These will be fighting words fer sure - Octavarium is kinda meh.
I don't mind the opening sequence but the rest is, well meh. Maybe I am not sophisticated enough to get it.
For me, Octavarium can be broken down as follows:
0:00-3:48 - Complete waste of time
3:49-5:15 - Cool intro. A flute solo? That's cool.
5:16-7:58 - Kinda snoozy but not bad
7:58-8:46 - Nice chorus
8:46-12:16 - Second verse...a bit better than the first. Nice build.
12:16-18:28 - NOW YOU"RE TALKING!!! The instrumental sections leading into and out of the Full Circle section are epic, and I really dig Full Circle.
18:28-19:55 - Sometimes I overlook the Intervals section, but it's REALLY good.
18:56-end - Ok...NOW I can breathe. There's a LOT happening here, but basically this 5+ minute section is the outro of the song, and it's a great way to close it out.
Overall, I love it, but I typically skip the Continuum/steel guitar intro and sometimes will skip the whole first half (if I'm pressed for time).
I don't care for TALW, and I can take or leave IWBY. The rest of the album is fantastic. It's really cool that we have great live versions of almost the entire album (I'm guessing we won't ever get Never Enough with MP out of the band, unless it shows up on a Lost Not Forgotten release).
I've never been too much of a fan of TROAE. A lot of sameness with TGP and TDS (another one like this?! be careful what you ask for). I like TALW. These Walls is just ok, and I do NOT like IWBY. This is where the "each song in a different key" thing hurt them. It always seems like James is having to struggle too much on the chorus. LOVE Panic Attack. Don't like Never Enough (and HATE the lyrics). ITNOG Pt. II is cool, and 8VM...see above.