Hello all, I’m here to present my top 21 Dream Theater songs. Truth be told, I don’t listen to Dream Theater as often as I have in the past. When I first discovered them six years ago, I was but a sophomore in high school. I was in marching band and we would participate in many competitions with other schools. Some of the schools were far away and we would spend hours socializing on the bus. During one particularly long bus ride, my friend Chris shared with me some of his heavy metal music. Part of his selection for me was Dream Theater’s "The Glass Prison", "Metropolis", and "The Dance Of Eternity". I was floored by the incredible technical proficiency of these musicians. Dream Theater soon became my favorite band.
I started off by purchasing Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. I was stunned by the innovative sounds they would employ, like the bell chimes in the intro section of "The Glass Prison", and the orchestra in the title track. I was even more staggered by the variety of tones and moods – every song sounded so unique, standing alone as a powerful statement. Yet the songs themselves could be taken together to form a beautiful tapestry! This is what I came to love about Dream Theater, and progressive music in general.
As I poured through their albums, I sought more and more of their music. Each song’s individuality meant that there was always more to discover.
Then I found DTF, and was exposed to bootlegs, demos, and live renderings of songs. I longed to listen to everything by this band that I loved so much.
Now, I’m sad to say that I am no longer in love with Dream Theater. They will always hold a special place in my heart, but I simply don’t connect with their music like I used to. Besides, there’s nothing left to discover. I know nearly every song by heart, even the demos and live versions. In fact, I have moved away from investing a significant amount of my time in music generally. I find that life has so much to offer, and music is but one of life’s many wonders.
These 21 songs are the ones that I hold closest to my heart. If I had to, I wouldn’t buy DT’s studio catalog all over again, but I would buy these songs. I hope you enjoy my write-ups.
22. "Endless Sacrifice"
"Endless Sacrifice" is one of those songs that you either love or hate. And I have empathy with those that hate it – indeed, I have disliked this song at times. But I’m a sucker for somber, desperate love songs, and that’s what "Endless Sacrifice" is to me. James does an outstanding job of expressing the angry loneliness of the lyrics. The chorus’s energetic forcefulness is what really gets me. It expresses how I feel so well at times when I feel alone that I'm able to overlook any flaws it has. It's emotional hold on me grants it a top 21 spot.
21. "Overture 1928"
People often forget about this song, in light of other behemoths from Scenes From A Memory like "Fatal Tragedy" and "Home". One way you can see its importance is by listening to the album without it.
One of the reasons I love "Overture 1928" is that the band succeeds as acting as a single unit. They paint a very memorable portrait which captures the colors of Scenes without being too cookie-cutter. It’s a definitive statement that you’re in for a ride with this album. Its success at being what it needs to be makes it memorable to me, and so I think it’s worthy of a top 21 spot.
20. "Blind Faith"
I’m happy to see "Blind Faith" getting more praise these days. It's Jordan Rudess at the heart of this song – from the ethereal atmosphere of the introduction to the delicate piano interlude, he succeeds at making this song royal and majestic. I do struggle with the lyrics, which I think are a bit amateur, but they don’t detract much from the overall experience. A solid song that has its unique place in DT’s catalog.
Topic: Ħ's top 22 Dream Theater songs -------#1 REVEALED! (Read 10580 times)
