Album Rating: 4.0

A Nightmare to Remember, The Best of Times and The Count of Tuscany are some of the best Dream Theater songs. Rest of the album is pretty meh imo, but those 3 make it so worth it

Album Rating: 4.0

Oh forgot about that one, The Best of Times is one of Dream Theater's best songs imo

Album Rating: 4.0

The Shattered Fortress rules so hard



Keeeep all of meeee

The desiiiires

That once burnt me deep insiiiide

Help me live today

And help to give me grace

To caaaarry out your waaaaay

Album Rating: 4.0

INVENTORY

Album Rating: 4.0

Yeah Kalk, love the nod to The Root Of All Evil on that one

Album Rating: 4.0

"Yeah Kalk, love the nod to The Root Of All Evil on that one"



Not just a nod, The Root of All Evil and The Shattered Fortress were a part of Portnoy's "twelve step suite" thing about his recovery from alcholism. There was a track in the suit from Six Degrees to Black Clouds, and if you play them all together they make one long-ass track, with repeated musical motifs and everything.



Man, it's an idea that sounded much cooler when I was in high school. It's neat that they actually managed to get it done, though.

has anyone tried listening to the whole thing in one go? think I'd be asleep by the end (a shame, since The Shattered Fortress is the best bit)

Album Rating: 4.5

It's a cooler concept in theory than it was in practice imo.



I love Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, and The Root of All Evil, but when you get to Repentence and Shattered Fortress (where they really start beating the old motifs over your head) it starts to feel rather stale imo.



(Never tried listening to all of them consecutively before though, I'm talking moreso in the context of their albums above)

Album Rating: 4.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9t9hUgRuHk



It's a little less than an hour long, so I guess it'd be like listening to a really same-y concept album. I might give it a go later, maybe it actually works really well.



This Dying Soul is my favourite one, anyway

The first two are very good, just twice as long as they need to be. Root of All Evil is better paced, but doesn't have the same peaks imo

Album Rating: 4.5

I think all of the song lengths are fine in a vacuum, but yeah for the concept to have been optimally executed pretty much all of the songs except Root and prob Shattered Fortress need at least 3-4 minutes shaved off of them.



And as much as I like them all, Glass Prison, Dying Soul, and Root are all a little too similar tone wise. In the context of listening to them all consecutively, you don’t really get to catch your breath until you’re like 35 minutes in lol.

Album Rating: 3.0

portnoy toured playing the whole sequence of songs for a lil while

Album Rating: 4.0

^oh yeah, I forgot about that.



Kinda wish I'd gone. Same with Dream Theater touring Images and Words. I don't know why I always skip DT whenever they come down.

Album Rating: 4.0

The bookends of the AA-suite are the best parts imo. Dig all of them, but yea, This Dying Soul is a bit too long, Root Of All Evil lack some energy and Repentance it a little too lengthy too and would be needed a little earlier.

The recurring motifs are cool as hell though. Listening to the whole AA-suite does not make them stale, it works quite well actually

jfc stop

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm much more of a Surrounded guy lol

Edit: Pull My Underwear

Album Rating: 4.0

Bless you Kalk.

Surrounded is underrated af

Album Rating: 4.0

Surrounded is just magical. Could be my favorite DT song tbh.



This is brilliant as well, but in another way lol https://youtu.be/7BKmnlvO47E

Album Rating: 4.0

Surrounded is amazing, easily one of my favorites, probably top 3

Album Rating: 4.0

It's hilarious how into that Labrie got haha

Surrounded has always made me feel so... refreshed. I can't think of a better word, but you know when you wake up really early and you're actually fired up and not sluggish, and you splash water in your face and then get a coffee and get on a train to the city.

Surrounded is that. Just makes me feel happy to be alive.