listening to all discography again.

[jdprsaga]

A few months ago, I decided to start listening to all dream theater studio albums while commuting (driving) from/to work mostly as background music, from wdadu to dot. a few interesting things happened.

1. from train of thought all the way to DT 12, It felt a little monotonous.
2. I felt in love with "The Answer Lies Within", a song I really didn't appreciate before, I guess time/experience change us and make us see things through different glasses.
3. Even though I'm not a fan, The astonishing felt like a HUGE break from the monotony, I was not expecting that. would be better if shorter though.
4. dot felt good after the astonishing break.

don't know if others have gone through something similar/your thoughts.

[Lonk]

I usually listen to their discography in preparation for a new release. But I do it backwards, starting with the most recent release to WDADU.

Usually the biggest surprise is WDADU, I end up enjoying it a lot, specially the first half.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I also tend to listen to the discography again before a new record. Over the last couple weeks I revisited a bunch of songs I never connected with on SDOIT thru BCSL. Some grew on me a little more and some still don't click. Either way, it gets me more excited for the new record and to learn a few JP riffs on guitar.

[jayvee3]

I definitely start listening more again with any upcoming new release. This time, I have made a DT playlist which has every studio version song plus most of the Cleaning out the Closet album. I have made a few amendments such as getting rid of the Nomac tracks and Whispers on the Wind from TA, and Repentence, which just isn’t for me. I’ve also got the radio edit of Misunderstood which I feel is superior, JLB versions of WDADReunite and little things like that.

I essentially just put this on shuffle to completely randomise the tracks. I’ve listened to so many of their albums as a whole over the years, I really find this gives a fresh perspective. The one that always surprises me listening like this is The Astonishing, where so many of the tracks stand up really well on their own (at least to me anyway). It’s also good to randomly hear something you haven’t heard for a while and think, “gee, that’s better than I remember”, or even “that track doesn’t sound as good as I remember, or it’s better in an album context”.

Definitely a really enjoyable way for me to listen at the moment…

[Wim Kruithof]

since DT fills 95% of the music I listen to, I’ll visit them all on regular base. Recently I digged my way in the lyrics much more then before, which gaves some tracks definetly a new dept, like Ministry of Lost Souls for example.

At the moment I do a lot of Last Not Forgotten Archives listening, which change my perspective on previous albums also…

[GasparXR]

I usually listen to their discography in preparation for a new release. But I do it backwards, starting with the most recent release to WDADU.

Usually the biggest surprise is WDADU, I end up enjoying it a lot, specially the first half.

I just started doing this (forwards) and WDADU also surprised me. Although Dominici is not JLB and I far prefer JLB in Dream Theater, CD is definitely still a great singer and close to a good fit for DT's sound, at least with the sound they had back then. Some songs like Status Seeker and Afterlife, he sounds stellar on. I still consider it their weakest album, since some songs like Light Fuse have some strange tempo changes and songwriting choices, but damn, DT's weakest album is still really good

[Pettor]

Listening to the full DT discography (except WDADU) before an album release is a tradition at this point. I am currently at 8V and my reactions so far has been:

- Pull me Under is great! What happened. This has never been a favourite but now I get it. Maybe the most enjoyable song on I&W this time around.
- FII is a drag still but New Millenium is actually quite cool!
- Scenes is still the best flowing and varied album they done. I already heard Scenes from Live in London and didn't even look forward to Scenes right now. Still it's just fantastic once I start listening.
- SDOIT should have a remake where they add a real orchestra (or Spitfire BBC SO that I know Jordan uses) so we have the studio version for that as well. Not important but would be cool.
- ToT is a blast. I have so much fun with this one. Def the most groovy / fun melodies of any album they have. It's perfect to put on in the car or in the background as well.

[Revenge319]

I'm doing a Dream Theater marathon myself, though I'd started it just to update my song rankings. But since AVFTTOTW is getting closer, I definitely want to finish my marathon before that album comes out. I just finished listening to DT12, so I've only got two albums left in the marathon!

Some new observations:
- Take the Time is still a bottom 10 DT song (which basically means it's still an 8/10).
- Under A Glass Moon has grown on me some more, though I still don't think the guitar solo is anything special.
- Voices has gone from the tier of "basically perfection" to the tier "one of my favorite songs of all time".
- The Mirror is amazing.
- Through Her Eyes would be guaranteed a spot in my Top 20 if it weren't for the female vocals in the first minute.
- The Glass Prison is a song that has just recently influenced my life on some level, and for that I love it more than I already do.
- 8:10-9:05 of Misunderstood is one of the greatest moments in Dream Theater's discography. I'm not joking.
- Disappear is now my favorite song from Disc 1 of SDOIT.
- Honor Thy Father is still my least favorite Dream Theater song.
- Sacrificed Sons is probably the one song that has gone down in my rankings the most. It's a pretty good song, but I feel like I greatly overrated it in the past.
- There are many songs I consider better than Forsaken, but I have no idea why it seems to have this reputation of being one of the worst things Dream Theater's ever done.
- I now prefer The Best of Times to The Count of Tuscany.
- Breaking All Illusions was once in my Top 10... It is now a little further down the rankings.
- I don't get the hype for Surrender to Reason. I really like some of the lyrics, but everything else just isn't all that interesting for Dream Theater's standards.
- I feel like Along for the Ride gets too much flak and I have no idea why.

[Pettor]

I'm doing a Dream Theater marathon myself, though I'd started it just to update my song rankings. But since AVFTTOTW is getting closer, I definitely want to finish my marathon before that album comes out. I just finished listening to DT12, so I've only got two albums left in the marathon!

Some new observations:
- Take the Time is still a bottom 10 DT song (which basically means it's still an 8/10).
- Under A Glass Moon has grown one me some more, though I still don't think the guitar solo is anything special.
- Voices has gone from the tier of "basically perfection" to the tier "one of my favorite songs of all time".
- The Mirror is amazing.
- Through Her Eyes would be guaranteed a spot in my Top 20 if it weren't for the female vocals in the first minute.
- The Glass Prison is a song that has just recently influenced my life on some level, and for that I love it more than I already do.
- 8:10-9:05 of Misunderstood is one of the greatest moments in Dream Theater's discography. I'm not joking.
- Disappear is now my favorite song from Disc 1 of SDOIT.
- Honor Thy Father is still my least favorite Dream Theater song.
- Sacrificed Sons is probably the one song that has gone down in my rankings the most. It's a pretty good song, but I feel like I greatly overrated it in the past.
- There are many songs I consider better than Forsaken, but I have no idea why it seems to have this reputation of being one of the worst things Dream Theater's ever done.
- I now prefer The Best of Times to The Count of Tuscany.
- Breaking All Illusions was once in my Top 10... It is now a little further down the rankings.
- I don't get the hype for Surrender to Reason. I really like some of the lyrics, but everything else just isn't all that interesting for Dream Theater's standards.
- I feel like Along for the Ride gets too much flak and I have no idea why.

Some interesting observations! Will do my remarks on some of them:

- Under A Glass Moon still remains on of the songs I just don't get. I skip it actually.
- What's wrong with the female vocals in THE? She's great!
- Best of Times really is a grower isn't it. Just gets better over time. I remember the lyrics being subject for criticism and Portnoy being quite angry about that. I think the lyrics are really good. Over time I more and more tend to think direct lyrics are more emotional than overly philosophical or metaphorical lyrics are. Best of Times is crystal clear and the music perfectly fits the emotions for it.
- Breaking All Illusions have started to go down a bit for me as well.
- Along For the Ride is the most 🤷‍♂️ DT has ever created. It's just a song. Nothing special, nothing good, nothing bad. It's just there trying to not stand out in the crowd.
- I forgot to mention Awake, and YES, Voices is really the highlight of that album.

[Revenge319]

Some interesting observations! Will do my remarks on some of them:

- Under A Glass Moon still remains on of the songs I just don't get. I skip it actually.
- What's wrong with the female vocals in THE? She's great!
- Best of Times really is a grower isn't it. Just gets better over time. I remember the lyrics being subject for criticism and Portnoy being quite angry about that. I think the lyrics are really good. Over time I more and more tend to think direct lyrics are more emotional than overly philosophical or metaphorical lyrics are. Best of Times is crystal clear and the music perfectly fits the emotions for it.
- Breaking All Illusions have started to go down a bit for me as well.
- Along For the Ride is the most 🤷‍♂️ DT has ever created. It's just a song. Nothing special, nothing good, nothing bad. It's just there trying to not stand out in the crowd.
- I forgot to mention Awake, and YES, Voices is really the highlight of that album.

- I just don't like her voice in that song. I think she sounds pretty good in The Spirit Carries On, but in Through Her Eyes her voice just sounds annoying.
- I've loved The Best of Times since the first time I heard it, but even so, I agree that it gets better over time. I really like the lyrics, too, and I don't understand the criticisms I hear about it at all. I've seen people say something along the lines that the listener can't relate to it, but for such a personal song, I would expect the lyrics to be... well, personal. It would make way less sense for Portnoy to have made the lyrics abstract or metaphorical. And the criticism I see about using "day" repeatedly to rhyme just feels nitpicky. And I agree about that last part; the music perfectly fits the emotions.
- The whole A Mind Beside Itself suite is the highlight of the album (though Voices is of course my favorite song in that suite).

[BelichickFan]

Unlike most of you, apparently, I try to avoid DT leading up to a new CD so I am not burned out.  Other than the two singles I have mostly stayed away from DT for a couple of months and have avoided the singles for a couple of weeks.  Not sure the abstinence is good for me but it's less than two weeks now.

[Lonk]

Unlike most if you, apparently, I try to avoid DT leading up to a new CD so I am not burned out.  Other than the two singles I have mostly stayed away from DT for a couple of months and have avoided the singles for a couple of weeks.  Not sure the abstinence is good for me but it's less than two weeks now.

I usually do that for concerts. 2-3 weeks before a show I stop listening to their music. Before an album release I find it refreshing to listen to all their albums and see how the new music stacks up against the older material.

[Nekov]

A few weeks back I revisited some DT albums that I hadn't listened to in a while.

Octavarium had always been way down in my list, but listening to it after a couple of years I found it super refreshing and most of the things that used to bother me, mainly the sound, did not bother me at all. It was great to finally be able to enjoy the whole album.
I had forgotten how solid DT12 was. For some reason I hardly go back to it whenever I feel like I want some DT, but it is an awesome album and I truly enjoy it.
The Astonishing, however, has not aged any better since the last time I listened to it. I still find it pretty uninteresting and it completely fails to grab my attention. It is a shame but it is what it is.

I need to revisit some others, which I'll probably do soon. Next on my list are DoT, ADTOE, SC and ToT. I haven't listened to those in a while

[jayvee3]

- I don't get the hype for Surrender to Reason. I really like some of the lyrics, but everything else just isn't all that interesting for Dream Theater's standards.

Surrender to reason bothers me so much. Not because I dislike it, but because it is almost incredible and falls short to me.

The first half of the song is amazing. The opening 40 or so seconds contains one of my favourite beginnings to any Dream Theater song. And yet, we don’t t hear that again until the very end of the song for a few seconds. The opening riff and sounds are so good, it should have been expanded on for an amazing solo later in the track. But instead, we get left with a pretty short and standard solo that doesn’t tie in particularly well. I have such mixed feelings about this song, as I feel it is so almost there….

Interestingly, I feel the same about Behind the Veil too… so almost incredible had they expanded that mean opening riff into a solo…

[The Letter M]

I used to do this, and when I did, I went in hardcore. I would map out what to listen to every day leading up to a new studio album, including all of the prior studio albums, live albums, and even the Ytsejam Records live albums, all in chronological order. At one point, I think I dropped the live albums altogether, but even with just the studio albums (and B-sides), I still haven't done that since maybe DT12. I think around that time, I started losing interest in listening to DT as much as I used to as I was discovering other bands that fit my listening pleasure. Even in the years since, I've definitely not listened to DT as much as I used to - I think I don't listen to prog metal as much overall really, but I am excited for this new album.

-Marc.

[hefdaddy42]

I used to do this as well, but I don't have time anymore.

[Lonk]

I used to do this as well, but I don't have time anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTnbRwazf8g

[Kram]

I'm doing a Dream Theater marathon myself, though I'd started it just to update my song rankings. But since AVFTTOTW is getting closer, I definitely want to finish my marathon before that album comes out. I just finished listening to DT12, so I've only got two albums left in the marathon!

Some new observations:
- Take the Time is still a bottom 10 DT song (which basically means it's still an 8/10).
- Under A Glass Moon has grown on me some more, though I still don't think the guitar solo is anything special.
- Voices has gone from the tier of "basically perfection" to the tier "one of my favorite songs of all time".
- The Mirror is amazing.
- Through Her Eyes would be guaranteed a spot in my Top 20 if it weren't for the female vocals in the first minute.
- The Glass Prison is a song that has just recently influenced my life on some level, and for that I love it more than I already do.
- 8:10-9:05 of Misunderstood is one of the greatest moments in Dream Theater's discography. I'm not joking.
- Disappear is now my favorite song from Disc 1 of SDOIT.
- Honor Thy Father is still my least favorite Dream Theater song.
- Sacrificed Sons is probably the one song that has gone down in my rankings the most. It's a pretty good song, but I feel like I greatly overrated it in the past.
- There are many songs I consider better than Forsaken, but I have no idea why it seems to have this reputation of being one of the worst things Dream Theater's ever done.
- I now prefer The Best of Times to The Count of Tuscany.
- Breaking All Illusions was once in my Top 10... It is now a little further down the rankings.
- I don't get the hype for Surrender to Reason. I really like some of the lyrics, but everything else just isn't all that interesting for Dream Theater's standards.
- I feel like Along for the Ride gets too much flak and I have no idea why.

Agree with both these takes.  Voices is one of my all-time favorite songs by anyone - and never understood all the hype for Surrender to Reason - just an average DT song for me. 

[hefdaddy42]

I used to do this as well, but I don't have time anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTnbRwazf8g

God dammit

[Kotowboy]

QUESTION !

Is " The Answer " from The Astonishing the shortest full band song by Dream Theater ?

[Obsidian Pancake]

QUESTION !

Is " The Answer " from The Astonishing the shortest full band song by Dream Theater ?

I shall not pretend to have the answer.

On topic - I will be joining you all in revisiting their discography. Listened to Distance Over Time and Dream Theater yesterday. Both albums are continuing to grow on me. I may skip The Astonishing as I've listened to that front to back 3 or 4 times recently.

[Pettor]

8V and Systematic Chaos completed:

- 8V's biggest problem is the title track being so good that all the other tracks are just bumps on the road.
- Every time I start Systematic Chaos it I think "it's a lot better than I remember" then comes Constant Motion and Dark Eternal Night.
- Constant Motion has a groovy fun vibe but is ultimately a song that feels sloppy. I guess it's exactly what they were going for but it's so far from the DT sound for me and more something I could expect from a mediocre 80s band touring after 30 years (except ofc the musicianship being top notch).
- The Ministry of Lost souls is a song I am so happy DT made. It's unusual whilst still containing a lot of the stuff I love from DT.
- Mike Portnoy has a good voice when used correctly and Systematic Chaos was def an album where it doesn't work overall. The contrast between LaBrie and Portnoy vocally is staggering.

[Revenge319]

My Dream Theater marathon is finished! Here's some new thoughts on TA and DOT:

- The Astonishing is one of the most pleasant and uplifting-sounding albums I've ever heard. That's probably the main reason I love it.
- I wonder which opinion of mine is more controversial: "Forsaken is better than Scarred", or "Act of Faythe is significantly better than Take The Time"?
- Overall, the songs from The Astonishing have done pretty well in my rankings. There are some songs that ranked low (most notably, Whispers on the Wind, which would've been much, much higher if it and Hymn of a Thousand Voices were combined into one song), and there aren't any songs from it in the top tier (A New Beginning, my favorite from the album, only just barely made it into the Top 30), but the majority is in the 40-90 range. Considering there are 142 songs I've ranked and only the bottom 3-5 are songs I would rate lower than an 8/10, I'd say that's very good.
- I now prefer The Astonishing to A Dramatic Turn of Events.
- Distance Over Time's songs haven't held up as well as they used to, but they've only dropped a little in my rankings and are still very great and enjoyable songs.
- My favorite song from DOT has changed quite a bit throughout the past two years. It used to be Viper King, then it was Pale Blue Dot, then it was Fall Into The Light, and now it's Pale Blue Dot again.


And now I wait for A View From The Top Of The World... I've only listened to The Alien twice (both times on the day it came out), and I haven't heard Invisible Monster, so this album is going to feel very new to me upon listening to it.

[UndercoverMyung]

Screw it, just decided to start a discog listen through. I'll bust it out before the 22nd. Listening to WDADU for the first time right now.

[UndercoverMyung]

This is my first full listen through of their discog start to end.

[RoeDent]

I could have contemplated a pre-album discog run but it's way too big and I know that I would be burnt out on DT by the time I got to the 22nd.

[jdprsaga]

Awesome to read every ones takes on the topic,

I didn't really did it because of the new album coming out, and i had never do before. It was just a thought that came to my mind one day like, that would be cool to listen all in a row while driving from/to work, I tried doing as background music so i wouldn't get overwhelmed, altho a few times i did crank up the volume.

Some days I did skip it and maybe just drove without any music ( I tend to do that when thinking of any issues at work).

To be honest I thought I was going to get tired at the end, but it went way better than expected.

[The Letter M]

I could have contemplated a pre-album discog run but it's way too big and I know that I would be burnt out on DT by the time I got to the 22nd.

I think this was my thought as well, just before The Astonishing came out, I think I stopped doing those full-discog re-spins because their discography just started getting bigger and bigger. It was also around the time I was slowly drifting away from listening to DT very much at all, and being underwhelmed by The Astonishing didn't help matters later that year either.

I have listened to Distance Over Time recently to get myself in the mindset for modern-day DT and hope to find ways to compare and contrast DOT with AVFTTOTW.

-Marc.

[darkshade]

I might go through the Mangini era albums in the days leading up to next Friday. As others have said, the discography is pretty sizeable now, and I've put a couple of older DT albums on somewhat recently, plus, I know their older music like the back of my hand. If anything, a new album will get me in the mood for the band's music and then I'll go through it all. I always worry I'll be burnt out on the band by the time of the new album's release date.

[Fiery Winds]

I once went through the whole discography while playing Audiosurf (Ninja Mono), but I don't have the patience/endurance for that anymore.    The Alien was a pretty fun track to "surf".

[RoeDent]

I did listen to DT12 yesterday, and I can feel myself being in the mood for more albums in the coming days, but it'll be whatever I feel like at the time, not necessarily a set running order. I will definitely listen to Distance Over Time the day before View gets released, as is my tradition.

[Pettor]

BC&SL and ADTOE:

- Portnoy vocals wasn't as much of a problem before but now they really started to annoy me.
- BC&SL maybe contains some of the best melodies and music DT ever produced but in an unsatisfactory package. This album def needed someone from the outside that told them to work more and refine ideas. It's a pitty because this could have been my favourite album.
- TCOT ending is still the best ending ever created by humans.
- Going from BC&SL to ADTOE really highlights a dramatic change in sound. SC and BC&SL shares a feeling of the band being sloppy (maybe by design) and ADOTE is the exact opposite where everything sounds refined, mature but also less groovy and fun. It was most likely a change for the better what happened.
- OTBOA is a great single and song. Damn I love this one.
- Bridges in The Sky! 🤘 I forgot what a banger grenade this is!
- I appreciate Mangini's drumming a lot more this time around on ADTOE.
- Far From Heaven, Breaking All Illusions and Beneath The Surface create a 3 song suite (they kind of merge into each other) that is just bloody fantastic.

Doing these discography spins is great because it actually kind of put things to the test. For example I always have in my mind that ADTOE production is really annoying. It isn't perfect but not even close to how I remembered it. I thought A Rite of Passage was boring as hell since it is when I think about it. Actually the song is quite catchy and have potential if only the instrumental section would be better implemented. Also ACOS haven't aged as well as 8V for me even if I thought they were close to each other before listening. So once in a while it's good to actually not just remember how things are but actually experience and refresh them.

ToT is so far the highlight. Haven't listened to it for ages but realized again how much I love it 🤘 Really looking forward to DT12 and TA now since these are the albums that I seldom listen to.

[Lax]

Nice work listening to all that and writing for us

I don't think I'll ever do a marathon like this but I listened so much to most albums that I can sing any instrument melody of full songs

I'm probably a very good audience for any DT since I am a musician and have no issue with keyboards sounds, even the cringiest

-WDADU: Super solid first album, I often listen to ytse jam, only a matter of time etc...Dominici's voice is a little lamenting and there is a little lack of variety but how could they have been modern sounding in 1989 ? 7/10
-Images & words : So good it's a reference point for prog metal. Wicked solos and harmonies and songs are all different. So many riffs there was material for 5 albums 10/10
-A change of seasons : Not an album but so intense and enjoyable, this 20+ minutes ride is unforgetable SP/10
-Awake : More is more, but moore is leaving. I love it but not everything of it, it feels like a best of with songs from different albums. 8/10
-Falling into infinity : The ugly son. Hit or miss, it really depends of the listener ! I enjoy the sound and there are massively prog moments. A solid piece of 90's music history. 7/10
-MPT2 SFAM : The album that changed my life (when I discovered the band in 1999). From songwriting to storytelling, it's just an undisputed champion. Songs works well independantly too. cringe bonus point for the sex scene in home that always makes its effect in the car with people. 10/10
-SDOIT : I though SFAM was the shock of my life but SDOIT plus LTE1&2 just sent me in outer space. This is my favorite album, from the title track sending us from hell to sky, like the solo of goodnight kiss that just rips my heart out every time, to singles like the legendary glass prison, and one of my favorite DT song ever blind faith. 11/10 be my wife.
-TOT : It's the first album I didn't enjoy at first. I had metal albums from other bands, I wanted prog, so I felt disappointed. Honor thy father and in the name of god are staples tho, to me. 7/10
-Octavarium : The title song is so fantastic that it makes the other ones forgettable. Sacrificed sons is really good. 8/10 thanks to the title track
-Systematic chaos : In the presence of the ennemies has some unforgettable stuff, but overall I didn't enjoy this album and dropped most of it. 6/10
-BC&SL : Didn't connect at first either. Nightmare is nice and has the beautiful agony section. Count of tuscany is really great, I don't suffer from cheesy lyrics since I'm not english native 7/10
-ADTOE : I loved it on release. With time I mostly listen to the second half of it. Bridges live was a sick opener . breaking all illusion is proggy. 8/10
-DT12 2013 : Hit and miss, it's a little like octavarium, thanks god there is a good epic ! 7/10 thanks to the epic
-The astonishing : Super special album...On release I listened to it for months. Then I began to trim songs to do a shorter edit. Then again to my favorites. And now I don't even bother to listen to those...With some time I just feel like JP lacked counceling on this album and it feels slow, half assed and way too long. Some guitar solos are pure virtuosity tho. 5/10 Should have asked Ayreon
-Distance over time : Super solid album, but I hate song order. Barstool, AWE and pale blue dot are just grand dream theater, in virtuosity and emotions. Viper king is like FII on steroids I LOVE THIS SONG ! 8/10 in bluray audio

[Pettor]

-SDOIT : I though SFAM was the shock of my life but SDOIT plus LTE1&2 just sent me in outer space. This is my favorite album, from the title track sending us from hell to sky, like the solo of goodnight kiss that just rips my heart out every time, to singles like the legendary glass prison, and one of my favorite DT song ever blind faith. 11/10 be my wife.

Indeed this 👍 I am sad I wasn't a fan of DT when Scenes and SDOIT was released since having SDOIT follow up Scenes must have been mind blowing at the time! 🤘

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Viper King is like Falling Into Infinity?