If a previous DT album was self-titled, which one would it be?

[The Presence of Frenemies]

A lot of them, actually, feel like possibilities. You've got the first album, the first album with James (and first on a major label)...then, okay, Awake, FII, and SFAM wouldn't have made much sense, but SDOIT could've, with it being DT's longest work and the first with a "clean slate" for Jordan after the big breakthrough of SFAM. ToT's break from character makes it a bad fit for self-titling, but Octavarium was a "return to roots," so that qualifies too. And then there was Portnoy's whole hyping of BC&SL as this ultimate DT album with Metropolis, 8V, ACOS etc. all rolled into one album. And of course then there was the split and Mangini's entry with these past two.

So the only ones that seem like there's zero justification for self-titling are Awake, FII, SFAM, ToT, and SC. The others, you can kind of see it. But of course WDADU is the most obvious, being the first.

SFAM would have made a lot of sense as a self titled, had it not needed to be made clear it was Metropolis pt 2, which is probably what you meant anyway!

Indeed it is.

[hefdaddy42]

I would say Octavarium also.

It just seems to be everything that Dream Theater is about, incarnate.

It has a proggy concept. It has a massive epic track which is their best track ( imo ).

It wears it's influences on it's sleeve. It has a mixed grill of everything DT do.

Short, long, fast, slow, heavy, light. Etc. Etc. Plus for my money has the best production on a DT album besides FII.

It also has, song for song, the worst songwriting of the band's career.  If that is indicative of the band, then God help us.

In Your opinion... I think there are much weaker songs on SC & BC&SL

I do too, but not virtually an entire album's worth, like there is on 8VM.

[BlobVanDam]

An entire album? Only 3/8 of the songs on Octavarium could be called remotely weak imo (and they are indeed very weak), which means 5/8 are good. Nugget!
That's not a great percentage either way, but it's far from an entire album's worth.

[hefdaddy42]

1 - The Root of All Evil - Pretty good, but ultimately nothing special
2 - The Answer Lies Within - Dreck, absolutely awful
3 - These Walls - Pretty good, criminally underrated
4 - I Walk Beside You - I like it, but nothing special
5 - Panic Attack - No thanks
6 - Never Enough - No thanks
7 - Sacrificed Sons - OK, but nothing special
8 - Octavarium - Fantastic, one of their best

This album, even though it features one of their best songs, ranks at or near the bottom of their catalog for me.  Large parts of it feature songs that could have been done by anyone, not necessarily DT.

MY OPINION.  If it's your favorite album ever, great, more power to you.

[BlobVanDam]

Eh, it's far from my favourite either, I was just disagreeing with what I assume was slight hyperbole on your part.
 
I think TROAE, TW, PA, SS, and 8V are all great songs, but the rest are skippable at best, and perfectly placed to ruin the flow of the album entirely. I rank the aforementioned good songs very highly, but as an album I can't due to the rest.

[Kotowboy]

I can *easily* listen to the whole album in one sitting.

I can't listen to many other DT albums without getting fatigue or skipping a song.

[hefdaddy42]

I can *easily* listen to the whole album in one sitting.

I can't listen to many other DT albums without getting fatigue or skipping a song.

Yeah, because the other albums are more Dream Theatery, with lots of prog fireworks, intricate instrumental passages, multiple movements, and the like.  This album, with a few exceptions, just has more straightforward songs without a lot of hijinks going on.  Less variety and movement within the songs.

[Ruba]

WDADU, because I don't like bands naming albums after themselves, if it isn't their debut.

[KevShmev]

I would say Octavarium also.

It just seems to be everything that Dream Theater is about, incarnate.

It has a proggy concept. It has a massive epic track which is their best track ( imo ).

It wears it's influences on it's sleeve. It has a mixed grill of everything DT do.

Short, long, fast, slow, heavy, light. Etc. Etc. Plus for my money has the best production on a DT album besides FII.

It also has, song for song, the worst songwriting of the band's career.  If that is indicative of the band, then God help us.

In Your opinion... I think there are much weaker songs on SC & BC&SL

I think the weakest songs on SC are worst than the weakest songs on Octavarium, but nothing on the former touches the latter's title track.  Still their two least best albums, though, IMO.

Black Clouds is much better than either, even though the majority of the songs have something I wish would have changed or was better (ANTR - the "day after day" section, A Rite of Passage - the key solo, the lyrics in both TBOT and The Count). 

[Mister Gold]

I actually went with 6 Degrees.  It's not my favourite or anything, but I do think it's probably the most cohesive and covers the broadest array of sounds that would make me think that it could fit a self titled album.

This, except for the fact that 6DoIT is my favorite.

For the longest time, I never liked self-titled releases if it isn't a band's debut album. I thought of it as being incredibly lazy. However after recognizing the mentality of making an album a self-titled release on the grounds that the album is the best representative of that band's sound and what they're all about, I am a bit more open to s/t albums. As far as Dream Theater goes, the one album that I think best represents who they are as a band would be 6 Degrees.

Hope the new album justifies the name 'Dream Theater'.

[mocool13]

I&W or WDADU

[kirksnosehair]

I guess the obvious choice is WDADU, but Images & Words also seems like it could have been s/t

[PwnsomeWin]

I think FII. I guess because it was a mainstream attempt.