425's Top 50 Dream Theater Songs v. Singularities

[Outcrier]

Then i would say plenty of Maiden stuff are much more catchier than it 
Also, The Scientist is a nice song but there's plenty of them that have very catchy choruses but are forgotten sometime after (talking about mainstream pop songs).

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Then i would say plenty of Maiden stuff are much more catchier than it 
Also, The Scientist is a nice song but there's plenty of them that have very catchy choruses but are forgotten sometime after (talking about mainstream pop songs).

I don't know if that says more about the songs, or the listener base.

[Crow]

Okay, you have a point, but what I was getting at with that is that he's singing like as the song ends, like instead of him being done singing and then there's another bar or two and then the song ends, he sings as it ends.

That takes care of Surrounded, Metropolis, Burning My Soul, Beneath the Surface and The Bigger Picture all of which are good points if I had meant what I said. I was just being imprecise in my wordings. So Pull Me Under and The Silent Man are valid counterexamples. And Regression, SDV and TMW don't really... they all run into the next song, so... eh. Still, nice long list of counterpoints Actually, I do appreciate it because it proves to me that someone is actually reading what I write (I'm really paranoid that people aren't).

Surrounded and The Bigger Picture would still count actually, both of those the last sung note is in unison with the last musical note. I guess Mangini does a drummy thing at the end of TBP but LaBrie is holding the note the entire way so

Also hmm if I were to do an album ranking

Awake
I&W
SFAM
8VM
TOT
ADTOE
FII
6DOIT
SC
BC&SL
WDADU
DT12

so I won't get mad at you putting 6DOIT that low.
If 6DOIT was only disc one it would be higher for me.

[Sacul]

6DOIT worst album?

[jakepriest]

6DOIT worst album?

This.

[sneakyblueberry]

Almost anything by Lady Gaga.

Fuck yeah.

[son_ov_hades]

6DOIT worst album?

This.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Almost anything by Lady Gaga.

Fuck yeah.

\o

[sneakyblueberry]

o/*

[425]

16. Illumination Theory

Until you struggle through the dark
You’ll never know that you’re alive



Images:
The newest epic doesn’t reach the stature of most of the classics and is the tiniest bit disjointed, but it’s still an excellent song with some really brilliant technicality and melodies.

I. Paradoxe de la Lumiére Noire:
The beginning of this song is just massive, with that huge symphonic melody and great playing by the band under it.

II. Live, Die, Kill:
Then, we have this excellent opening instrumental section with some great riffing by John and strong drumming by Mr. Mangini. Another one of those bits I like to mention a lot where the band just takes us through a lot of great musical themes, all of which are excellent and flow well together. Then there’s that riff. That gorgeous, catchy riff. James comes in and sounds pretty good, singing some really catchy vocal melodies. I love “hope can be a shadow fleeting… final act of faith.” And I love the little thing that Jordan plays right after the vocal part ends. The band carries us through some more fantastic music on their way to the end of the first part of the song.

III. The Embracing Circle:
This part is like nothing the band had ever done. On their twelfth studio album, so just contemplate that.

The ambient section is an interesting part, and while it’s not my favorite style, it’s really well done. The symphonic part is the best part of The Embracing Circle. It’s just such emotional center for the song. To me, it’s kind of a contemplative section, between the questions of Live, Die, Kill and the answers of The Pursuit of Truth and Surrender, Trust & Passion. And what’s more, it’s really beautiful. Really really beautiful.

IV. The Pursuit of Truth:
The bass and drum intro is heart stopping, but it’s not done yet. I didn’t think James LaBrie could impress me anymore. I thought he could perform brilliantly, yes, but not impress. He did with that bit. I simply didn’t know he could still sing like this. He does very well. And then the “Noble and brave” section is great, and then the instrumental section is just an excellent release of that classic Dream Theater craziness that we hadn’t seen much of on this album.

That moment, actually. 13:06. Oh my god. Out of that chaotic stuff, John… Oh my god, John brings this incredible guitar solo. Brilliant. And then the keyboard solo… Jordan is almost as good, and then there’s even more from both of them. Just an amazing DT instrumental section.

V. Surrender, Trust & Passion:
The return to a rather symphonic bit is well-timed after instrumental chaos. Mike carries this section forward well to James’s re-entrance, which is excellent. Then John plays an excellent guitar solo to bring it home. Way to end an epic by calling back but not duplicating Razor’s Edge.

But then it’s not over (I don’t care what anyone says, check the discography listed on the 360 app: Surrender, Trust & Passion is a 7:00 long movement and Illumination Theory is a 22:17 song; it’s official). The last bit gives a bit of serenity after the emotional roller coaster of the preceding 19 minutes, and oddly somewhat calls back Eve. John and Jordan are brilliant on this bit, I would pay large sums of money for an album of the two of them playing in this style.

Words:
These aren’t John’s very best lyrics ever, but they do transmit an interesting message and maintain a loose storyline that fits the music of this… unusual song. And the words to Surrender, Trust & Passion are simply uplifting, no matter how cliched some may think they are.





15. Lines in the Sand

Baptized, enlightened, surrounded and frightened
And blind to the lines in the sand



Images:
What a gorgeous song. This begins with that truly excellent keyboard intro that is one of the things I love about Derek Sherinian’s performance on this album. Finally, John and Derek build us into that jazzy riff and we’re off to the races with brilliance. Then the little mini instrumental section before we finally get into the vocals. All just excellent. By the way, I’ll just say this: take a bow, Mr. Myung, for a seriously brilliant performance. The vocal melodies are really good here, too, and I like Doug Pinnick’s contributions on the chorus to give that more gospel-esque feel. The second verse section takes it up a notch and gets even better. This song is just so brilliant. And we’re only halfway through.

The middle section is another amazing bit with John’s excellent guitar solo. Not my very favorite of this type, but it stands its ground. The vocal section that follows is also quite good, though the high part is one of those parts on this album where the limitations that James had at this time show the tiniest bit. The instrumental section that follows this is a masterful build back to the last verse section, which is itself a masterful build.

But there’s something missing, at least in the studio version. I homaged it in my choice of lyrics to quote. That extra verse just pushes this song over the top and I miss it every time I hear the studio version (I don’t have CiM or Bucharest so the studio version is the only decent audio quality version I have). If Shirley hadn’t cut that one bit… This would be just perfect. I mean. “AND THE MYSTERIES WE NURTURE ARE THE FABRICS OF OUR LIVES… BAPTIZED, ENLIGHTENED.” But no. Still, this song is brilliant and you should love it, and if you don’t love it, I don’t like you (just kidding though).

Words:
These are some of my favorite John Petrucci lyrics. I love his use of religious imagery throughout the song, particularly on the “sometimes…” verses. The words mesh so well with the music and the use of Doug Pinnick as a backing vocalist. It’s really a gorgeous combination.





14. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

A journey to find the answers inside
Our illusive mind



Images:
This song is perhaps the closest Dream Theater has come to a full-on classical composition (aside from the obvious two minutes in the middle of Illumination Theory). It has the orchestral Overture, obviously, but also just puts so heavy an emphasis on bringing in a number of truly brilliant melodies. This is a great 42 minute suite/song (I use them interchangeably for this composition though obviously there are some compositions that are just one and not the other, like ACOS or AMBI), plain and simple. It has a few excesses, with the major one being too many solo sections, but the number is actually surprisingly low for a song of this length. Another minor thing to note is that unlike something like Octavarium, it is very obvious that this song was written in chunks that were then added together (which is why I think it warrants the suite label). Not necessarily the worst thing in the world, just something to think about.

This is a beast so I’ll try to keep it as brief as possible, saying only a few favorite things about each section.

I. Overture:
This is one of the few sections that ever feels a little excessive, but I really don’t mind because all the parts of it are excellent.. Overture does well at introducing the many themes of this magnificent melodic suite, and sounds especially great when played by the real orchestra on Score, though I do like that Jordan’s synth version on the album also features some playing by the rest of the band on certain sections.

II. About to Crash:
The piano intro to this section is gorgeous and James is stunning on the entire movement. I really love him on the entire song, actually, but this is a highlight. One of the poppy sections of this song that really sets it apart from the first disc, which is... incredibly not. I also like the use of backing vocals from time to time in this section. This is one of the movements on which the solo section feels perhaps a bit superfluous and messes maybe a bit with the pacing, but actually it’s quite good in spite of that.

III. War Inside My Head:
This movement is certainly a trend toward the metal side of the suite, but it’s still extraordinarily melodic. I love the way the intro introduces the melodies before diving into the verses. James brings the right edge of aggression to these verses and Mike is simply excellent trading off with him on the chorus. This one is the only section that feels like it’s over way too soon.

IV. The Test That Stumped Them All:
This is my second favorite intro of all the movements on this suite. I love the soloing at the beginning and then the way these tease for a quite a while before diving into that brilliant main riff. James is again excellent at bringing an aggressive edge to the singing. The chorus is… eccentric, with James getting in character, and Mike doing… honestly, I don’t know. But somehow it mostly fits with the tone of the song, since it is critical of outdated psychiatric practices. This movement is the other one with a solo section that, while good, maybe messes with the pacing sometimes for me.

V. Goodnight Kiss:
The transition into this from Test is the most noticeable one in the suite, obviously, but I still don’t think it is a bad one. I love how the song calms down at this point and then slowly builds back up to About to Crash and carries momentum there into the Grand Finale. On the topic of this actual section, James carries this bit and does so beautifully. I love the instrumentation particularly between the first half and second half of the lyrics. Then there’s the guitar solo, which has to be top 10 for John Petrucci. Just gorgeous and making me rethink my placement of SDOIT in my album rankings (but… TGD, Misunderstood ending, Disappear… nope, it’s staying there right behind the great Falling Into Infinity ).

VI. Solitary Shell:
Another rather poppy section. The chorus is very catchy and almost anthemic, which is odd to say about a chorus about autism. Some great acoustic guitar playing by John and I really also love Jordan’s keyboards on this one.

VII. About to Crash (Reprise):
The entrance of this section is simply epic. The way they come out of Solitary into that infectious guitar riff, and then Jordan jumps on the keyboard section… I also like how they tease out of the main verse and then come back to it before James soars amazingly in. Seriously, he and Jordan share the MVP award for this suite. This movement also possess my favorite solo section aside from Goodnight Kiss. In fact, if I had to pick a favorite movement, it might well be this one.

VIII. Losing Time/Grand Finale:
This is just an EPIC ending to the suite. First of all, the Losing Time bit is simply gorgeous. James sings his heart out and persists in being perfect (gushing time again!) and so damn emotional. I love him. And then it goes seamlessly into the Grand Finale, on which James continues to shine and shine and shine. Those vocal melodies are SO GOOD oh my god (I just can’t stop gushing, I’m writing this one first so maybe this mood will carry over to my other writeups). And then… “Our illuuuuuuusiiiiiiive miiiind…” that drum fill and then that note. And that note and that note and then dum dum dum dum dum dum TAKE ME AS I AM. Okay done gushing, I’ll actually give some serious thoughts on the whole thing:

This is just such a good epic filled with some brilliant melodies. I’m second guessing this placement a little, but I do really love all the other songs above it just as much or more. This one does fluctuate for me a little, too, which justifies the placement. There are just days when it’s too much, too ambitious.

To continue to fan the flames a bit: I do wish that they’d used the songwriting style/philosophy they used on this on the rest of the album. It could have been one of their best albums if everything was like this, instead of probably their worst.

Words:
The lyrics in this song, despite covering a variety of subjects and coming from two different lyricists, are actually really good all the way through. To someone more pedantic than myself, it might be bothersome that they alternate seemingly at random between first person and omniscient third person perspectives, but I think John just went with what seemed to be the best for the particularly topic he was discussion (and Mike always did first person). I like, actually, how the reprise of About to Crash makes it more personal. Anyway, all of the lyrics are riveting descriptions of the disorders they cover, though I think John outperformed Mike by a hair on this song. I really love the way John brings everything together at the end, explaining the purpose of the subject matter and emphasizing an important message. Not to mention the fact that that section is amazingly well-phrased.





13. Space-Dye Vest

And I’ll smile and I’ll learn to pretend
And I’ll never be open again



Images:
This song is just beautiful. Haunting. Sad. But beautiful all the same.

Kevin Moore’s piano intro is beautiful. Then, he pushes into the main melody with sampled audio effects to provide an entire soundscape of… well, despair. James and Kevin sing together throughout this track, their voices blending to provide the appropriate emotion of extreme and despairing numbness. The use of samples perfectly punctuates the piano sections between verses. The piano buildup at the end of the “He’s the sort who can’t understand…” sample into the guitar entrance is one of those brilliant sections. The piano breakdown is also gorgeous, with the “You’re not in this house by 9:00” sample playing behind it.

Then, the vocal section that follows is so incredibly powerful. “Never come near me again—do you really think I need you… I’ll never be open…” Chills. Such powerful chills. Then the full band moment where the final singing carries the desperate mood all the way to the end of the song. The drum fill is a moment of emotional height, but Kevin then emphasizes the numbness with the piano at the very end. So haunting.

This isn’t one of those songs that you listen everyday and get all peppy about. This is one of those songs that you listen to on repeat at 2AM after a breakup. It’s so beautiful, though, one of the most beautiful compositions DT ever released. And I never get tired of it. Thank you, Kevin.

Words:
The lyrics are simply brilliant. Of course, they are, it’s Kevin Moore. Still. Kevin brings in this odd psychological phenomenon and then turns it into the most depressing, heart-wrenching breakup song ever. “Never come near me again—do you really think I need you?” Gorgeous. Again, thank you, Kevin.





Album 11. Falling Into Infinity



This album is one that just strikes me as very inconsistent, with a lot of variety between really good stuff and stuff that is rather poor. New Millennium has good parts but fails to excite me as a whole, mostly because I really don’t like a lot of the vocal melodies (Mike Portnoy’s inexperience in that department really shows on this track). You Not Me is an improvement in the vocal melodies department but it’s still not that great a song and is probably weaker than New Millennium overall (NM has parts I actually really like though the whole falls short, while YNM is mediocre all around). Unlike many, I don’t like Peruvian Skies all too much either. It’s an improvement over the first two, but it’s probably in my bottom 20. It just doesn’t really bring anything that especially interests me to the table. So the first 20 or so minutes of the album is all stuff that I don’t really like all too much.

The album does finally get good once Hollow Years begins. This song is a seriously great ballad and is an example of the commercial approach done right. Burning My Soul is not as strong but still good. Hell’s Kitchen is not as good as people say but continues the string of solid music and delivers us to Lines in the Sand, which is an amazing epic and one of the two highlights of the album.

Then it sours again. Take Away My Pain is not bad, but this arrangement is kind of weird and detracts from the emotional quality of the song; it’s not what it could have been. Just Let Me Breathe is kind of just there, which isn’t a quality I look for in a Dream Theater song. Anna Lee is the same way. Luckily, the album finishes on a very strong note with Trial of Tears.

So, the issue for me is that the album starts with 20 minutes I don’t especially love, then does a little over 25 minutes I enjoy, then returns for 15 more weak minutes and 13 more good minutes. So the album is almost half material that I consider among the weakest in the band’s catalog much of which I don’t particularly care to listen to. The good stuff on the album is seriously good, especially Lines, Trial and Hollow Years, but the weak points are really weak. And there’s a lot of songs that are just “there,” which as I said is a problem for DT.

I’m not going to rush to assign blame to anyone, I just think this album is pretty weak. Replacing NM and YNM with Raise the Knife would certainly have helped, and would have made the mediocre TAMP/JLMB/AL swing be a lot more forgivable, but it wouldn’t raise it too much higher on my list. There’s just a really high standard when it comes to DT and this album has too much material that just doesn’t make the cut.

Why does it edge out SDOIT? Well, each album has three stellar songs and then a lot of material that doesn’t do a lot for me. FII’s #3 beats out SDOIT’s #3 and so on, which is part of why it comes out ahead. The other part is that FII does bring a lot of that catchy stuff that I enjoy a lot and blasted SDOIT for excluding. Even the songs that are on the mediocre side and are just “there” at least have a catchy chorus (JLMB, YNM), which means that FII is a lot more fun than SDOIT as an album to put on in the background, even though I’m unlikely to actually do so. It’s close but FII does win it.

[Bolsters]

Solid update.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Illumination Theory is pretty good, though it probably wouldn't rank very high for me. Lines In The Sand has some stuff I like, and some stuff I don't like. The inclusion of Dug Pinnick is just bizarre, I don't think he really fits at all. Part of the problem, I think, is JLB is singing, then all of a sudden this "oh-yeeeahahhhh" comes in. WTF. I mean, if you're gonna have him guest, at least let him sing a verse, then he might not sound so out of place. But I digress.

I listened to Six Degrees again last night, reaffirming that it is in (whoa, check that out) fact my favorite DT song, and probably one of my top 3 (2? 1?) favorite songs of all time.

Space Dye Vest is amazing, cannot argue with that.

[Crow]

My two least favorite epics. Ahh well!
Agree with you that the Baptized, Enlightened verse of LitS shouldn't have been cut since it would've been incredible that way but ehh. Still an amazing song 
Also SDV is amazing too yes.
But yeah I don't like IT and 6DOIT and might just be skipping those write-ups because I really can't give a damn about either...
Also FII definitely doesn't only start being good at Hollow Years. in fact Hollow Years is just meh for me. But it's got a lot of good songs and only two really bad ones mixed in with some meh ones as well. Not their best by any means but not that bad either.

[yeah_93]

I'd put Space Dye Vest higher, and Illumination Theory lower.

[sneakyblueberry]

I'd put Space Dye Vest higher, and Illumination Theory lower.

I was just about to say, I didn't expect to see SDV this high but I agree with you

[jakepriest]

The only song I care for from this update is SDV.

[Prog Snob]

Excellent update!  Even though IT didn't make it into my Top 50, it's still an amazing piece of music.  If I were to do another Top 50 starting tomorrow, it would definitely make it in there. I knew the song just had to grow on me. After seeing some of the live performances this song is just a monster! 

The rest of the songs are 100% solid choices.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

I think I'd put IT a smidge higher.

*flameshield*

Nice update.

[425]

Two more and an album. Just so you know, a) I did the song writeups yesterday during that period of gushing, so there's that, and b) I didn't get lazy, these are just short songs whose beauty obvious to me, so I didn't feel the need to say that much. If you want to read a long thing, just wait until you get to the album writeup.





12. Surrounded

Morning comes too early and nighttime falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait



Images:
The piano intro to this song is heavenly, as is James’s singing. The beginning to this song is just extraordinarily gorgeous and emotionally weighty. The guitar intro is tasteful and really pretty. Meanwhile Mike’s subtle drumming carries the song forward well. The riff that opens up out of that is really good, too. James continues to deliver a brilliant performance on all the verses of the song. I particularly love “It’s been a long long time… light to dark dark to light light to dark dark to light.” That last part especially is just brilliant. Then it gets super intense for a moment before going into the last, most vocally astounding verse of the rock section. The piano outro is just as great as the intro and this song ends as beautifully as it began (and far too soon).

Words:
These are actually probably my favorite Kevin Moore lyrics. All the imagery on this song is too brilliant to name all my favorites, but the intro is probably the best. I’m sorry, but the line “Morning comes too early” is just… how is Kevin that good a writer? Beautiful beautiful beautiful.





11. Wait for Sleep

She shuts the doors and lights and lays her body on the bed
Where images and words are running deep



Images:
This is one of my favorite piano ballads. Kevin’s main melody is just off-the-charts beautiful. James brings such emotion to the song and really nails the entire song. The best part of the entire song is “in with the ashes.” It’s just a beautiful song. The ending of the song is gorgeous and goes well into Learning to Live.

Words:
The words to this song are about a woman who can’t sleep, but Kevin does so well at making it so much much more. He brings in a lot of great imagery, as he so often does, and really makes the listener feel the woman’s suffering. I especially love “God give me the power to take breath from a breeze…”





Album 10. When Dream and Day Unite



Dream Theater’s debut is regarded by many fans as their worst album, and though I put it ahead of two (including SDOIT ), I can understand why. The production is poor, the songwriting is at times immature, and Charlie is not nearly as good a singer for the band as James. However, there is a high enough gold-to-rust ratio on this album for me to justify to myself the decision to put it in tenth, above SDOIT and FII.

The main reason for this is simply that I can sit down and listen to WDADU without getting somewhat bored partway through (TGD, multiple points in FII). This album has my attention from the beginning and is exciting all the way through, even on the weaker songs. WDADU starts off very strong with A Fortune In Lies, which is to this day among the band’s best songs. Status Seeker isn’t a favorite, but it has a nice chorus. I like it better than any of the first three on FII. Ytse Jam is great as is, of course, The Killing Hand. The front half of When Dream and Day Unite is damn near flawless. The back half is less excellent. Light Fuse and Get Away is probably the most poorly written song ever released on a Dream Theater album—there are good musical ideas and melodies, but there are also some questionable ones and the overall structure of the song is fairly poor (it jumps from one section to the next without warning and without regard to sensible composition). Afterlife is a good song, but it’s one of those that I like when I hear it on the album but never seek out. The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun is an oddball: the intro is long and strange and slightly pointless, but once the song gets going, it’s another very solid track with a great chorus. Only a Matter of Time is just a stellar way to close the album, it is one of my favorites. The thing I love most about this album, actually, is the eager youthful ambition that OAMOT epitomizes. It’s an outlook less mature than that of Images and Words, just as that album demonstrates an optimism less mature than the attitude showcased on A Dramatic Turn of Events. But there’s something really uplifting about the attitude that is unique to WDADU. It’s as though the band feels that failure is not even possibility, or that even if it was, it doesn’t matter. “I understand mine’s a risky plan and your system can’t miss, but is security after all a cause or symptom of happiness?"

When Dream and Day Unite is not the perfect album, and it’s not an album to play for someone who holds a negative view of prog because it falls into all the classic prog metal traps: jerky instrumental sections, jarring transitions, less-than-excellent songwriting, and very apparent Rush worship. This is why it can’t rise above 10th place in my ranking. However, for the patient listener, this album has a lot to offer. It has a lot of really great songs with some very lovely melodies and choruses. It also serves as the beginning of the Dream Theater story; a point of reference for later albums. And, of course, it has that beautiful optimistic attitude. For that reason, When Dream and Day Unite is, in my opinion, a great album and an essential one for the Dream Theater fan.

[425]

And, since we're now on the top 10, it's time for y'all to make some guesses about what crazy thing I'll do next. I will tell you that there are at least two songs in my top 10 that I think will be seen as VERY controversial choices.

Here's a recap for ease of reference:

56. Constant Motion
55. The Shattered Fortress
54. Wither
53. The Looking Glass
52. Raise the Knife
51. Panic Attack
50. Along for the Ride
49. Voices
48. This Dying Soul
47. Blind Faith
46. The Mirror
45. Home
44. Hollow Years
43. Eve
42. Sacrificed Sons
41. The Spirit Carries On
40. Another Day
39. In the Presence of Enemies
38. One Last Time
37. Pull Me Under
36. Another Hand/The Killing Hand
35. Vacant
34. A Fortune in Lies
33. This Is the Life
32. Finally Free
31. A Change of Seasons
30. Stream of Consciousness
29. Beneath the Surface
28. On the Backs of Angels
27. Endless Sacrifice
26. Caught In a Web
25. Only a Matter of Time
24. The Ministry of Lost Souls
23. Scarred
22. These Walls
21. 6:00
20. Beyond This Life
19. The Glass Prison
18. Under a Glass Moon
17. Take the Time
16. Illumination Theory
15. Lines in the Sand
14. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
13. Space-Dye Vest
12. Surrounded
11. Wait for Sleep

[bl5150]

great update 425 - two beautiful songs from an amazing album...............and I don't rate WDADU in my bottom couple either

[Laughingplace56]

My guesses for your top 10 (no particular order):
Octavarium
Surrender to Reason
Breaking All Illusions
Learning to Live
Bridges in the Sky
In the Name of God
Metropolis Pt 1
The Dance of Eternity
The Silent Man
Overture 1928

[Evermind]

WFS is exactly where I placed it in my Top 50. Great choice.

[Crow]

I'm lame and never really have been big on WFS, it's not bad or anything but just very meh. Surrounded is great though, not something quite this high in my ranking but still quite good.
Also I've been lazy on top 10 guessing as of late maybe I should go and try or maybe not?

[?]

Lots of KevMo love lately; I can't complain

[Ruba]

Your bottom three albums are my numbers 5, 4 and 3, respectively. biggrin:

[425]

My guesses for your top 10 (no particular order):
Octavarium
Surrender to Reason
Breaking All Illusions
Learning to Live
Bridges in the Sky
In the Name of God
Metropolis Pt 1
The Dance of Eternity
The Silent Man
Overture 1928

You got some right and some wrong. And that's all I have to say about that.

I'm lame and never really have been big on WFS, it's not bad or anything but just very meh. Surrounded is great though, not something quite this high in my ranking but still quite good.
Also I've been lazy on top 10 guessing as of late maybe I should go and try or maybe not?

If you want to make a guess, I say go for it! It would be fun to see more of what people think I'm going to do, only to have me crush their dreams when something ends up not being top 10, but actually outside the top 56.

[Sacul]

Top 10:

Burning my soul
The Great Debate
Just let me Breath
Afterlife
Another Won
Far from Heaven
You not me
Build me up Break me down
A rite of passage
The one who helps to set the sun

[425]

That's it exactly... How did you guess?

[Crow]

Did as much research as I care to do, I know at least 4 songs for certain and 4 more with a decent chance. Filled out the last two with random-ish guesses based on what I know. Picking out only 2 songs from a list of 15-20 is tough though, you didn't make it *that* easy though there were naturally spoilers, especially in the album ranking posts 

1. Learning to Live
2. Far From Heaven
3. Metropolis
4. Trial of Tears
5. Octavarium
6. The Dark Eternal Night (eugh :<)
7. In The Name of God
8. The Count of Tuscany
9. The Answer Lies Within
10. Breaking All Illusions

Through Her Eyes is an honorary #11 and probably more likely than BAI but I don't want two songs I hate in your top 10 so I'm going to imagine this is more likely. Still probably half-wrong knowing my luck 

[Prog Snob]

Top 10:

Burning my soul
The Great Debate
Just let me Breath
Afterlife
Another Won
Far from Heaven
You not me
Build me up Break me down
A rite of passage
The one who helps to set the sun

You forgot Raw Dog

[425]

Here's the first entry in my top ten. And it's one that no one guessed, so  and once again  .






10. The Bigger Picture

When I see the distant lights illuminate the night
Then I will know I am home



Images:
When I first got the new album, this was the only song that really caught me ear. I liked sections of other songs, too, like Illumination Theory, which obviously did grow on me. But for a while, this was the only song from the self-titled that I spun with any frequency. But did I ever spin it. For a month or two, this was one of the only songs I listened to at all. I just love the optimistic attitude conveyed by both the music and the lyrics. This one is an instant classic.

The song starts off with a big, heavy-ish full intro that quickly fades into the first, piano only verse. Immediately, the song conveys this immense mood of optimism in the face of tribulation that James only adds to with his singing. Then, that immense chorus comes in. It’s just so full of emotion and positivity and has such great vocal melodies, I love it. The next verse is even better. This is one of the sections on this album where James’s layered vocals just work for the song and sound excellent (“prophecy’s a blessing and a curse”).

The song goes from excellent to elite after the second chorus, when John plays that excellent guitar lead that goes right into the “what if, caught in a moment” verse. This is even more powerful than the earlier verses, and I just can’t say enough about how good James is here, too.

Then the best part comes. I love the way they take it down again to just Jordan’s piano for another break, then have John build it back up. Incredible pacing for a seven minute song. And then James comes in with his heavenly delivery on the brilliant ending verses. The last line especially is just a beautiful ending to this beautiful song.

Words:
The words are well fit to the music and are gorgeous in their own right. This is almost a return to John’s 80s/early 90s form, though with a little more evident of a meaning. Every line, every image is a beautiful artistic way of coming back to the idea of battling adversity. The very best section, of course, is the last section, and the last line is just beautiful; one of those lines that just sticks with you for a long time. “When I see the distant lights illuminate the night, then I will know I am home.” Gorgeous, so very gorgeous.





Album 9. Systematic Chaos



Systematic Chaos is one of the most often maligned albums of Dream Theater’s discography. I agree that it is among their weaker records, but I do not by any means find it to be bad. It’s just somewhat inconsistent and limited.

The epics of this album, In the Presence of Enemies and The Ministry of Lost Souls, are nothing short of excellent. It weakens the impact of ITPOE when listening to it in the context of the album that it is split, but I think the split works best for the overall flow of the album. The two heavy songs of the album, Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night, are both massively fun songs and are excellent in their own right. Repentance, though it is narrowly my least favorite Twelve Step Suite song, is also quite good. The only section of it that I find less than excellent is the musicians apologizing part, which is just a tad overlong. These five songs would make for an excellent album. However, the rest of the tracks bring it down a bit. Prophets of War and Forsaken aren’t bad, but, like songs like You Not Me and Just Let Me Breathe, they’re ultimately forgettable. Both of them try to do something different, which is commendable and made them interesting to me at first, but over time their luster diminished.

More important than this, though, in determining my ranking of SC, is the limited range of the album. It’s obvious that the band intended to write an over-the-top album that sometimes doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m fine with that in small doses, but ultimately I do prefer something more genuine and serious. Enemies, Ministry and Repentance get pretty close to this at times, especially Repentance, but the overall mood of an album with Forsaken, Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night on it cannot be anything but over-the-top and intentionally so. As a result, I find that I have less love for this than I do many of the band’s other albums and that I listen to it less often. It’s a damn good album, with less weak stuff than FII, SDOIT or WDADU. But it beats WDADU just by a hair, and is probably a more situational album for me (I have to be in a particular mood to listen to the songs from it) than any other DT album. My feelings towards it are simply that it is a great album, and there are times when I enjoy it immensely, but it’s also often not my cup of tea and in general cannot be said to be exactly what I want from music.

[Laughingplace56]

Love TBP and after making my list and listening to the song more, it deserves better than the #38 spot I gave it.

I'd put SC at #9 too I think. I like the album. ITPOE and TMoLS are amazing, CM and TDEN are awesome, Forsaken and PoW are ok, and I don't like Repentance.

I'm still calling Octavarium, Bridges in the Sky, LtL, Metropolis, and ITNOG.

[Crow]

Maybe I'm biased to generally ignore DT12 songs, even if this is the best of them 

[Evermind]

After my first listen to DT12 all I could remember from TBP was "the bigger picture!" in the chorus. Now I remember the whole chorus and some intro bits, but the song itself isn't even close to my Top 50.