Dacling's 100 DT Song Countdown

[Dacling]

In my opinion there are exactly 100 DT songs total. If you are wondering how I got to that count it's because I combined some songs together and included demo songs but not demo versions. So there are not two burning my souls but You Or Me and You Not Me are separate. I'm going to start with my bottom 25 then my top 50 then the other 25 so I don't completely spoil my top songs. I will have my bottom 10 up before tonight is over so while I finish up the things I have to do for school I will be getting sufficiently angry enough to express my true disdain for the bottom few.

The List so Far

100 - A Rite of Passage (BC&SL)
99 - Build Me Up, Break Me Down (ADTOE)
98 - You Not Me (FII)
97 - Light Fuse and Get Away (WDADU)
96 - You or Me (FII D)
95 - Raw Dog (GoW III Soundtrack)
94 - The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun (WDADU)
93 - Forsaken (SC)
92 - Burning My Soul (FII)
91 - The Ministry of Lost Souls (SC)
90 - Wither (BC&SL)
89 - The Dark Eternal Night (SC)
88 - Never Enough (8varium)
87 - Through My Words (SFAM)
86 - Constant Motion (SC)
85 - The Answer Lies Within (8varium)
84 - Prophets of War (SC)
83 - Status Seeker (WDADU)
82 - Regression (SFAM)
81 - I Walk Beside You (8Varium)
80 - Afterlife (WDADU)
79 - The Best of Times (BC&SL)
78 - On the Backs of Angels (ADTOE)
77 - Space Dye Vest (Awake)
76 - Outcry (ADTOE)
75 - ?
74 - ?
73 - ?
72 - ?
71 - ?
70 - ?
69 - ?
68 - ?
67 - ?
66 - ?
65 - ?
64 - ?
63 - ?
62 - ?
61 - ?
60 - ?
59 - ?
58 - ?
57 - ?
56 - ?
55 - ?
54 - ?
53 - ?
52 - ?
51 - ?
50 - Strange Deja Vu (SFAM)
49 - Sacrificed Sons (8varium)
48 - Peruvian Skies (FII)
47 - The Root of All Evil (8varium)
46 - In the Presence of Enemies (SC)
45 - Innocence Faded (Awake)
44 - Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (Awake)
43 - Honor Thy Father (ToT)
42 - Under a Glass Moon (I&W)
41 - A Nightmare to Remember (BC&SL)
40 - Hell's Kitchen (FII)
39 - Vacant + Stream of Consciousness (ToT)
38 - Raise the Knife (FII D)
37 - Beneath the Surface (ADTOE)
36 - The Dance of Eternity (SFAM)
35 - The Shattered Fortress (BC&SL)
34 - To Live Forever (I&W D)
33 - This Dying Soul (ToT)
32 - These Walls (8varium)
31 - Lie (Awake)
30 - The Mirror (Awake)
29 - Disappear (6DOIT)
28 - Don't Look Past Me (I&W D)
27 - 6:00 (Awake)
26 - The Spirit Carries On (SFAM)
25 - Overture 1928 (SFAM)
24 - Fatal Tragedy (SFAM)
23 - Bridges in the Sky (ADTOE)
22 - Misunderstood (6DOIT)
21 - Beyond this Life (SFAM)
20 - Surrounded (I&W)
19 - Breaking All Illusions (ADTOE)
18 - The Great Debate (6DOIT)
17 - In the Name of God (ToT)
16 - Finally Free (SFAM)
15 - Repentance (SC)
14 - Metropolis Pt I: The Miracle and the Sleeper (I&W)
13 - The Count of Tuscany (BC&SL)
12 - Home (SFAM)
11 - Line in the Sand (FII)
10 - Take the Time (I&W)
9 - Trial of Tears (FII)
8 - The Glass Prison (6DoIT)
7 - Blind Faith (6DoIT)
6 - A Mind Beside Itself (Awake)
5 - Scarred (Awake)
4 - Octavarium (8varium)
3 - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (6DoIT)
2 - ?
1 - ?

[Dacling]

Starting off with the bottom of the DT catalog. The worst of the bunch. If these songs were my children then these would be the ugly ones I quietly wish never were created. I really only refer to my bottom 3 when I say that and while I don't truly dislike the rest of them they are not all too impressive themselves either.

100. A Rite of Passage (BC&SL)
This song. I don't even know where to start. From the moment I hear it start I am instantly put off. I only listen to it when I listen to the whole album. Otherwise this song does not get played by me. If I hear that intro when It's on shuffle I scramble for the next button. I can't stand everything about it. The ridiculous lyrics about the Illuminati. The vocals and the whispering echo on them. Even the keyboards. Every chord and sound seems to hit me in the worst way. I can't enjoy it at all and I have tried to. To me it sounds like the band fell asleep on their instruments and emitted pure musical diarrhea. I can't even really enjoy the instrumental. I could go on but I believe I have sufficiently gotten my point across.
-10/10

99. Build Me Up, Break Me Down (ADTOE)
This song is only slightly better than a rite of passage in a couple ways. One it is shorter so I don't have to suffer through it as long and there are short moments in it I that I actually like and the lyrics are slightly better. It starts off atrociously like AROP and just like that it pretty much grinds my gears throughout the whole song until I sigh in relief when it finally ends.

98. You Not Me (FII)
Much like the previous two songs I have a disdain for this little ditty. It's much more enjoyable than them though. The vocals are better. The lyrics aren't terrible. It can almost be fun sometimes. Even if it didn't have those slightly redeeming qualities I'd still rate it higher than them because You Not Me wasn't entirely their decision to make but AROP and BMUBMD they did completely on their own making them even worse. If I could describe this song in one word it would be pedestrian and uneventful.

The next few songs I do not hate nor do i like them. In fact I almost nothing them. I don't listen to them that often nor do I have anything against them. They have failed to connect with me on any sort of emotional level whether that be love or hate.

97. Light Fuse and Get Away (WDADU)
I have heard this song many times when I have listened through WDADU and WDADRU and yet still if you asked me anything about it I couldn't tell you a single thing other than it's name and where it is on the album. I can't remember a single second of music, a chorus, a verse. It's as if I get put into some sort of musical coma and nothing that comes out of the song connects with my brain. I am currently listening to it as I write this and it's still as if I haven't heard it before. I don't know what else to say about it really other than that my brain can't really comprehend the sonic existence of the song.

96. You or Me (FII D)
The slightly better older brother of You Not Me. Somehow Desmond Child heard this bottom rung demo and decided this song could be worked into a hit and in the process made the song worse by removing anything that was decent about the original. Right after the sound clips at the beginning the intro is pretty cool and the lyrics are better than the original and there are some pretty cool keyboards throughout the song.

95. Raw Dog (GoW III Soundtrack)
I have not listened to Raw Dog very much at all for obvious reasons. It's an instrumental and while it doesn't measure up to DT's normal standard it is a pretty badass song video game music wise. But as I'm talking about DT here and not video game music it earns this spot for not being anything too special while having some pretty awesome parts.

94. The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun (WDADU)
This songs best part is the intro. It opens with some really rush like music and expends all it's fuel within the first 2 minutes 45 seconds and crashes and burns directly into Light Fuse and Get Away territory.

93. Forsaken (SC)
One word. Decent. The piano at the intro is cool and the song isn't terrible but it's not great either. It's decent throughout but never really gets to be more than that in anything. I only really listen to this with the album. It doesn't really feel like most of DT's material which isn't a bad thing but in this case it's not a good thing either.

92. Burning My Soul (FII)
I used to really hate this song. It used to be below You Not Me but it connected with me a little. Now the reason it is so low is the album version. The demo version is much better. I like having Hell's Kitchen on it's own but I also like how it fit into BMS as well. If BMS 96 had the all of hell's kitchen it would be even better but it's fun. The main problem with the album version is not only the lack of the Hell's Kitchen stuff but the backing vocals I like better with Portnoy straight up yelling them rather than using the voice box. I know it's kind of confusing how I am going back and forth on the Hell's Kitchen issue so let's just move on.

91. The Ministry of Lost Souls (SC)
The Ministry is a nice 10 minute ballad that suddenly and abruptly interrupted by a heavy instrumental train of riffs. This is the only DT song I will complain about the instrumental section being out of place because it really is. It's so calm and dark and all of a sudden, BAM!, you are whacked in the face by riffs and they go as suddenly as they came in. The instrumental part is good...if you listen to it on it's own it's good. It would have been much better as a separate instrumental a lot like Hell's Kitchen but instead this time they kept it in but unlike Hell's Kitchen it doesn't run through the flow of the song like a bull in a china shop.

That's it for this update. Tomorrow 90 - 81

[wolfking]

Damn, most of these should be a lot higher IMO, espeically AROP, TMOLS, F, and both WDSADU songs.

[Lolzeez]

TMOLS is a pretty good song. Shouldn't be hanging out with those weirdos! 

[wasteland]

Interesting change! I like BMUBMD and Forsaken! And You Or Me too, it's a cool little song with a great little instrumental section! 

[Zydar]

Interesting! TMOLS would make my bottom 10 also, perhaps even bottom 5.

[?]

I like BMUBMD and Forsaken!

Me too. Forsaken is easily the highlight of SC, thanks to not including a pointless instrumental section, and I don't get the hate for BMUBMD, although it's my least favorite from ADTOE and has slightly cliché-y lyrics.

Raw Dog would be at the very bottom of my list, and Where Are You Now?, New Millennium, Prophets of War, TDEN and Constant Motion would be among my 10 least favorites as well. I also find TOWHTSTS and BMS underrated, but hey - it's your list and it'll be intriguing to see how you rank the songs.

[Scorpion]

Sooooo... you're essentially doing a Top 100, which features the whole DT catalogue? I mean, I have no problems with that, but you should be aware that it won't be looked on too kindly if you take much longer than normal lists. After all, Top 50 is the norm.

Anyway, concerning the picks, most of these would be towards the bottom for me as well. I do think that YNM is better than the demo, though, but that's just me. Also, A Rite of Passage wouldn't be my least favourite, though come to think of it, I would be hard pressed to name any song as the definite worst song out of DT's catalogue.

Though I really like Ministry and Light Fuse is pretty cool as well, it just missed the cut of my Top 50.

[iamtheeviltwin]

A number of these were in my top 50...different strokes and all that.

[Ruba]

BMU,BMD is my least favourite DT song and AROP in the bottom 5, the first two songs deserve their places.

I don't have problem of remembering parts from Light Fuse and Get Away.

[Dacling]

Sooooo... you're essentially doing a Top 100, which features the whole DT catalogue? I mean, I have no problems with that, but you should be aware that it won't be looked on too kindly if you take much longer than normal lists. After all, Top 50 is the norm.

Anyway, concerning the picks, most of these would be towards the bottom for me as well. I do think that YNM is better than the demo, though, but that's just me. Also, A Rite of Passage wouldn't be my least favourite, though come to think of it, I would be hard pressed to name any song as the definite worst song out of DT's catalogue.

Though I really like Ministry and Light Fuse is pretty cool as well, it just missed the cut of my Top 50.

I'll have it done in the normal time frame. I'm going to do it in 20 days. Just to clarify. It's not that I really dislike Ministry or Light Fuse and Get Away but with Ministry it's good and I enjoy listening to it but it's down there because of it's flaws. Everything after the bottom 3 I can really listen to and enjoy but the other 90 songs I personally think are better.

[Dacling]

90. Wither (BC&SL)
Wither is not a bad song by any means. It's a short and enjoyable but something about it doesn't connect with me like a lot of the other short song do. It's lyrics aren't bad or anything that brings it down. I really like the Piano version from the Wither EP. The worst thing I can say about it is Petrucci's solo is ends so quickly after it began.

89. The Dark Eternal Night (SC)
The Dark Eternal Night is fun. It's not a great song, it's lyrics aren't great, it's premise is ridiculous, and it's instrumental section is out of place. The thing is that it works. As a fan of B movies it does exactly what it sets out to do. It's able to translate the ridiculous plot lines and acting into a metal song and it works. The reason is this low though is just that. It's a novelty, a fun song to rock out to but offers no real depth to it. I am not a fan of the album version though. Way too much distortion on the vocals. I actually like the Chaos in Motion version better but I am really looking forward to having an even better version on the next DVD.

88. Never Enough (8varium)
This is a pretty cool muse DT song. Some people may not agree with the sentiment but I have no problem with it because some people really do complain too much. It's got a cool groove and the whole muse thing doesn't really bother me but it's definitely not even close to the best they have to offer music wise.

87. Through My Words (SFAM)
This song/interlude is great in terms of context of the album. It's got some beautiful piano work and Labrie's singing is great and it leads into Fatal Tragedy so well. It is obviously this low on the list because I can't justify calling a 1 minute interlude better than most of their material.

86. Constant Motion (SC)
Another Systematic Chaos song in the bottom 20. This suffers from a lot of the same problems as The Dark Eternal Night. It's fun but it's doesn't have much depth at all. It gets some extra points though for Petrucci's solo and Portnoy's Drum Work during it. Not a perfect song by any means but fun.

85. The Answer Lies Within (8varium)
The Answer Lies Within is very mellow and simple and the best performance is by far Labrie who puts the right emotion into it and and really puts the emotion into the song and gives it it's optimism and Rudess does some really restrained work which is really beautiful. I don't usually go out of my way to listen to it but I always enjoy it when I do and the score version is just fantastic as is every other song on score.

84. Prophet's of War (SC)
Prophet's of War is DT's second attempt at writing a muse song. This time around it's even better with Labrie once again being the highlight and Portnoy rapping which I actually don't mind. It's different and it's not bad at all. The main riff is nice and my favorite part is 4:21 when it becomes acoustic for a little and the effect on the vocals is really cool.

83. Status Seeker (WDADU)
Status Seeker is the 80's. This is one of the few songs I prefer Dominici over Labrie on. because he fits the song so perfectly. It's 80's synth, the backing vocals. Everything about this song is 80's down to the lyrics. That's what makes this song good. A lot of people don't like that and so this song seems to be hated by a good portion of the community here but I love it for what it is.

82. Regression (SFAM)
Regression is the perfect intro to SFAM. Every time I put SFAM Regression pulls me into the story from the moment the acoustic guitar starts and as it transitions into Overture 1928 I am hooked and for the next hour and 20 minutes I don't want it to be stopped for any reason or I will be extremely upset.

81. I Walk Beside You (8varium)
I Walk Beside You starts is another ballad off Octavarium. This time everyone steps up there game. Portnoy has some nice restrained Drum Work. The chorus is nice and this song is one of those songs that always manages to put me in a good mood. It's very uplifting and Labrie sings wonderfully on it and the cheesy Ahh's part around 3 minutes is cheesy in a good way.

Next update will be 80 - 76 tomorrow then after that the next day I start my top 50.

[wolfking]

IWBY and SS should be higher but the rest are about right for me.  Maybe TDEN should be higher too.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

91. The Ministry of Lost Souls (SC)
This is the only DT song I will complain about the instrumental section being out of place

89. The Dark Eternal Night (SC)
it's instrumental section is out of place.

Interesting so far though. Cool to see a full 100.

[Dacling]

91. The Ministry of Lost Souls (SC)
This is the only DT song I will complain about the instrumental section being out of place

89. The Dark Eternal Night (SC)
it's instrumental section is out of place.

Interesting so far though. Cool to see a full 100.

What I mean though is it's out of place but because of it being like a B movie it's also in place while with Ministry there is no reason for it to be out of place. Great wording on my part, haha.

[?]

I forgot to mention Never Enough in my previous post - that song is easily bottom 5 for me, since I'm not a Muse fan and the lyrics don't make it any better. Status Seeker is actually quite good IMO, and TALW and IWBY are songs that are ok, but don't do much to me.

[Dacling]

80. Afterlife (WDADU)
"I touched with Juan"
Afterlife is one of the few songs on WDADU that works well not only with Dominici but with Labrie. The album version and the score version are both great. It's got a really cool groove. Like most of the songs on WDADU it's main downside is that the writing of it doesn't feel very mature. It's fun and enjoyable and the guitar solo is awesome.

79. The Best of Times (BC&SL)
Like everything else on Black Clouds this song is a good song that is brought down by something. For this song it's mostly the lyrics. They aren't terrible and I'm sure they were kind of rushed by Portnoy for obvious reasons but it shows a little too much. The intro is fantastic and the guitar solo is one of Petrucci's best but the rest of the song seems lacking in comparison and that's why it earned it's spot in the bottom 25.

78. On the Back's of Angels (ADTOE)
At this point in the list I don't really have much bad to say about most of the songs so good songs are only this low not because they are bad or have problems but because DT has so many good songs that some of them have to be this low.

When I first heard this song in waiting for ADTOE to be released I was surprised. It sounded refreshing compared to a lot of the stuff on Black Clouds and Systematic Chaos. This is not a bad song by any means. It's got a great intro and the Piano Break is just awesome and very Yes like which I loved. It does seem a little sterile but that doesn't detract too much.

77. Space Dye Vest (Awake)
Space Dye Vest is an extremely polarizing song here on the forums. A lot of people hate it but some love it to death. I don't hate the song but it doesn't really connect with me on an emotional level and it is my least favorite song on Awake. It is a little slow but Kevin Moore's piano work is great and it's got a really great atmosphere to it but it almost seems out of place at the end of the album.

76. Outcry (ADTOE)
DT's rallying cry against generic tyranny. Their call to arms to all the oppressed of... . The song starts off with some fantastic work by Rudess that really sets the mood and the instrumental section is absolutely fantastic. I especially love bass and drum section's around 6:58.

Tomorrow I start my top 50.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I heart Space Dye Vest. I find it strange here is the only place I see where lots don't seem to like it.

[?]

I rank all those 5 songs higher, except TBOT.

[wasteland]

Your writeup for Outcry would suggest a way higher position than the actual one!

And by the way, all that you can expect for Space Dye Vest

[?]

Your writeup for Outcry would suggest a way higher position than the actual one!

His praise for the top 10 songs will probably have no limits!

[wasteland]

Your writeup for Outcry would suggest a way higher position than the actual one!

His praise for the top 10 songs will probably have no limits!

#1 Anti Procrastination Song

I don't really like this one, but I miscalculated positions, and had a free slot, so what the fuck.

[MoraWintersoul]

Your writeup for Outcry would suggest a way higher position than the actual one!

His praise for the top 10 songs will probably have no limits!

#1 Anti Procrastination Song

I don't really like this one, but I miscalculated positions, and had a free slot, so what the fuck.

Use the appropriate era:

[wasteland]

I can't! Not until you give me a place where to find all your gifs

And by the way, isn't the anti-procrastination pre-Kevin stuff?

[?]

You know something is funny when John Myung cracks up!

[MoraWintersoul]

I can't! Not until you give me a place where to find all your gifs

And by the way, isn't the anti-procrastination pre-Kevin stuff?

https://morawintersoul.tumblr.com/tagged/my-gifs/chrono
Knock yourself out also I have no idea.

You know something is funny when John Myung cracks up!

I Can Remember When documentary, discussion of OAMOT. You're welcome

[wasteland]

You know something is funny when John Myung cracks up!

I think 1989 was before John Myung became a tower of ivory. Or at least so they used to say. 

[?]

I can't! Not until you give me a place where to find all your gifs

And by the way, isn't the anti-procrastination pre-Kevin stuff?

https://morawintersoul.tumblr.com/tagged/my-gifs/chrono
Knock yourself out also I have no idea.

You know something is funny when John Myung cracks up!

I Can Remember When documentary, discussion of OAMOT. You're welcome

I've seen it on YT already

[Dacling]

For those who didn't read the first post if you are wondering why I skipped 76 - 51 it's because I want there to be some guessing as to my top 10 and I will do those after I finish my top 50.

50. Strange Deja Vu (SFAM)
Strange Deja Vu may not be one of my favorite songs on SFAM but that doesn't mean anything is wrong with it at all. It's mainly giving the important information and kicking off the story after coming out of Overture 1928. Portnoy gives some great drumming as usual and really gives the song a great groove. I especially love halfway into the song where it really kicks into gear. The backing vocals add a nice layer to the song and Labrie's vocals are great, especially the little multi tracked parts where in the background he is singing higher than the lead vocal track.

49. Sacrificed Sons (8varium)
Dream Theater's tribute to those lost on 9/11. The sound clips at the beginning really set the mood and Rudess does some really somber piano work and Labrie really put's a lot of emotion into the vocals. Like most of the songs on Octavarium I didn't really get into them until I head the score version. The instrumental section transitions nicely in and out without ever feeling out of place and it's got a nice ending.

48. Peruvian Skies (FII)
Peruvian Skies is an awesome song. I absolutely love how the more mellow first half transitions into the more hard rock second half and the version from OiaLT is fantastic as well the High Voltage performance. Some good lyric writing by Petrucci and he seems to steal the spotlight on this one and really drives the song.

47. The Root of All Evil (8varium)
The Root of All Evil is the weakest part of the twelve step suite in my opinion but it's a great song with a great opening. Other than the intro my favorite part is 4:42 and the keyboard solo is cool.

46. In the Presence of Enemies (SC)
In the Presence of Enemies starts off differently than all of their other epics. It goes straight into it with no dilly dallying the second it starts they are in high gear and the slower parts come later. It's lyrics may not be the best but I don't really have anything against them at all. Part 1 is definitely the better part but part 2 also some great moments as well. I love the slow atmospheric transition between the two parts and the slaughter of the damned is awesome as is the instrumental following it and right at the end of it during part 2 at 15:35 the vocals really reminds me of Queen's Innuendo.

Tomorrow I do 45 - 41

[Ruba]

ITPOE is waaaay to low. Peruvian and Root are both pretty cool.

[?]

I think TROAE is easily better than TDS and the last 2 songs in the 12SS, but I rank Strange Deja Vu, SS and PS pretty similarly.

[Dacling]

45. Innocence Faded (Awake)
Without a doubt this song is one of Labrie's best performance's both in studio and live with score. Portnoy's drumming really fits the song and makes the song flow really smoothly. I also really love's JP's tone on this one. The ending as a lot of people have stated is fantastic. Some good lyric's as well to go along with all of that.

44. Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (Awake)
Two songs from Awake in a row. Another great song with great lyrics by Myung who has never failed to please with his lyrics. I would absolutely love for them to pull this one out again on the next tour. This song took a little while to grow on me but I'm glad it did.

43. Honor Thy Father (ToT)
I might get a lot of flak for placing this song above Lifting Shadows but I love all these songs so much that I had to make a lot of tough calls in order to rank anything. If had made this list a few months ago this would have been at the very bottom of my list just below You Not Me. One night I decided to give this song a real chance and I put it on a loop and listened to it somewhere between five to ten times in a row and by then end of it I actually liked it and it's grown on me since. It's lyrics may be a little immature but the music is appropriately angry to go along with them. Portnoy opens the song wrecking face and for the next 10 minutes the song never lets up and barrage you with an assault of great riff's, some amazing singing by Labrie, and some great sound clipping. Not to mention the awesome bass starting at 1:25. Also surprising some how they wrote a 10 minute metal song without a single guitar solo but the keyboard solo is awesome as well is the rest of Rudess's contribution's to the song. Also loved when I saw that someone on youtube commented "Don't cross the crooked step - so deep"

42. Under a Glass Moon (I&W)
Under a Glass Moon used to be one of my favorite's on Images and Words and while it may have dropped down in ranking a little it is still a fantastic song. Petrucci channeled his inner Jon Anderson when he wrote the lyrics and wrote down some complete nonsense that just sounds good (Especially with Labrie's singing). A lot of great Drumming by Portnoy and Petrucci's guitar solo is majestic (That would make a good band name) and Moore fires back hard with a solo of his own and nails it. The whole song is what I imagine would happen if you combine Yes and Metal and it's amazing.

41. A Nightmare to Remember (BC&SL)
The perfect lullaby A Nightmare to Remember starts off with 10 minutes of amazing music and drops off in quality after that. It opens with some thunder and some piano by Ruddess establishing the main theme and Portnoy's double bass work really drives the song while Petrucci riffs and shreds his way through the first 5 minutes and Rudess does some amazing work putting a lot of atmosphere into the song especially the little background part around 3 minute which sounds so cool. Then it slows down into the beautiful agony section where Labrie really shines and Portnoy does some more great drum work. Then after a great back and forth with the guitar and keyboard it all goes down hill when the double bass really kicks up. Now I can enjoy the rest of it but it's nowhere near as good as the first 10 minutes. I actually took the isolated track that someone on here created of Labrie original vocals that they made to go along with Portnoy's original growling and put it with the album version synched up and it sounds better.

Next time 40 - 36

[Dacling]

40. Hell's Kitchen (FII)
Hell's Kitchen is an awesome little instrumental. It's short but really beautiful. The unison section is awesome and has such a great ending leading into Lines in the Sand. There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about it other than that it's too short. Definitely one of the highlights of FII.

39. Vacant + Stream of Consciousness (ToT)
This is the first of a couple songs I combined together because they share enough musical themes to be together. First is Vacant. Vacant is without a doubt one of Dream Theater's saddest songs. Labrie puts so much emotion into the vocals and really is able to make you feel the story and not just understand it. It's a fantastic ballad and the theme from it is what forms Stream of Consciousness. SoC is awesome. It may be a little repetitive at time if you really analyze it but when I am actually listening to it then I don't notice it at all. Rudess and Petrucci really work well together on this song. Petrucci's riff's and Rudess's blaring keyboards dominant this song with their combined awesomeness.

38. Raise the Knife (FII D)
One of the best demos DT has ever written. It's fantastic from start to end. Whether or not you agree with some of them the lyrics are well written and Labrie sings them well. This doesn't really feel like any other Dream Theater songs and in this case that is a good thing. The score version is fantastic and I am glad that they played it so we can get a good quality recording of this great song.

37. Beneath the Surface (ADTOE)
Beneath the Surface is one of the best ballad's DT has written to me. It's a lovely acoustic number with sad lyrics and some amazing vocals by Labrie. I love how the end where Labrie really puts some force into it and of course Rudess's amazing solo that comes out of nowhere and takes the song from great to exceptional.

36. The Dance of Eternity (SFAM)
The third instrumental that ended up in this up date. They pulled everything out for this one and didn't hold back. Without saying the rag time solo is amazing, the musical references to Metropolis pt 1, the ridiculous amount of times signatures. I don't care what anyone says wankery or not it's amazing.

[Ruba]

Vacant + SOC = 

[?]

BTS and HK I don't think the RTK lyrics are very well written, but maybe it's just me