Hi all,
I just wanted to start off by saying that i'm fairly new here and fairly new to DT as a whole. And I'm sorry for such a long post.
I just really needed a good venue to express how much I appreciate DTs music, and how much it has helped me over the last couple of months. I have been going through a tough time in my life as I approach nearly being 30, between a sudden breakup of my last gf and lots of thoughts about my overall future. Emotional issues that have caused me to lose 25lbs+ in less than two months. It almost seems like i'm hitting my "quarter-life crisis" a little later than some people haha. So needless to say, i've been a wreck.
Over the last few years I was a "causal" DT fan. I only knew maybe one or two songs (songs like CM and PA), that I had in my music rotation. My overall music tastes mostly surrounds around rock and metal, any type really. I love good melodies, good vocals. I'm not too picky about it, as long as it sounds good. I'm not a musician so I can't say I can fully "appreciate" the talent that goes into some bands (like DT), but I can definitely understand it as I know its not easy, and its very unique.
The last month or so, I have been listening to DT almost non-stop. Any time I feel kind of in a depressed mood, overcome by my thoughts, I just blast pretty much any album and it helps me calm down better than anything else I have tried. Nearly every morning, I start my day listening to "Panic Attack", which actually calms me down on some of those mornings when I feel like I have an actual panic attack oncoming. Its been my escape from reality and my thoughts.
I drive a car with a really nice 5.1 DVD-A surround system, so I have really been using it as best I can (I bought SC in 5.1, and have a couple live DT DVDs that I play often). The sound system in my car is better than anything I have at home so lately I have been spending a lot of time there.
The emotions I feel while listening to some of the songs, how I can feel the passion behind the music, and the meaning by the lyrics, it gives me chills and really affects me as a whole. Its just that feeling you get thats hard to explain. There have been times where i've just sat in my car for an hour or longer just blasting DT. Sometimes i'll play other bands, but I always end up switching back to DT.
One of the main reasons I'm so glad I found is community is because I don't have many friends that know about DT, so I don't have anyone close to really share my appreciation of the band. Seeing this community and how active it is really brought a smile to my face. I have been kind of a lurker on this community, but reading the opinions of fellow DT fans, and learning about some other more obscure songs has also really helped me grow a bigger appreciation of this band.
I hope at some point to actually see DT live. If I do, I know i'll probably be so overcome with emotion. I live in FL, and I think the last time there were here was years ago.
So, I just wanted to send a big thank you to Dream Theater, and this community. It has been, and continues to be, a huge help in my life. I look forward to getting to know a lot of you guys! I'm sorry if this post was all over the place, It was just a big dump of my emotions that i've had for a while, and I don't have many people in my life that would probably understand this as well as the community here.
Also if you guys have any other suggestions of some lesser known or obscure DT songs for me to listen to, or what songs you play to help escape from reality, I would definitely be interested in knowing. I'm an open book thats still trying to fully go through the DT catalog.