Parama's Top 50 Nightmare Cinema Shows, v. Gold Statue! The End!

[Destiny Of Chaos]

For what it's worth, I also had Panic Attack ranked higher than Learning to Live... way higher.

[Crow]

Well Panic Attack isn't the only song I've ranked above LTL, just the first song directly above it! I have worse picks above LTL, for sure.

[Evermind]

I agree Through Her Eyes is the weakest song off SFAM, but can't say it deserves to be this low.

Also,

Well Panic Attack isn't the only song I've ranked above LTL

wow, I could never guessed that.   

[jakepriest]

Jake, I'm curious to hear your top 10 so I can know just how different our tastes really are because we seem to be rather opposite 

I've tried to put together a top 50 list. But in a week I would have to change a lot of the list since the songs I like change on my mood. I'm really curious what your top 10 is. 

[mikemangioy]

what the fuck, Parama, what the fuck.
tastes is tastes, but what the fuck.

[Lolzeez]

...wtf

[Crow]

Thank you, thank you everybody. *bows*
Anyways here's more really good songs.

32. Vacant
This is such a haunting song… very beautiful and dark music, and the lyrics are just heartbreaking. You can really feel the pain LaBrie was going through here, it’s a short and simple song but it really cuts straight through to the heart. I legitimately can’t say anymore, this is a song about feels and that’s impossible to put into words properly.

31. Erotomania
God, this is such a technical song and it’s amazing that it works so well. The Dance of Eternity is more technical, yeah, but it’s not as musically sound, not even close (though it’s still great, for what it’s worth!). I’m still amazed that a band can put this much creativity in a song of only 7 minutes, it’s got as much content to it as the average BTBAM song. Petrucci’s solos here are all fantastic as well, three entirely different sounds spread across the song. I think this is one of the few songs I can both appreciate on a “what the hell is happening in this song” technical level and also enjoy every second of. Also the keyboard sound Moore uses here is fantastic of course. Man. This song. I just love it. How is it this low on the list? How do DT have so many better songs? I don’t even know.

30. Peruvian Skies
This is such a dark song… I love it. The verses are haunting and the chorus creates a nice juxtaposition throughout the first half without ever losing that vibe. The build-up from the second chorus to the last chorus is just flawless, Petrucci’s solo is great and the bit with the harmonics is another highlight. So many chills at that bit. Again, I can’t say anything negative about this song, it’s a lovely ride from beginning to end. It being such a dark song helps my love for it of course. Not dark in the “boo everything is horrible” way, it just plain sounds sinister. Which is appropriate considering the subject matter. Just another wonderfully written song, no longer than it needs to be and it uses every second effectively.

Seventh Discussion Question: What DT songs gives you the most FEELS?

[jakepriest]

All three great picks.  We can finally agree on something.

Top three feelz: Through Her Eyes, Vacant, Losing Time

[Onno]

Three great songs

What DT song gives me the most feel? Hmm... I'd have to pick a few: Space-Dye Vest, Finally Free, Disappear, Vacant, Octavarium, The Best of Times and Wither.

[Crow]

Nobody cares when I'm not being controversial, huh? 
Well then. Back to the worst list for now then. Enjoy.

102. Lost Not Forgotten
Yeah, I really don’t like this song. Obviously this one I’ll need to actually justify though, right? Yeah, totally. Basically, what does it come down to? This song is the only song in the DT catalog to blatantly rip off another. Under A Glass Moon specifically. The piano intro is nice. Then the band comes in and plays basically the exact same thing as the Under A Glass Moon intro. The bass and harmony even come in at the same time. Then enter heavy riff. Then enter dissonant unison section. This one sounds absolutely abysmal though and way too damn long. Then enter palm-muted relaxed verse. Louder prechorus building up to the fast-paced chorus. Also can I be the first to say that Petrucci’s guitar sounds absolutely awful on this song? What the hell is that effect, moldy cheese? And yep let’s have the chorus end with a fast chaotic thing too. Progified version of the heavy riff from earlier. Lighter second-verse with a tight bass lick and a decently complex drum rhythm. Second prechorus with lots of ringing guitar notes. Chorus again. Then choppy odd-time signature bit that is like UGH IT MAKES ME WANT TO MURDER PEOPLE DO I HAVE TO PROVE THE POINT ANYMORE? The start of the instrumental section is where I get really pissed though, that’s the most blatantly obvious ripoff. Seriously though, if I wanted to listen to UAGM, I’d listen to UAGM, not a store-brand version of it. Literally the only place it diverges from UAGM is the small break between the guitar and keyboard solo. Yeah I know, lots of ADTOE sounds a bit similar to I&W but this is the only one that takes it this blatantly far. Also, it’s not that musically astounding even on its own anyways. The riffs are low-quality, the unison is ear-rape, and both solos suck. The piano intro is the only good thing this song has going for it, and even then, OTBOA has a better piano bit in it already.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

Ouch LNF is my favorite song from ADToE. I like it much better than UAGM as well.

[Evermind]

I agree about everything about LNF. I hate this song too. It's even worse than BMUBMD for me, and it's quite a thing to achieve, really. My recent ADTOE listens are always "OTBOA -> skip 90% of times -> skip everytime -> TITL -> next songs", and I usually listen to albums as a whole, so that's saying something. 

[Crow]

I agree about everything about LNF. I hate this song too. It's even worse than BMUBMD for me, and it's quite a thing to achieve, really. My recent ADTOE listens are always "OTBOA -> skip 90% of times -> skip everytime -> TITL -> next songs", and I usually listen to albums as a whole, so that's saying something. 

ADTOE certainly has probably the weakest start of their entire discography, even DT12 which I don't like as much as an album has a better starting run. And for all you know I may hate LNF more than BMUBMD too, only three songs left on my worst list after all
Also I kind of want to steal your statistic from the other thread real quick albeit with more boring colors and four groups instead of three.
Short songs (0:00 - 6:00)
Middling songs (6:00 to 10:00)
Long songs (10:00 to 15:00)
Epics (15:00+)

50. The Answer Lies Within
49. This Dying Soul
48. Another Day
47. Pull Me Under
46. Outcry
45. Afterlife
44. Beyond This Life
43. Never Enough
42. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
41. New Millennium
40. Sacrificed Sons - contendable, the song portion is sub 10 minutes and the intro is a bit disconnected, so...
39. Under A Glass Moon
38. Caught in a Web
37. Innocence Faded
36. Far From Heaven
35. Surrounded
34. Learning to Live
33. Panic Attack
32. Vacant
31. Erotomania
30. Peruvian Skies

A lot of bias towards the green and yellow groups thus far, heh. Will that change? Maybe. Maybe not.

[jakepriest]

+1 on Lost Not Forgotten. I can't stand that song and it's pretty boring by itself. The chorus is pretty uninspired and the solo is a UAGM rip-off.

[Evermind]

Also I kind of want to steal your statistic from the other thread real quick albeit with more boring colors and four groups instead of three.

Sure, I don't mind. I just found it's really easier for me to look and think of the recap if it's that colourful.

[Lolzeez]

I like LNF but I understand why you dislike it.

[Crow]

^And that's basically the point of these write-ups! Woo.

Next batch of songs is... weird. None of them have anything to do with each other and I'm cheating kind of on two of them 

29. Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy
First off. It’s literally impossible to listen to these separately. Through My Words is just an interlude on its own. Fatal Tragedy has no beginning on its own. They’re one song. I don’t know why the hell they separated them on the album, it’s never made sense to me. This song is just absolutely wonderful though. Aside from the lyrics, but that’s always been the weak point of the album so whatever. The soft piano intro turning into the darker melody is… perfect. Absolutely perfect, that’s how you start a song like this. The verses have a great heavy, chilling sound to them. The chorus is the only bit I really find weaker than the rest but it’s not bad, and a very minor element in the song, so. The main riff of the instrumental section is glorious, absolutely glorious, this song definitely has the best instrumental section on the album and that riff is the reason why. Both Petrucci’s and Rudess’ solos are great too, again among the better on the album. And the unison at the very end is perfect. So intense. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the song. Well, it ends with the piano chords but whatever those work well too. This song is quite a ride and it’s a wonderful ride all the way through.

28. Take Away My Pain (Demo)
I don’t give a damn if this is cheating, I consider it a completely different song from the horrible album version. This is such a heartfelt song, it does the “reminiscing” thing much better than TBOT does, and it’s just such an emotional and powerful song. The lyrics are masterful, fortunately they didn’t get ruined like everything else did. Petrucci’s pain really is felt, especially in the haunting third verse… I get chills from that every single time, without fail. And the transition from the bridge to Petrucci’s solo is wonderful too, as is the solo itself, short though it may be. I honest to god have no clue who decided to take such a well-written song and completely ruin it, but whoever they are, I hope they enjoy hell.

27. Bridges in the Sky
I neither like or dislike the intro. It’s there. I understand why it’s there. No complaints, just not my thing. After that, this song kicks in to hell yeah mode. So heavy. Much power. Very riffs. Wow. The prechorus and chorus are where this song really shines. LaBrie does a great job all throughout this song, definitely, and the atmosphere on the chorus (both parts of it) is worthy of praise, so much praise. The way the song continuously builds up to its chorus is exactly what a good song should be doing, and it’s done wonderfully here. Also, that instrumental section… man, I just love the melody before and after the solos, especially, though the entire instrumental section is wonderful. The solos are short and sweet, not their greatest solos ever but they’re enjoyable enough. This song is just great from beginning to end. Always feels much shorter than it is too, though the intro takes up a good chunk of the runtime which is probably why. Whatever. I love it. It’s pretty high on my list, so of course I love it.

[Evermind]

Can't agree with merging TMW with FT, but, whatever, it's your list, it's your choice. And, well, one of the other two songs is in my list too.

[jakepriest]

the horrible album version

Take Away My Pain is one of the better songs on FII.

+1 on Bridges in the Sky, however for me it's still too low 

[mikemangioy]

I like LNF D:

the feelz song is The Spirit Carries On, no doubts.

[425]

LNF really just doesn't do much for me. As far as ADTOE goes, also, BITS seems a bit overrated to me. It's good but DT has a LOT of better songs. The TAMP demo is a fantastic and beautiful choice. FT is another one that I don't see why everyone raves about it but I like it well enough.

DT's most emotional song, to me? Finally Free is the only one that has made me cry, but I think my personal answer about this has to be These Walls. I have social anxiety disorder that I've been working on overcoming the past few years and These Walls has been really relatable to me through all of that on account of its lyrics ("Tear down these walls for me/Stop me from going under/You are the only one who knows I'm holding back/It's not too late for me to keep from sinking further/I'm trying to find my way out/Tear down these walls for me now"). Far From Heaven also for the same reason ("Everyday I/Put a brave face on/Serves me well/Feeling helpless/Facing it alone..."). I think I could also add Beneath the Surface, Space Dye Vest and Wait for Sleep to the list of songs that hit me emotionally. And there are others, but those are the main ones.

[Crow]

Forgot a discussion question again! Let's remedy that first.

Eight Discussion Question: Are there any DT "tracks" that you consider inseparable, aside from the obvious ones like SDOIT and ITPOE?

And then, another bad song.

103. The Dark Eternal Night
The only good thing about this song is the Mario version of it, because that’s pretty cool and amusing. Really though, there’s about one riff here that’s any good? The double-time feel one, Dun da DAH da DAH da dun da DAH da DAH da dun da DEE or whatever? That’s a pretty cool riff. Everything else is just unpleasant to listen to without having the power that would make that kind of thing acceptable. Also the Portnoy vocals are worse here than ANTR. And they drown out everything but the drums too, genius idea. Instrumental break is the bad kind of DT instrumentalling, lots of technical nonsense that you can “appreciate” but not enjoy. Also we’re trying to channel Endless Sacrifice, which had a cool riff in its instrumental riff at the very least, and yeah silliness too but, here it just… happens. I can’t think of a more consistently unpleasant sounding song, this entire song is nails on a chalkboard. Even Petrucci’s solo is a dissonant nightmare. Oh wait, this outro riff is actually kind of cool… I can dig this. OH PISS OFF RUDESS. OF COURSE. Turns the best part of the song into the worst part. Great job. A ROUND OF APPLUASE TO YOU, GOOD SIR. And there are two more worse :c

[Onno]

I love both LNF and TDEN.

[Prog Snob]

I love that you chose the demo version of TAMP.  Hearing it live before Kevin Shirley butchered it was fucking amazing. 

[Crow]

Onno we can't be friends. Just kidding, it's just music :V

Speaking of. Time to lose more friends

26. Octavarium
Nuggets: 26 is divisible by 2, and results in the number 13. 10 + 3 equals 13. 8 + 5 also equals 13.
Metropolis Part 3 confirmed for 2015 (2005 + 10).

I’m more nostalgic with this one than I can say I legitimately enjoy it, I think. I mean, it’s still a fantastic song, but. In recent years I’ve come to favor conciseness in songwriting, and this song is kind of bloated by that criteria. Somebody Like Him I can’t really say anything negative about though, the Shine On intro doesn’t need to be shortened, the lyrics are wonderful, and the music is wonderful. The buildup it takes  near the end is wonderful. The song definitely starts strong, I’ll have to get it credit for that. Medicate is alright, the bass and the keyboard solo are the only bits that I can say I really like, but Rudess’ solo there is definitely one of his best. I can understand the need for building up to it, too, it wouldn’t work coming right out of Somebody Like Him. Full Circle though. This is where the song starts to lose me. The lyric wordplay I used to think was clever, but now it bores me. The riffs are pretty cool though. And the instrumental section goes on for far too long with too much of nothing especially interesting happening. It’s cool at first, but after the faster unison bit ends I kind of get tired of it and just want to get to Intervals. Because Intervals is the best part of the song without question. That build up. Absolutely flawless. Clever wordplay that works especially in context of the album. TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OCTAVARIUM. This brief section basically overshadows everything before and everything after. Not to say that Razor’s Edge is bad, it’s a very fitting end for the song and I love it as well. But it’s not Intervals.
I suppose all things considered and how much I’ve had to think about it typing this up, it’s still a damn fine song, hah. I think if it had been 20 or so minutes it would’ve found that sweet spot of being both epic and concise. As it stands it’s a bit long though still very grand and epic, easily one of the best DT epics.

25. The Ministry of Lost Souls
I have so much I could say about this song but I’ll try and keep it as short as I can, but no promises. Because this song gets waaay more hate than it deserves. Anyways. First point of note. The lyrics, the subject matter. Unlike the other songs on SC with fantasy lyrics, this one is a very human story. No dark masters, no vampires, no eldritch abominations or whatever the hell TDEN is about. Just a guy and a girl and the afterlife. It’s a fantasy story, yes, but it does what a good story does and focuses on the characters. Secondly. I do agree the instrumental section is out of place. On the other hand, there *needed* to be an instrumental section there. They just didn’t write the right one. It does transition in and out of the section pretty well, all things considered, and it’s not like it’s a horrible instrumental section, heck, it’s probably the best on the album all things considered, but it’s not in the right song. Third. This song is definitely one of a few songs that really got me into the band, this was my favorite on SC for a long time when I was first listening to it, and it was one of the two albums I paid most attention to at first. Why do I like it? The music is well done, there’s lots of interesting instrumentation going on, especially in the second verse, but really, it’s just gorgeous music. LaBrie puts a lot of passion into the vocals, too. The last “don’t turn your back on paradise” is of course the crowning moment, but he does good throughout. Also, the outro solo is just amazing, it does what Finally Free does with its outro solo but better, and I kind of wish it went on longer.

24. Trial of Tears
This really is one of those songs that you forget how good it is until you listen to it. It’s really relatively quiet for a DT song, especially for being 13 minutes long. This entire song… Petrucci is so restrained, aside from his intro bit and the insane solo in the middle, he basically lets everyone else take center stage. Myung and Portnoy do really neat stuff all throughout especially, they take the song to a whole different level, and LaBrie has a fantastic performance as well, notably the RAINING DEEP IN HEAVEN right before the second chorus and the entire part before the bass groove/solos kick in, just all of that. The solo section is great too, maybe a bit overlong but the build-up during Sherinan’s solo especially is wonderfully done. And then then last section… kind of kills the momentum a bit all things considered! It does its own build-up thing really well but it’s kind of a rough transition into it, but that’s not really a huge knock against it. Really though, this song is so… surreal, and very unique in the DT catalog. I feel like it should be higher but I can’t rank it over any of the songs that did get put higher, so oh well!

Ninth Discussion Question: What general feel do you think a replacement instrumental for TMOLS should sound like?

[Prog Snob]

Three killer choices!   I think 8V and TOT might be a little higher when I do mine, but still I cannot disagree with the amazement of these three songs.

[jakepriest]

I actually really love TDEN. The instrumental section is amazing 

As for Octavarium at 26.  I agree with Intervals being the best part tho.

The Ministry of Lost Souls is the worst song on Systematic Chaos by far. I can't stand how boring it is. The instrumental section is the best part so I don't really know what you mean by the question and is still dragged down by the horrible chorus and verses.

Trial Of Tears  I completely agree about forgetting about it sometimes. I like to keep it out of the rotation for the most part so I'm amazed everytime I hear it. I really like the bass and drum groove under Derek's solo.w

[Evermind]

Nice update.

As for the question, none, I've grown to like the instrumental on TMOLS, so I like it the way it is. Does the song deserve to be there? Everyone decides for themselves there.

[Crow]

I think anyone who read the description for the demo saw this one coming...

104. Take Away My Pain (Album)
Nupe. Nooooope. No way. I’m not doing a writeup for this. I know for a fact that the TAMP Demo writeup will be up by the time I get to this. That’s why this is here. This song literally should not exist. It’s disgraceful. At least it’s not entirely the band’s fault though, the studio messed with the song they originally wanted to release. Oh no, the single worst DT song is entirely their fault, which is about the only thing this has over it.

[Evermind]

Yeah, demo is miles better than the album version.

[Crow]

Quiet day, huh. Oh well.

23. Home
Let’s start out with the best part of the song. That intro. Such a fantastic build-up to the inevitable WOMP WOMP that we all know and love. Seriously though the entire intro is my favorite part, it’s so unique in the DT catalog and it’s a slow build with a huge payoff, just as it should be. Anyways. The main riff of this song is obviously one of DT’s signature riffs, everyone knows it because it’s such a killer riff. Hell, this song just excels in the riff category the entire way through. All things considered, Myung is probably the best on this song out of all the band members though. He owns this song, the intro, the riffs, the bridge, the solo sections, just everything. The way LaBrie sings this song as well, just belting out most every line, is glorious. This is such a strong start to the wonderful second half of SFAM, which completely overshadows the entire first half (note, no first-half SFAM songs are left on my top 50, spoilers!) And the Metropolis chorus reprise is perfect, especially since like Metropolis the lyrics change each time. Dem nuggets. I will say, the entire bridge *would* be the best part if not for the stupid sex noises that bring the entire song down as a whole. I like it musically better than the intro but it’s a bit harder to listen to because we have to ruin our music with samples, but whatever. The instrumentation under the solos is also just hnnnng <3 and the solos themselves are pretty great too.  Also the outro is totally pointless. But it’s short so ehh. Still a great song. WOMP WOMP.

22. Endless Sacrifice
Powerful song. The quiet verses contrast well with the loud, heavy as hell chorus that’s just absolutely wonderful, one of the best DT choruses for sure. The “Moments Wasted” version of the chorus is even better, too. LaBrie really nails it there. The instrumental section is pretty cool too, maybe a bit overlong and maybe they could’ve transitioned better but that’s more nitpicking than complaining. It’s not a real standout or anything, still probably the least good part of the song and all. And then the song’s over. Wait just kidding, after that we get the best part of the song! Hell yes. Those riffs. Are glorious. Can we just. Do that forever? No? Sadness. Oh, well, you’re going to repeat the chorus a few times too? I can deal with that, I mean, it’s still awesome. Oh, okay, now the song’s over. Now I’m sad. Oh yeah, insert comment about how, again, piano + heavy = AWESOME. The last verses, they have piano and they’re heavy and they’re just fantastic. And LaBrie is fantastic on them, too, seriously. The man can sing. Not as good as like, I&W or Awake but still pretty damn good. Seriously though, the entire last few minutes are just. How to do metal amazingly.

21. Repentance
Maybe this is to my taste as someone who quite likes post-rock? I don’t know, but this song is vastly underrated and underappreciated. Which is really something considering that a good bit of it is just reprising This Dying Soul. But in a totally different context that just works so well. And Petrucci’s solo… just gorgeous. This song also has wonderful lyrics. This is such a human song. It’s a song that begs to connected with the listener, it has a specific context but a general message that most anyone can relate to. Also, to whoever says the second half is too long… screw you. I wish it was longer. The first half is good. The second half is PERFECT. From the solo onwards. Just glorious. Again, it’s similar to the feeling I get from good post-rock pieces. I understand why people don’t like this song, I just can’t agree with them.

Tenth Discussion Question: Can a bad sample (like Home's porn) ruin a section or even an entire song for you?

[Prog Snob]

Great update! Repentance is one of my favorite tracks also!  It has one of my favorite JP solos. 

[mikeyd23]

Nice update, I've been catching up and reading through your picks so far, very interesting list! I'm following this thread!

As far as this update is concerned, I LOVE Home and Endless Sacrifice, so its great to see them in the top 25 of your list.  Repentance is a song that I don't dislike, but would personally not rank it as high as you did here. Dat JP solo is pretty special though.

And to your discussion question; I don't think a bad sample has ever ruined an entire song for me, maybe a section of a song, but not a whole song. 

[jakepriest]

Home would definitely be in my top 5 
Endless Sacrifice is amazing and I think it got a rightful rank.
Repentance is a weird song to me. I really enjoy the first half, but as soon as it gets to the part with the "random people saying random stuff" I press skip like there's no tommorow. Screw me right? 

I don't really mind samples that much. The samples I hate the most in DT's music are the 6:00 samples. srsly wtf 

[Evermind]

Well, you know my thoughts about Repentance — don't like it that much. Other songs are fine, and the bad section like Home's porn doesn't ruin the song for me. Though 6:00 samples are really wtf, totally agree with jakepriest.