A Dramatic Turn of Events Album Nuggets?

[Cedar redaC]

I was reading the message board on Dream Theater's website and I saw this:

I was listening to Breaking All Illusions recently, and I noticed an interesting thing on there, that it seemed to have a huge stress on "Living life in the moment" and "Starting the cycle," and I couldn't help but think that this stemmed from Octavarium's theme of repeating cycles. Upon looking further into Systematic Chaos. Even further in, "This is the life" seemed to go with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence's overarching theme of dealing with flaws among your own life, and "Bridges in the sky" seems to deal with spiritual connections among many things, in the sense of Metropolis Pt. 2, Scenes From a Memory. This led to believe this:

A Dramatic Turn of Events isnt a collection of 9 stories, its a recollection of the themes of the past 9 full studio albums, Images & Words, Awake, Falling into Infinity, Metropolis Pt 2, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Train of Thought, Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, and Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

Keep in mind these lyrics are taken more literally then some prefer.

The songs and corresponding albums are as follows:

On the Backs of Angels - Falling into Infinity - The "angel" could be seen as the recording studio during the time this album was demanded, as they led Dream Theater to write a more popular sounding album, which came to be one of their worst works.

Build me up, Break me down - Black Clouds & Silver Linings - This song could be related to Portnoy's directing of the band, obviously, but could also be seen as voicing the final straw in dealing with his choice of sound and where it was heading.

Lost Not Forgotten - Systematic Chaos - This song has fantasy lyrics, something stemming off the ideas of Systemactic chaos, along with the topic being about a lost greatness, also a possible throwback to how the band felt about the reception of their new sound and ideas.

This is the Life - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Being about dealing with life as it comes, and being thankful for it, whatever what might happen, this could easily relate to Six Degree's theme of dillemmas in our lives and how we deal with them

Bridges in the Sky - Metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From a Memory - This song has direct lyrical references to Metropolis, with things such as "Visions come alive," "Reunite my soul," and "Carry me home," to go along with the obvious throws to unseen spritual connections.

Outcry - Train of Thought - One of the more thrashy, powerful songs on the album, this song speaks of a revolution, which I percieved as possibly a viewpoint of the band as the fanbase reacted to such a sudden change in sound, from the prog mastery of Six Degrees to the Thrash metal of Train of Thought, also, it is the sixth song on the album, like Train of Thought being the sixth album.

Far From Heaven - Awake - The majority of this song being about a child, and some lyrics allowing an inference of some things that occured before hand between the couple could be tied back to the couple of which Awake's story was based off of.

Breaking all Illusions - Octavarium - This song has many bases of its lyrics sitting among the topic of cycles and life in the present, somethings that can be held with Octavariums theme of endless cycles.

Beneath the Surface - Images & Words - This song talks about storing away whats paining you, only to let it stay unnoticed for long to come. This could be refering to the making of their first huge hit with Portnoy, and how they simply let their own feelings and musical prowess begin to be overturned by Portnoy's view of the music they should make.

What do you all think?

Link

[Adami]

No.

[Cedar redaC]

Yeah, I thought it was a bit of a stretch myself. Still, it's good to know that there are fans that can make these connections, true or otherwise.

[Adami]

They're not true. But what is true is that DT has quite a few fans with a very active imagination.

[The Letter M]

The only nugget I've been concerned with for ADTOE was the following...

WDADU - 8
      IAW - 8
          Awake - 11
                FII - 11
        SFAM - 9 (Scenes, technically)
SDOIT - 6
     TOT - 7
      8VM - 8
       SC - 7
BC&SL - 6
      ADTOE - 9
             DT12 - 11?
             DT13 - 11?
     DT14 - 8?
     DT15 - 8?

If the next album has 11 tracks on it, I'll go insane...with conspiracy.

-Marc.

[Adami]

The only nugget I've been concerned with for ADTOE was the following...

-insanity-

-Marc.

I'm not sure it counts as a "nugget" if it only works depending on the next 3 albums.

[BlobVanDam]

No.

/thread

Some fans just like to force the square peg into the round hole to find deeper meaning that isn't there.

[TheGreatPretender]

I think it's a contrived stretch, but definitely a cool one. And I see nothing wrong with interpreting it that way. 

[BlobVanDam]

Now that I think about it, I recall a similar theory for Octavarium, where someone claimed that each song was written in the style of one of their previous albums.
Anyone else remember that?

[Dr. DTVT]

They're not true. But what is true is that DT has quite a few fans with a very active imagination.

This is also the very reason I don't like discussing my favorite band (DT) on the forum.  *goes back to GD & GMD*

[Jay.Ess]

I can think of one, not sure if it's been mentioned (and i don't recall seeing it mentioned)
There's a melody in the outcry solo, that reminds me of 'karma starts the signal' from Breaking All Illusions..the notes are different, but the rhythm is basically the same (it's around 7:30)..

[IdoSC]

While it's a very cute theory, it takes a LOT of determination to think of such an odd explanation for Beneath the Surface. So suddenly, the entire existence of Images and Words is a bad thing for DT? The album they play the most in live shows lately?

Plus, the theory could be instantly rejected as this album is missing a 10th song for WDADU.

[BlobVanDam]

While it's a very cute theory, it takes a LOT of determination to think of such an odd explanation for Beneath the Surface. So suddenly, the entire existence of Images and Words is a bad thing for DT? The album they play the most in live shows lately?

Plus, the theory could be instantly rejected as this album is missing a 10th song for WDADU.

Now that I have thoroughly read the theory, it's all too skewed to be written from a fan's view, and not what I would perceive as the band's views anyway. Why would a song about IaW be about Portnoy anyway?

[Mladen]

We all love nuggets, but this is a bit too much.

[?]

Now that's overanalyzing! I can actually see a little connection between Metropolis Pt. 2 and BITS now - the Shaman is like the hypnotherapist, helping the main character on a soul-searching journey. The rest of these "connections" are pretty far-fetched, though.

[Kotowboy]

Outcry - Train of Thought - One of the more thrashy, powerful songs on the album, this song speaks of a revolution, which I percieved as possibly a viewpoint of the band as the fanbase reacted to such a sudden change in sound, from the prog mastery of Six Degrees to the Thrash metal of Train of Thought, also, it is the sixth song on the album, like Train of Thought being the sixth album.

Except it isn't.

[BlobVanDam]

Outcry - Train of Thought - One of the more thrashy, powerful songs on the album, this song speaks of a revolution, which I percieved as possibly a viewpoint of the band as the fanbase reacted to such a sudden change in sound, from the prog mastery of Six Degrees to the Thrash metal of Train of Thought, also, it is the sixth song on the album, like Train of Thought being the sixth album.

Except it isn't.

And yet they missed the perfectly good opportunity to mention BAI being the 8th track, just like Octavarium is the 8th album. Then it would have been an iron-clad proof.

[Jaq]

I'm trying to think of a polite way to put this.

This guy's full of shit. 

[Adami]

I think it's a contrived stretch, but definitely a cool one. And I see nothing wrong with interpreting it that way. 

You sure do like to defend everyone.

[robwebster]

On the Backs of Angels - Falling into Infinity - The "angel" could be seen as the recording studio during the time this album was demanded, as they led Dream Theater to write a more popular sounding album, which came to be one of their worst works.

Er... what?!

Outcry - Train of Thought - One of the more thrashy, powerful songs on the album, this song speaks of a revolution, which I percieved as possibly a viewpoint of the band as the fanbase reacted to such a sudden change in sound, from the prog mastery of Six Degrees to the Thrash metal of Train of Thought, also, it is the sixth song on the album, like Train of Thought being the sixth album.

Except it isn't.

Sixth of the nine albums that A Dramatic Turn of Events doesn't refer to - but I agree, it's still so, so tenuous. "This album is part of a pattern that the other eight tracks aren't."

Now that I think about it, I recall a similar theory for Octavarium, where someone claimed that each song was written in the style of one of their previous albums.
Anyone else remember that?

I remember this!


I blame Octavarium for all this. Including the use of the word "nugget." Fine at the time, quite fun at the time, but within two months every discussion about Octavarium had been turned into a straw-clutching competition. Glad that guy's enjoying the album, and if this kind of thing adds to his enjoyment, more power to him... but dear sweet lord make it stop!

[BlobVanDam]

Now that I think about it, I recall a similar theory for Octavarium, where someone claimed that each song was written in the style of one of their previous albums.
Anyone else remember that?

I remember this!

Oh good. I started second guessing myself right after remembering that, because I thought it was too stupid to possibly have happened.
But then I remembered the Octavarium sub-forum, and suddenly everything made sense again.

And if we want to get technical, the nugget dates back to ToT. Once it was revealed that there was a nugget on it, everyone searched to find that one, and then after that everyone was expecting Octavarium to have nuggets even going in, and while I think the nuggets on that album are great, it set the precedent of nugget expectation.

I never want to use the word nugget again.

[ZKX-2099]

Far From Heaven has totally nothing to do with Spider-Man.

[The Letter M]

Far From Heaven has totally nothing to do with Spider-Man.

No one truly has the answers [especially since Uncle Ben died]
Every day I struggle through it once more [living with Aunt May is a constant reminder of the pain of losing Uncle Ben]
Keep things bottled up [he continually shrugs off Aunt May and Mary Jane]
Never speaking my mind [he keeps his feelings from Mary Jane]
Misinterpreted I'm doing just fine [he seems happy-go-lucky to everyone at work/school]

Every day I put a brave face on [obviously talking about putting on his mask as Spider-Man]
Serves me well [as Spider-Man, saving the streets of NYC]
Feeling helpless facing it alone [he works alone most of the time as a hero]
Hard to tell
That I can't change who I am [he seems stuck being Spider-Man]
How I feel there's no end [there will always be crime, so there must always be Spider-Man]

I have done
What you asked of me [he saves his city countless times]
Leaves me nothing to live for [what else can you do after being a hero to the world?]

Coming undone [Peter often goes through bouts of mental anguish, struggling with his double-life and deception to loved ones]
Way too high a price I should pay
You keep your pride while I die inside every day [as Spider-Man, he's proud to be a hero, but Peter dies a little more each day]
No I can't lie anymore
Won't pretend I've done all I can [he continues to struggle through his hardships, dealing with a double-life]

You can't imagine
The hell I'm going through [no one, not even MJ, can understand his pain]
Not asking you to save me [he doesn't feel the need to ask for help]
I'm too far from heaven

Nothing you can do to change me [he will always have his powers and thus, must be responsible with them as Spider-Man]
But accept me as I am [he only wants Mary Jane to accept him for who he is, Peter Parker AND Spider-Man]

-Marc.

[Rattlehead]

You nailed it 

[BlobVanDam]

Ok smart-ass, now do Beneath the Surface and Sonic 2.

[MirzekDT]

Lost Not Forgotten - Systematic Chaos - This song has fantasy lyrics, something stemming off the ideas of Systemactic chaos, along with the topic being about a lost greatness, also a possible throwback to how the band felt about the reception of their new sound and ideas.

No they are not, they are historical. The only thing in the whole post that makes sense a little is the SFAM reference.

[Implode]

Ok smart-ass, now do Beneath the Surface and Sonic 2.

I feel like that's way too easy. You could just do some angsty shipping thing with Sonic.

[GasparXR]

Ok smart-ass, now do Beneath the Surface and Sonic 2.

Id suggest FII for Sonic 2.

New Millenium > Emerald Hill Zone : It's err... the beginning of the game?
You Not Me > Chemical Plant Zone : I give up lol

[ResultsMayVary]

Meh.

No.

There we go. 

[Scorpion]

God, this is even more contrived than the theory that ADTOE was basically a rehash of I&W, something which I hadn't thought possible.

Also, Marc won the thread.

[PROGdrummer]

Now that I think about it, I recall a similar theory for Octavarium, where someone claimed that each song was written in the style of one of their previous albums.
Anyone else remember that?

Well it wasn't me, but I legitimately had a theory concerning Octavarium where each track represented a Dream Theater album. It was kind of a stupid theory, but whatever lol.

Root of All Evil (represents WDADU) - the beginning of DT's chaotic prog-metal sound, or "the root of all the evil", crazy music that has come to grace the world.

The Answer Lies Within (represents I&W) - Dream Theater make it big with this album, and they realize what the true meaning of their music is, and solidify their signature sound with this album.

These Walls (represents Awake) - some struggle and drama within the band (Kevin) arises at this point, and the band deals with some uninvited interference from the record company. The band feels a bit trapped inside some walls, while still finding success

I Walk Beside You (represents FII) - The band is forced to write catchy radio tunes and abandon their prog sound from the record company (lol).

Panic Attack (represents SFAM) - The band's foundation is really shaky at this point, and they are on the verge of breaking up. The decide to give it everything they've got for one more album and come out really strong.

Never Enough (represents SDoIT) - something stupid about the length of this double-album and having something to do with quantity and quality, idontfuckingrememberitwasstupidanyway

Sacrificed Sons (represents ToT) -  this song symbolizes the dark nature of Train of Thought, in some way or another.

Octavarium - well this is self explanatory dont you think?

lol I know that a lot of this was bullshit but meh

[GasparXR]

^ Octavarium is ACOS.

[ArchVile]

that's a nice imagination.
I wrote one about A rite of passage, where i said DT guys are the real philosophers, leaders (in the way of idols or very good professionals) and the members of the trade.
bound by oath and honor, like the rose and cross, an enigmatic union and that stuff. and the rite of passage was an anticipation of drummer auditions.

[Kotowboy]

How about this ?

A Dramatic Turn Of Events = 5 words

A Dram-A-Tic Turn Of E-vents = 8 syllables



5/8

[Cedar redaC]

When Dream and Day Unite= five word title and eight songs. 5/8

Images and Words= second album, three word title and eight songs. (2+3)/8= 5/8

Awake=five letter title and if you count A Mind Beside Itself as one song and don't count Space Dye Vest it makes eight songs. 5/8

Falling into Infinity= Falling into Infinity has eight syllables and three words. 8-3=5

Scenes from a Memory= Fifth album, two acts and 6 characters (Nicholas, Hypnotherapist, The Old Man, Victoria, Edward, Julian). 5/(2+6)= 5/8

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence= Sixth album, Two discs. 5 songs on one disc, 8 songs on the second. (6+2)/5/8= 8/5/8

Train of Thought= Released in 2003, eight songs if you split up This Dying Soul. (2+0+0+3)/8 =5/8

Octavarium= This

Systematic Chaos= 13 (5+8) songs if you split up In the Presence of Enemies and Repentance. Five tracks have lyrics written by John Petrucci. There are eight tracks on the CD. 5/8 5/8

Black Clouds and Silver Linings= Eight songs if you split up The Shattered Fortress. Each Track is over 5 minutes long. 5/8

How about this ?

A Dramatic Turn Of Events = 5 words

A Dram-A-Tic Turn Of E-vents = 8 syllables



5/8

Boom!