The Dark Eternal Night Appreciation Thread

[PwnsomeWin]

I'm honestly a bit surprised there is no thread for this. I think this song has some awesome guitar. =D

[Jinx]

 

[TheAtliator]

Wasn't the riff voted the greatest guitar riff of the year or something? That riff is just incredible in every way. Also the middle section.. Wow. Another stand out is the way in which the vocals come in, it's so heavy and powerful on the "3, 4...... ONE" over the riff.

[Sycsa]

Started to listen to it more when I saw it's going to be on the Luna Park DVD, it's slowly growing on me.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

NO! ONE! DARED TO! SPEAK OF THE TERRIBLE DANGER!

I wouldn't called it one of Dream Theater's best, but it's a lot of fun, and I bet it would be awesome live.

[Mosh]

One of the better songs on SC. The instrumental section goes a bit overboard but the riffing on the song is pretty cool. Awful lyrics and some pretty bad vocal melodies though.

[dparrott]

Love the song.  The part on the DVD where it says something like "the heaviest riff DT has ever created" or something at the end of the song... 

[darkshade]

Wasn't the riff voted the greatest guitar riff of the year or something? That riff is just incredible in every way.

I think it was greatest riff of the decade (2000s).

I enjoy TDEN, though not so much recently. But it's one of the better moments on SC, in my opinion, along with ITPOE. The only thing I'd drop is the amount of times the chorus is repeated before the instrumental section, and the drawn out outro, it's not necessary, the song is over.

[425]

I really enjoy this song, particularly the first half. The riffs are just amazingly heavy, and I enjoy LaBrie and Portnoy's trade-offs in the verses. I also love the operatic chorus that provides a nice contrast to the harshly sung verses. As for the instrumental section, I used to not like it but it's steadily growing on me, and the outro is a great ending to the song. Oh, and the lyrics are undoubtedly cheesy but executed fairly well.

I

AM

THE

LAST

BORN OF THE BLOOD OF THE PHARAOHS

[TheAtliator]

Oh ok thanks

Awful lyrics and some pretty bad vocal melodies though.

Really? I LOVE the lyrics and voc melodies. Very descriptive and metal, and the melody gets stuck in my head.

[TheAtliator]

OOOH and how could I forget the live JLB screams on either "black" or "last!! :howdoyoudotheshakingemoticon?:

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

OOOH and how could I forget the live JLB screams on either "black" or "last!! :howdoyoudotheshakingemoticon?:

  ?

[PwnsomeWin]

Wasn't the riff voted the greatest guitar riff of the year or something? That riff is just incredible in every way.

I think it was greatest riff of the decade (2000s).

I enjoy TDEN, though not so much recently. But it's one of the better moments on SC, in my opinion, along with ITPOE. The only thing I'd drop is the amount of times the chorus is repeated before the instrumental section, and the drawn out outro, it's not necessary, the song is over.

Yeah, I feel like the song is unnecessarily long. Other then that, it's awesome.

[TheAtliator]

OOOH and how could I forget the live JLB screams on either "black" or "last!! :howdoyoudotheshakingemoticon?:

  ?

Haha I was referring to this one-

In hindsight, maybe the metal one would have been a more accurate choice anyway haha

[KevShmev]

Okay, it being one of the better songs on SC really isn't a compliment , but this song is enjoyable in kind of a big dumb metal song kinda way.  But DT doesn't really have many of those, so I guess in that respect it stands out.  Neither the songwriting nor the instrumental section is anything special, but the song is still enjoyable, for the most part.  It's not a favorite, but I like it.

[bosk1]

Okay, it being one of the better songs on SC really isn't a compliment

Sure it is.  While SC may have had some misses, the best songs on SC are as good as just about anything in the DT discography.

[Kotowboy]

*Appreciates*

 

[bosk1]

I bet it would be awesome live.

It is.  I saw it on the Chaos in Motion tour, and it was pretty good.  Saw it again on the ADTOE tour, and it was very good then as well.

[darkshade]

Okay, it being one of the better songs on SC really isn't a compliment , but this song is enjoyable in kind of a big dumb metal song kinda way.  But DT doesn't really have many of those

and two of them are on SC alone (CM). I guess the other is AROP?

[KevShmev]

Okay, it being one of the better songs on SC really isn't a compliment

Sure it is.  While SC may have had some misses, the best songs on SC are as good as just about anything in the DT discography.

I disagree, and I suspect that a large majority of the fan base also would.  Heck, In the Presence of Enemies seems to be one of their least popular long songs ever (cue the few who disagree to jump in here and call it one of their favorites ), and I don't think any other song on SC is popular enough with the online fan base to be called one of their best (or most popular).

[bosk1]

Even assuming for argument's sake you are correct about popularity, "most popular" and "best" are not synonymous.

Although, if we want to talk about popularity:

The album peaked in the top twenty in eight countries' sales charts; in addition, the album peaked at the nineteenth position on the Billboard 200, making it the highest peaking Dream Theater album in the United States[2] until the release of Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009), which debuted at the sixth position.[3] Critical reception of the album was generally positive; Jon Eardley from MetalReview.com called the band, "arguably the most consistent band throughout the entire progressive rock/metal industry".[4]

...

Critical reception for Systematic Chaos was generally positive. Writing for MetalReview.com, Jon Eardley called the album, "another solid outing".[4] He complimented Petrucci for "Constant Motion", writing that it contains "some of the best riffs Petrucci has brought to the table".[4] In addition, he called the latter part of "The Dark Eternal Night" "the most brutal part in any song to date".[4] Reviewing for Metal Invader, Nikos Patelis called the album, "energetic, sharp – edged, full of beautiful melodies and heavy riffs, long epic compositions".[65] He called Dream Theater's instrumentalists "four masters of music that use their instruments as if they were their limbs", in addition to stating, "James LaBrie sounds more mature than ever".[65] In conclusion, Patelis called Systematic Chaos, "an excellent album that needs many times to be listened in order to be digested".[65] Greg Prato, of Allmusic, wrote "[...] 'Forsaken' proves wrong those who say that Dream Theater is all about instrumental gymnastics and not songwriting". He also compared riffs in "The Dark Eternal Night" to the band Pantera. Overall, he states "[...] the quintet sticks to the prog metal game plan that they've followed since their inception".[58] Reviewer Chad Bowar of About.com, wrote that "In the Presence of Enemies - Part I" is "an effective way to set the tone for the rest of the songs".[57] Overall, Bowar gave the album four out of five stars, calling it, "one of the best Dream Theater releases in quite a while".[57]
 
The album peaked in the top twenty-five in the United Kingdom and Australia, where the band had never previously charted.[66][67] In the United States, the album peaked at the nineteenth position on the Billboard 200, making it the highest peaking Dream Theater album in the United States at the time of its release.[2] Overall, Systematic Chaos peaked in the top twenty for album sales in eight countries. In the US, the album sold 35,689 copies the first week it was released.[68]

...


Chart (2007)
 
Peak Position
 


Billboard 200
 
19[2]
 


Canadian Albums Chart
 
15[69]
 


ARIA Charts
 
23[66]
 


UK Albums Chart
 
25[67]
 


Dutch charts
 
2[70]
 


Finnish charts
 
3[71]
 


Norwegian charts
 
3[72]
 


Swedish charts
 
5[73]
 


French charts
 
14[74]
 


Swiss charts
 
14[75]
 


Austrian charts
 
20[76]
 


Belgian charts
 
44[77]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_Chaos#Reception

[darkshade]

Most people seem to at least think ITPOE part 1 is up there with DT's best, but it's still half a song. It's like saying Octavarium is only good until the keyboard lead/solo, or SDOIT is only good until Goodnight Kiss. I think ITPOE (both parts), is top 30 or 40 DT, but there are plenty of tunes better than it.

[Mosh]

Okay, it being one of the better songs on SC really isn't a compliment

Sure it is.  While SC may have had some misses, the best songs on SC are as good as just about anything in the DT discography.

I disagree. I think even some of the best songs on SC would be some of the weaker tracks on most other DT albums.

Awful lyrics and some pretty bad vocal melodies though.

Really? I LOVE the lyrics and voc melodies. Very descriptive and metal, and the melody gets stuck in my head.

The chorus melody is alright but I don't care for the verse and prechorus stuff though.

[sueño]

I heard it for the very first time a few days ago.

I like...   

[425]

I agree with bosk that the best songs from SC are up with DT's best. In The Presence of Enemies is practically on par with their other ~20+ minute epics, and might be their best if The Reckoning was improved or removed. The Ministry of Lost Souls is a top 30 song, instrumental section and all, and Forsaken and Constant Motion are either in or not far outside the top 50.

[KevShmev]

Even assuming for argument's sake you are correct about popularity, "most popular" and "best" are not synonymous.

Although, if we want to talk about popularity:

*snip*

Wait, so record sales and the opinions of critics are now a useful tool in assessing the band's best material? 

As for popularity, the band has seen a slow upward trajectory in sales over a long period of time, which speaks to their greatness as a band and ability to build up the fan base, rather than saying something about the popularity of any one record.

I agree with bosk that the best songs from SC are up with DT's best. In The Presence of Enemies is practically on par with their other ~20+ minute epics, and might be their best if The Reckoning was improved or removed. The Ministry of Lost Souls is a top 30 song, instrumental section and all, and Forsaken and Constant Motion are either in or not far outside the top 50.

A borderline top 50 song (when they have around 100 or so) is one of the best?   

[bosk1]

Even assuming for argument's sake you are correct about popularity, "most popular" and "best" are not synonymous.

Although, if we want to talk about popularity:

*snip*

Wait, so record sales and the opinions of critics are now a useful tool in assessing the band's best material? 

No.  You are the one who brought up popularity.  So I responded with record sales and opinions of critics becuase those are a useful tool in assessing the band's most popular (not necessarily "best") material.  You made the mistake of blurring the distinction between "popular" and "best" and saying that SC is not one of their most popular.  Well, the most readily-available quantifiers of popularity say that you are mistaken.

[Lowdz]

This is not a thread I can contribute to 

About the only DT song I really can't stand.

[KevShmev]

Even assuming for argument's sake you are correct about popularity, "most popular" and "best" are not synonymous.

Although, if we want to talk about popularity:

*snip*

Wait, so record sales and the opinions of critics are now a useful tool in assessing the band's best material? 

No.  You are the one who brought up popularity.  So I responded with record sales and opinions of critics becuase those are a useful tool in assessing the band's most popular (not necessarily "best") material.  You made the mistake of blurring the distinction between "popular" and "best" and saying that SC is not one of their most popular.  Well, the most readily-available quantifiers of popularity say that you are mistaken.

Oh.  Okay then, using the most readily-available quantifier of popularity, Images & Words is one of the band's least popular efforts, since it only peaked at number 61 on the billboard top 200 charts.  Same for Scenes from a Memory, whose peak on that chart is the 2nd lowest of their career (ahead of only the debut).

[darkshade]

This is not a thread I can contribute to 

About the only DT song I really can't stand.

So you prefer Take Away My Pain, Prophets of War, You Not Me, or Raw Dog, over TDEN?

[425]

A borderline top 50 song (when they have around 100 or so) is one of the best?

No. I actually have no idea why I even listed those two. But still my point that I consider ITPOE top 20 and TMOLS top 30 stands, and that would still support the idea that the top songs on the album are up with the band's best efforts (to add to that, in terms of duration, those two songs are over the half the album at a combined 39:36 out of 78:39).

[TheGreatPretender]

Wasn't the riff voted the greatest guitar riff of the year or something? That riff is just incredible in every way.

I think it was greatest riff of the decade (2000s).

I'm pretty sure it wasn't #1 though... I think it was #8 on top riffs of... The Decade, I guess. Either way, it's definitely commendable.

[?]

One of the few DT songs I really can't stand.

FTFM.

So you prefer Take Away My Pain, Prophets of War, You Not Me, or Raw Dog, over TDEN?

I'd take TAMP and YNM over TDEN any day.

[Syzzle]

Wasn't the riff voted the greatest guitar riff of the year or something? That riff is just incredible in every way.

I think it was greatest riff of the decade (2000s).

I'm pretty sure it wasn't #1 though... I think it was #8 on top riffs of... The Decade, I guess. Either way, it's definitely commendable.

1. Muse – ‘Plug In Baby’
 2. Velvet Revolver – ‘Slither’
 3. Avenged Sevenfold – ‘Afterlife’
 4. Dream Theater – ‘The Dark Eternal Night’
 5. Muse – ‘Knights of Cydonia’
 6. Queens of the Stone Age – ‘No One Knows’
 7. White Stripes – ‘Seven Nation Army’
 8. Machine Head – ‘Halo’
 9. The Killers – ‘Mr Brightside’
 10. Avenged Sevenfold – ‘Beast And The Harlot’

[hefdaddy42]

this song is enjoyable in kind of a big dumb metal song kinda way.  But DT doesn't really have many of those, so I guess in that respect it stands out.  Neither the songwriting nor the instrumental section is anything special, but the song is still enjoyable, for the most part.  It's not a favorite, but I like it.

This.