Dream Theater fans, Identify yourselves

I'm a casual DT fan... I download anything I can find by them (and would actually buy some stuff if only I could find it where I live, but nobody carries them and buying online = lots of shipping costs), but nowadays I don't really have the attention span to listen to whole albums.

Nobody's mentioned Images & Words, I think. That, together with Scenes From A Memory, are my favourites (in that order). I still haven't listened to Train of Thought and Octavarium, let alone Score (downloaded all of them, but it's been months since I've felt adventurous enough to try them).

When Dream And Day Unite: I haven't given it a listen, but I have heard some of the tracks live (on CD, not _real life_... DT will never come to Malta ^^; ). The only thing that keeps me from listening to it is that I have no idea where the MP3s are. As soon as I find it I'll give it a spin.

Images And Words: My absolute favourite. The long tracks are marvellous (esp. Learning To Live, probably my most favourite DT song), Under A Glass Moon is strange but compelling, and Wait For Sleep's melody (incidentally repeated in Learning...) is so poignant. Another Day has the saxophone and is a ballad, so everybody hates it... it's the only weak track on the album, but still better than most of the drivel on the radio.

Awake: hmm... never heard all of it, I admit. I too can't understand all the love for this album - I love Lie/The Mirror, Erotomania is amazing AND fun, but the rest of the album is a little too angular and harsh. I should give it another listen I suppose.

A Change Of Seasons: the suite works better on the Live Scenes From New York CD/DVD. I tried to listen to the studio version a couple of times some two years ago, and it didn't sustain my interest even though I listened to all of it. on LSFNY though it becomes a masterpiece; it's intense and interesting, which is something for a song 26 mins long.

Falling Into Infinity: this one actually was ruined for me by all the bad reviews it got. I think I only ended up listening to Peruvian Skies, but that song is one of the best, esp. live.

Scenes From A Memory: my first DT buy. Hard to get into at first (it was my first prog metal CD, at the time I didn't even listen to much heavy metal, and nothing as intense, certainly), but I was rewarded for my perseverance later. Not every track is a favourite (Home is a little too long, for example) but they're still a pleasure to listen to in context. Fave track: Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu.

Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence: First CD is strong, even though it's a little over long. The Six Degrees suite has its moments, but I was turned off by the synth-y orchestra on the overture. I'd give an arm and a leg to be able to play Solitary Shell, though - if anything, they should be congratulated for the wide variety of styles on this. It's just that 42 minutes is a tad too long for my attention span ^^;.

For those who've heard everything DT can offer, I suggest giving a listen to Shadow Gallery (especially Tyranny and Room V, which narrate one story) and Symphony X (the song The Divine Wings Of Tragedy not only has a cool name, but it is a kickass song). And X-Japan's Art of Life is slightly less proggy, but it's still 34 minutes of goodness.

I'll edit this as soon as I hear the rest of the stuff I have yet to hear.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Will

I think the only thing that Symphony X and Dream Theater have in common is that they're big-time prog metal bands. Symphony X is more power metal whereas DT has limited power metal influences. I like them both.

Hmm... yeah, you're right. I didn't think it through :-p. Then again, most people (like you) seem to like them both. It's probably just me, but I think at least the song The Divine Wings of Tragedy is more on the prog side than the power one, but then some of their other material might be different (I haven't listened to them much... hmm... I just might have to listen to Twilight in Olympus and V again to stay abreast with this thread ^^; ). The fact is that most power metal stuff is so not-proggy that to call Symphony X power metal is almost an insult. I like some power metal, in small doses, but every damn band seems to be the same. I just listen to the classics, as the rest seem to be just copies.

/end threadjack

Originally Posted by Will

I would stick to live versions of When Dream and Day Unite. The original vocalist was mediocre at best (I can't stand his voice personally).

I have a video where he recently played a gig with them (When Dream And Day Re-Unite, I think), but I forgot what I thought about Dominici ^^;. I remember thinking that he seemed to struggle with some notes, but it was live, so it might have just been that.

Ok, the queue of stuff I have to listen to now is becoming ridiculous, but whatever. :-p

Originally Posted by Helloween

szammit: Train of Thought is very different from all of DT's other albums. The mood is subsantially darker, and most of the ablum is based around heavy pounding riffs. It certainly is an acquired taste, but if you give it time, you may come to enjoy it.

I gave a try to some of the stuff on Live At Budokan. As I Am has a good riff, but dammit... 7mins+ is way too long. I never even listened to the whole song, so maybe in the last minute they justified the length, but meh. I struggle even with the 4mins edited version of that song! Stream of Consciousness is cool, though.

Originally Posted by Helloween

Octavarium is quite different than the other albums, and has a similar feel to Awake. The instrumental qualities are no where near as complicated as Six Degrees, Scenes, or Train. I think this album was focused around trying to appeal to the fans who left the band after Falling Into Infinity Flopped, and trying to return to an older Dream Theater, or at least that's how it felt for me.

I'll give it a listen before Train of Thought, then.

I listened to the live Six Degrees on Score a couple of times. I still spaced out after some 15 minutes (I tend to listen to music while doing other stuff on my PC, so my attention does wander) but the orchestra certainly helped a lot. I'll give it another listen in a few minutes, in fact.

There's nowhere I can't reach.