Thanks again for all the feedback, peoples.
06.
In the Name of GodYou may recall that for my write-up of The Glass Prison, I said that in my opinion, it was actually
not their best and purest metal song. That statement wasn’t entirely true, I guess, because TGP probably is their purest metal song. But for me, In the Name of God is their
best metal-oriented song. This song has all the blood-pumping, head-banging energy of a great metal song, and is structured in a way that it flows at a very progressive pace, with tension building up fluently along the way until the song simply explodes in climactic bursts.
Now, you may have noticed by now that I’m not great at talking about instrumental work, because I’m not actually a musician. I don’t know all the terminology, which limits my ability to talk about an awesome guitar solo or a great unison. Luckily for me, in this song, I don’t really feel the need to defend the instrumental work. Because I don’t think anyone can really dispute the technical skill and musical proficiency in this song.
In fact, I think the criticism I’ve heard most frequently of this song is in regards to its lyrics. I guess some people think this one’s lyrics are a little bit too sterile? I’ve heard it said that it reads like an encyclopedia article on cults or something? I guess I can kind of see that. On this point, I have to admit that I might just be biased, because I really appreciate the subject matter. So, while I think that the lyrics are well-written and well executed, that may have something to do with the fact that I like what they have to say. But at any rate, the lyrics work for me.
I have to admit, I’ve never felt like James Labrie was at his best in this song. His voice almost sounds a little tinny to me, at times. But for my money, that is basically this song’s only weakness, and it’s barely a weakness at all. Especially since the vocal
melodies are awesome; I love to sing along with this song. In fact, on that note, this is a song that grabs me more than just about any other in DT’s catalogue. I mean, this song
grabs me. When it comes on, I have no choice in the matter: I have to sing along, I have to bang my head. I often air-guitar or air-drum along with it, too, even though I know nothing about playing guitar or drums. It just captures me that way. Even right now, listening to it as I type this, I’m having trouble focusing on typing rather than rocking out.
In fact, I’ve rambled long enough. I’mma go rock out.

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05.
Learning to LiveFunny story: I didn’t like this song the first time I heard it. I can’t remember why. It’s possible I was just really, really stupid at the time.
You know, I’m actually going to be fairly brief on this one. It’s easy to sing the praises of Learning to Live, because they’ve all been sung before. You know all about the awesome intro and the great lyrics and the lovely chorus and the chilling Wait For Sleep reprise and the epic F5 and ‘Through nature’s inflexible grace, I’m learning to LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE…’ You know it all. All you need to do to understand why this is my number five is go listen to the song again.
In fact, the fact that this isn’t my number
one is a testament to how much I truly love four other songs...