song on to have in the background while doing the write up and the intro theme came on and I just knew immediately that that is what I think.

The continued theme from Vacant together with the new ones introduced really makes a truly great track. I remember when I started playing drums in 2007, this was one of the first Dream Theater songs I heard and one of the first songs I fought myself through behind the drums (starting easy anyone?). And this was when I knew barely anything about odd time signatures or stuff like that so this track really inspired me as a player and as a song writer.

Petrucci's solos in this are also some of my favorite ever, especially the ending one.

26 - Endless Sacrifice (Train of Thought)

I see this one as a rather special Dream Theater song. It doesn't really sound like them. But it still works and it turned out awesome. It has that raw feeling of a Train of Thought song yet brings something else to the dynamics of the album. And I really like unisons, and this one has a great unison.

[Onno]

Woohoo, Endless Sacrifice!

[Lolzeez]

Endless Sacrifice mothafuckas! Top 5 for me. And Voices too for top 10.

[Cedar redaC]

Root of All Evil is an amazing live song! It changes the energy of the crowd in an amazingly good way.

[Ben_Jamin]

Great choices.

[Sycsa]

Old music, oh well. Not usually a fan of music from pre2000 because the sound of old ruins it for me.

But you'll still include at least 5 songs from I&W, right?