r/Dreamtheater

Hello!

So for context, I've been listening to Pull Me Under for years, and I love it. I also have Images and Words on CD, but I haven't listened to it much. I'm familiar with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, and I know they're amazing musicians. I'm also familiar with Mike Mangini for his time in Annihilator, which is one of my favorite metal bands.

Recently, I was told about Under a Glass Moon and wow, it's truly amazing. I'm in love with it. I've since listened to Images and Words multiple times. It's inspired me to do a full deep dive.

So I'm going to listen to every single DT album for the first time (besides IaW of course).

Is there anything I should know or be aware of? Any favorites you guys love? Anything you guys hate? Or would it be best to go in completely blind? Just curious.

Thank you all!

There are a few songs that count as a my absolute favorites but I don't listen to them a lot.

For example, Sacrified Sons is the second best song on Octavarium for me. But I rarely listen to it. It's the same with Best of Times or Scarred. I prefer them over other tracks but I don't listen to them as often. I kinda think, I have to be in a certain mood to be able to enjoy these songs as it's supposed to be.

Does that make sense to you?

Band members from Mike Mangini era. Maestro drummer Mike Portnoy returned in 2023.

Me:

1. Dream Theater - A huge catalog of outstanding content. Bassist John Myung and Keyboardist Jordan Rudess are especially impressive. I consider these two the GOATs in their respective roles. All band members are masters of their craft including former drummer Mike Mangini in which some of the best content was produced during his tenure.
2. Opeth - This prog death metal band (prior to album Heritage) also has a large catalog. If you are unfamiliar with this band it is a little bit of an acquired taste as earlier albums are filled with death growls. But once you're hooked, there is no out. Again all band members are outstanding especially guitarist/vocalist/growler Mikael Akerfeldt (GOAT growler) who writes most music. They held the number one spot with me since I discovered them in 2001 but dropped to 2 after discovering DT recently.
3. Stone Temple Pilots - Not a large catalog but it's nearly all top tier. There is nothing GOAT about this band but every piece just fits so perfect starting from Scott Weiland who was also a member of supergroup Velvet Revolver (think Guns-n-Roses with Weiland at lead vocals), to Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), and now Jeff Gutt (Season 3 runner up X Factor) who can sing and emulate Weiland's persona and appearance so eerily well.
4. Nirvana - A tiny gritty catalog (3 studio plus miscellaneous) which could have been so much more if Kurt Cobain had not checked out early. Still, I enjoy them quite often.
5. Rush - Another massive catalog of the finest prog rock in the industry. This trio paused after the passing of Neil Peart, one of the all time greatest drummers. I was fortunate to see them live in 2013 with Peart. They continue on with Anika Nilles, a German virtuoso drummer.

HM: Metallica - Not a huge catalog but lots of outstanding tracks. To view their best material watch their live uploads which include bassist Rob Trujillo. Bro is a maestro on the 5-string.

Me and my friends are doing a DT cover set for this thing called Night of The Living bands for one of my friend’s school and we get to audition for covers to play in like a 700 person venue. We have decided on opening with Metropolis part 1 and then going into Under a Glass Moon and i’m feeling like afterlife would be a really cool closer but my friend is whining about it so i’m open to other suggestions for the 6 minutes of time we have left in the set.

(we’re trying to keep it all in e standard)

I have many friends that are big fans of Dream Theater, but constantly shit on James Labrie’s voice. I haven’t been listening to DT for long, but I don’t see anything wrong with his voice. I actually quite like it. That being said, I am also a huge Megadeth fan, so take my opinion lightly.

Are there any for you? For me, at least, Bridges in the Sky will make the top ten for me.

Edit: sorry guys, I am not a native speaker, so my thread may be unclear. I meant, which MM era songs make your top ten out of all the DT catalogue?

Reading through another thread from today made me relisten to ADTOE and I found new appreciation for the chorus in Bridges In the Sky. God damn it's so good.

Some of my other favorites: Voices, Home, Beyond This Life, This Dying Soul.

What are yours?

This is probably 3-4 years old now but I thought I’d share. At the time I didn’t have a proper recording setup so everything was done on my phone mic. Now that I have a recording setup I’m more interested in recording original music. I’d just gotten a whammy pedal and for some reason it popped into my head to learn the keyboard lead from “Home” and a couple of Michael Romeo solos that used a whammy pedal. The thing is insanely fun to play with.

I am looking to fill out my 4th of July playlist. Any Ideas?

This might sound crazy but to me, the album feels more dense than something like metropolis pt. 2 or six degrees, and when I get to scarred my attention is at the point of giving up whereas with the other albums I don't have this at all. Especially because the silent man + lifting shadows of a dream get pretty boring to me after the most flawless run of tracks I've ever heard in a prog album. When I listen to scarred and space dye-vest separately I love them but I struggle to listen to the album in one sitting is I guess what I'm trying to say

Like it's so far and away the greatest thing they've ever made, I don't even compare it to their other albums. It's on another level, as an album.

To me there is Scenes from a Memory, then everything else.

How about you? Please share your thoughts.

Thank You.