Dream Theater library

Systems

I would like some input from DT fan's as to what you think is their best CD's and DVD's.I do not have any of their recordings and want to get a few but not sure which ones would be good choices.
Thanks

aaharvel

i was a big dt fan back in the day. I always like 'Awake' the best.

aaharvel

and.. 'Falling INto Infinity'

sorry for the 2nd post but this thread gave me an idea to get those 2 cds out and listen to them for the first time in like 7-8 years.

MacLeod

I WORSHIP Dream Theater and have everything theyve released! I even got to meet Mike Portnoy at one of his drum clinics!

As far as best CD's, if you like the heavy stuff, Train of Thought hands down! Just awesome! Very heavy and **** kicking music but with the usual DT skill and technicallity!

If you like the more mellow stuff then Falling Into Infinity is a fine choice.

As for the DVD's, well there is a bunch. Live at the Budokan is an awesome one that was taken during the Train of Thought tour. Has a good documentary on there as well and is well recorded.

5 Years in a Livetime is probably my favorite tho. Its basically a bunch of footage and some bootleg taken from 1994-99 I believe. Has a lot of good clips from different live performances.

They have a DVD that is a double DVD of 5 Years and their very first DVD from '91 Live in Tokyo.

crazy

I have been a DT fan for many years and have seen their live concerts about 7-8 times. They are indeed the most technically perfect band ever!! My band's 1st (and only) album was inspired by this band (our vocalist, lead guitarist and me are die hard fans) ... I'm sure you can guess that by the name of our band. he!he!

Here's my list (albums):

1) Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

2) Images and Words

3) Change of Seasons

4) Awake

5) Liquid Tension Experiment 1 & 2

6) Octavarium (very commercial but I like it )


Check out this link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Theater

Systems

Thanks for the responses.I was in a music store saturday looking but they have so many releases that it was impossible to make a choice.I understand that they are a very talented bunch much like RUSH but I have only heard one song "Pull me Under" and really liked it.As well I did hear the guitarist on a G3 DVD.I will use your suggestions as guidelines.

crazy

If you have to get just 1 DT CD, do for Images & Words ... you cannot go wrong. It has "Pull Me Under".

Systems

MacLeod wrote: »

I WORSHIP Dream Theater and have everything theyve released! I even got to meet Mike Portnoy at one of his drum clinics!

Wow that must have been a thrill.:)

Well I guess I will start with Images and Words and Train of Thought CD's,and the Live at Budakon DVD.
Thanks Guys for the suggestions and links.

avelanchefan

MacLeod wrote: »

As far as best CD's, if you like the heavy stuff, Train of Thought hands down! Just awesome! Very heavy and **** kicking music but with the usual DT skill and technicallity!

Well Mac I will be happy to report that Systematic Chaos is just insanely (is insanely a word?) heavy. (All though I am sure you already know that) They really went all out. I think Forsaken is their slowest song, yet it is no where near as slow as other stuff they have done. ITPOE part one and two is really really fantastic. Personally I think this will be my favorite CD of theres. ToT was in my play rotation for well over a year, yet Octavarium was a really weird cd for me, the title track was epic, but the rest was average at best. YET, average DT is better than most bands around!

Looking forward to the REAL release on June 5th, and seeing them live on July 25th!

Here is something to wet your appetite....

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/DreamTheater/showVideo.aspx?fileID=2343

MacLeod

OMFG! I think I just had an ****!

That is awesome! As heavy as TOT but better production.

Gawd I cant wait!! June 5th cant get here fast enought!!

avelanchefan

MacLeod wrote: »

OMFG! I think I just had an ****!

That is awesome! As heavy as TOT but better production.

Gawd I cant wait!! June 5th cant get here fast enought!!

LMFAO...glad you liked it...total ear candy for me, just a great freaking song!

ViperZ

ah, deleted

bamamusicfan

Images and words

AsSiMiLaTeD

So what do you guys think about Systematic Chaos? I've been listening off and on for a couple months now, and I like it. Watching the DVD (if you have the special edition) is cool and will give you a further respect for the album.

Overall thoughts:

While I don't subscribe to the belief that some of the last few DT albums (Octavarium and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) have been 'sell out' albums, I do agree that they've strayed a bit from what people have come to expect from DT. There has been some transition from demonstration of technical ability (in the early years) to more melodic, dramatic tunes where the focus seems to have been more on songwriting overall than technical musicianship. I don't think either of those elements have ever been missing in any of their work (I think the early years were still filled with melodic tunes (Pull me Under is a good example) and the last few albums have still been a good exhibition of technical ability, but I think you can definitely listen to their entire discography and hear the shift from 'listen to how bad-**** we are on our instruments' to the more melodic, dramatic style of their newer music.

Systematic Chaos is IMO their best implementation of a mixture of the two. You still have the melody-centric music of recent albums, but they definitely incorporated the display of their musical abilities alot more than on recent albums. There are more solos, difficult 'duet' parts between keyboard and guitar where they're playing very difficult fast riffs with perfect synchronicity - this is very reminiscent of SFAM (my favorite album of all time btw). There are more progressive elements overall in this album.

I find the lyrics on this album a little, well…cheesy. On top of all the greatness of their music, I’ve usually found their lyrics somewhat intelligent and well spoken. Somehow “I have to know your name, where have I seen your face before” (in the middle of Forsaken) just doesn’t seem to fit well in the song and doesn’t do it for me. They do address this briefly on the DVD, and basically all the lyrics on this album are fantasy based, which doesn’t appeal to me. In reality, it’s probably that I just don’t care about the subject matter more than anything lacking in the lyrics.

Song-by-song thoughts:

ITPOE (In the Presence of Enemies) Part 1 is an excellent track. I still hear lots of Octavarium and SDOIT (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) in this track, but it's a bit less dramatic than the epic on either of those other two albums. As is the trend on this album, there are more progressive elements on this song, and there’s some good work between guitar and keyboard.

Forsaken is probably my second least favorite song on the album, but I think it's the obvious single, were one to come out of the album (I don't do radio, so am not sure if they got any play). Everyone I know who has the Album, this is their favorite song. It's kinda catchy and it's got the whole Evanescence thing going on with the piano at the front. I actually like everything about the song except for the chorus, there’s just something about that ‘forsaaaaaaaaaaaaken’ part that grates on my nerves. Overall it’s a well put together song, and I enjoy it.

Constant Motion is a very cool track. There are some Metallica-ish guitar riffs, but it’s not too distracting. There are definitely some progressive elements in terms chancing meter and some good solos.

I don’t like the beginning minutes of The Dark Eternal Night all that much, but it turns into a really great song. It has a Korn-ish sound at the beginning with the opening riff and the bass drum kicking in at each note in the melody. There’s a meter / tempo change about four minutes in, and lots of variation from there on out. Overall I’d say this is one of the more progressive tracks on the album. I’m not a big fan of the whole shouting into the mic thing, but that aside it’s a great tune musically.

Repentance is part 4 in a series of songs about the 12 step AA program. Mike Portnoy (drummer) had a bout with alcoholism a few years back and was ‘cured’ by the AA program. He’s been very open about the whole ordeal, and they’ve had a song on each of the last few albums depicting the various stages (Glass Prison on SDOIT, Dying Soul on Train of Thought, and Root of All Evil on Octavarium, and now Repentance). I have a feeling once the series is complete they’ll all be mixed into one album. As for this song, it’s probably the most mellow on the track, and comes just at the right time following CM and TDEN. At the end, listen to all the different people talking – there are quite a few familiar voices in there, the most unmistakable of which is Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree.

Prophets of War is one of my favorites. It’s kinda cheesy with the people chanting at the end, but it’s a very good track nonetheless. It’s got a very Muse-ish sound in parts with the driving synth and guitar riffs, (think Stockholm Syndrome from Absolution), but of course it’s still got DT written all over it. The reference to Queen is obvious with the first few vocal harmony parts; it’s a nice touch and adds alot to the song. It’s not the most progressive track DT has ever laid down, and it’s not filled with solos or complicated riffs, but it’s very cool nonetheless.

The Ministry of Lost Souls is another mellow track, but is a bit darker than your typical DT ballad. I’d say it’s the most dramatic song on the album. There is a good heavy section about 8 minutes into the song that has some good progressive-ish keyboard work. There’s also a good guitar-keyboard riff about 10 minutes into the song right before it gets slowed down and reverts back into the main melody. The end is very SDOIT / Octavarium style drama.

ITPOE Part II is more of Part I and shares similar characteristics. Of the two, I’d say it’s the darker half. Everything I said about Part I applies here, there’s just more of it, it’s very fun to listen to. I liked the ending on Octavarium better than the ending of this particular song. Don’t get me wrong, the ending here was great, but Octavarium set the bar really high for me, and the last couple minutes just didn’t end out the album the same way for me that Octavarium did.

avguytx

I have all of the CD's and most of the DVD's and they are my favorite band altogether. Every album has had a different "vibe" to it which was their intention and not so much the record label. Get the "Score" DVD and it goes thru a lot of those things about each album. I also like how it goes from the beginning to the end of the album list.