28. The Spirit Carries On
My ranking: #41
I'm a little bit sympathetic to the sentiment that this one gets too much attention compared to other songs, but when I listen to it, I have to say that it really cannot be denied. It's a very good song. JP is fantastic all over it, JLB does an excellent performance, including the switch to the high-pitched Victoria part, and the finale is grand. It's definitely a song that goes to the next level in the context of SFAM, too.
27. Pull Me Under
My ranking: #23
This is the first Dream Theater song I heard—so original, right? But look, this song opened a whole new world for me in terms not only of how complex music could be, but also in terms of how bright and melodic metal could be. This song just glimmers, in a good way. And I was astounded by James. The way he hits some of the high, clean parts on this song is unreal. I'll always prefer the clean chorus of the studio version compared to any of the live performances where he sort of grits it up, although those aren't bad by any means.
At the end of the day, they can play this one as many times as they want, I'm still going to get excited when I hear those opening guitar chords, knowing that something magical is about to happen. Beautiful start to a beautiful album.
26. Take the Time
My ranking: #22
This is an awesome song that I might have under-ranked just a bit (listening to it and UAGM—my #20—the last couple of days, I enjoyed TTT a bit more).
My first impression of this song was that it's cool how they managed to do something that's a bit funky while still keeping in tune with the style of Images and Words. I really like the idea of having each of the verses written by a different band member, and it's really cool how a different style comes across in each verse, both in the melody and in James's approach. "Unbroken spirit obscured and disquiet" is my favorite—just a tour de force by JLB. And, of course, the finale is fantastic.
It's unfortunate that they never figured out how to do justice by this song in a live setting. Aside from the matter of the second verse being un-singable, they never really figured out how to do the chorus.
25. In the Presence of Enemies
My ranking: #18
There's actually only one DT epic I would place decisively ahead of this one. There's another one that's one place ahead of it on my list, but that choice could really have gone either way. You can say what you want about the rest of Systematic Chaos; In the Presence of Enemies works. It works its way all the up to the elite ranks of my top 20 DT songs.
While I prefer to listen to it as a single composition, the one thing I like about the decision to split it apart is that ITPOE1 is a top-tier nine-minute prog metal piece on its own. But I don't actually think there is a step down in quality going into Part II. Heretic is superb. The build-up here is incredible, and the "Angels fall" chorus is perfectly suited to the piece. And the finale is really good, a latter-day James highlight. While the two sections between are the weakest in the piece, they are still parts I really enjoy a lot, and I don't think they drag it down much.
Part of what makes ITPOE work is that the music and lyrics really complement each other. I can see how the story is a little hokey, but I think it's suitable for a prog metal epic, and there are a lot of good thematic ties to the music. Especially Heretic, which really feels like the meeting of some secret coven.