Favourite Dream Theater Epic?

Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote: Even though I'm not a big fan of the band, could I cheat and vote for all of `Scenes From A Memory'?! I truly enjoy that one, and I consider the entire CD to be one continious piece! It's labelled `Scenes 1 - etc', so I think I'm justified!

Nope. Cheating. 😜 pick IN THE NAME OF GOD. that's a good one that know one has picked yet. 👌

The Count of Tuscany.

You're sort of half way there, because I truly don't dislike the band! Just that I always choose other things over them to listen to. I even have several of their live DVD's, but I almost never make it through them! After an hour I want to put my head through the wall!

I do like the `Train Of Thought' album, I know it was dismissed by a number of the more `prog-loving' of their fans for being TOO metal, but I always thought there was plenty of good stuff on it. Just haven't listened to it in years!

dtguitarfan wrote: progbethyname wrote: Ytse_Jam wrote: DT has haters like every single band on the earth. Everyone has its tastes, not a big deal. Honestly, I find most of King Crimson's albums to be more boring, pretentious and unuseful than most of DT's tracks, but who cares? Talkin about lyrics, has anybody figured out what Metropolis pt. 1 is about?  John Petrucchi has a way of starting off a story and then having it make no sense. Metropolis part 1 deals with the maracle (the after life) and the sleeper(hypnotheripists) who originally puts the main character NICHOLAS into after life orbit. Now I really can't say today how metropolis pt 1 and 2 really connect with one other lyrically. It doesn't make sense just like the track THE KILLING HAND. we just have to guess or assume what happens. Kills me!! Anyway, terrific question, but I'm just as baffled as you. 😁 Actually I heard that the whole story of Metropolis Parts 1 & 2 are a modern retelling of the mythical tale of Romulus and Remus, the sons of Mars....

I'm pretty sure that part 1 is based upon the myth of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome, but I don't think part 2 has anything to do with it. 

To Progbethyname: you have to look at parts 1 and 2, not as two parts of a story, but as an extraction of a story from the themes of an existing work.  I think I've read that the "Part 1" thing was meant as a joke, but then people started looking for a part 2.  The band took some of the themes explored in Part 1 and made them into a story (and one of the best stories I've ever heard, to boot).

Ambient Hurricanes wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: progbethyname wrote: Ytse_Jam wrote: DT has haters like every single band on the earth. Everyone has its tastes, not a big deal. Honestly, I find most of King Crimson's albums to be more boring, pretentious and unuseful than most of DT's tracks, but who cares? Talkin about lyrics, has anybody figured out what Metropolis pt. 1 is about?  John Petrucchi has a way of starting off a story and then having it make no sense. Metropolis part 1 deals with the maracle (the after life) and the sleeper(hypnotheripists) who originally puts the main character NICHOLAS into after life orbit. Now I really can't say today how metropolis pt 1 and 2 really connect with one other lyrically. It doesn't make sense just like the track THE KILLING HAND. we just have to guess or assume what happens. Kills me!! Anyway, terrific question, but I'm just as baffled as you. 😁 Actually I heard that the whole story of Metropolis Parts 1 & 2 are a modern retelling of the mythical tale of Romulus and Remus, the sons of Mars.... I'm pretty sure that part 1 is based upon the myth of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome, but I don't think part 2 has anything to do with it.  To Progbethyname: you have to look at parts 1 and 2, not as two parts of a story, but as an extraction of a story from the themes of an existing work.  I think I've read that the "Part 1" thing was meant as a joke, but then people started looking for a part 2.  The band took some of the themes explored in Part 1 and made them into a story (and one of the best stories I've ever heard, to boot).

Well, I had heard part 2 was also a myth retelling, but if it is, it's a lesser known one because I've never been able to find exactly which one. But my understanding of the story is that it goes like this:
There are two lovers, and a jealous former lover. Jealous gets drunk and goes out to kill new lover, ends up killing them both accidentally and covers it up, making it look like a murder/suicide and totally gets away with it. This ticks off the Fates, though, because...well, that was basically their favorite soap opera they were watching and Jealous just cancelled it. So they plant the memories of the two lovers into - I think his name was Nicholas? - into Nick's head. Nick doesn't understand why he is having visions of these things that aren't his own memories, so he sees a hypnotherapist. And through hypnotherapy Nick figures out what really happened and solves this old mystery. That's my bad summary and I'm sticking to it.

progbethyname wrote: Snow Dog wrote: JoeyPS wrote: Octavarium. I LOVE the melancholy beginning segments.  Shine On You Crazy Rudess? Oh big time!!! Count of Tuscony too. Huge FLOYD influences

Ytse_Jam wrote: The Scenes From a Memory plot is quite known, and it is widely explained here: http://faq.dtnorway.com/question?questionid=1032 It's the Part 1 meaning that's still a half mystery to me, like almost all of I&W lyrics  Hovewer, the same site above says: It is based on the story of a telepathically-linked Romulus and Remus from Virgil's Aeneid. It has no relation to the 1927 movie Metropolis. Petrucci wrote it as a sort of fantasy epic, inspired by the likes of Yes and Rush. The story itself is original (the twins are named Miracle and Sleeper and do not appear in literature) but the story type was Homeric. It is linked to part 2 (Scenes From a Memory) in that Edward and Julian Baynes are metaphors for Romulus and Remus, and Victoria is a metaphor Rome (or the 'Metropolis'). This is supported by several lyrical lines in Scenes From a Memory.

Well there it is. The extraction of a story with in another story. Kind of like a story with in a story. Hey? Wait a minute...that's a juxtaposition! Why didn't I think I that. Anyway it is to my feeling now that great music doesnt always have to make sense, but METROPOLIS PT 2 makes perfect sense. That story is as clear as day like ARYEON's THE HUMAN EQUATION.

JS19 wrote: progbethyname wrote: JS19 wrote: Horizons wrote: zeqexes wrote: Alitare wrote: The shortest one because it is over quicker.  ...cannot...compute... It is an opinion that is shared throughout PA. It's also kind of annoying. Yeah lots of people don't like DT, I get it. It's not that funny any more. Doesn't help that a lot of the fans are a bit crazy about them, but still, it's a bit pretentious to have a go at DT every single time they are mentioned... I still enjoy them from time to time, even if they are a little silly sometimes  In answer to the question, I think my favourite would have to be In The Presence Of Enemies. Not a popular opinion because of the dumb lyrics, but I honestly don't expect a lyrical masterpiece when I listen to a DT track  DREAM THEATER are easy one of the most brilliant, technically complex bands in prog and easily the world. People, I feel, make fun of DREAM THEATER because they are just so incredibly technical and some people just don't get it. It is my experience that people often fear and belittle what they don't understand. I call those people closet case idiots. Anyway, just ignor those morons who actually have the audacity to make fun of them. See no, now you've just gone to far. See those 'crazy' DT fans I was talking about. The ones who abandon all logic and reason for their fandom. You sound like one of them... I like DT. I have seen DT live. I have a DT shirt even, but they are not anything that you said. They are a consistent, popular, driving force in the world of prog. They bring a lot of new people into the genre and we have to celebrate them for that, but they aren't the most innovative or technical. Love them or hate them you can't deny they're very important to the prog world right now. darkshade wrote: progbethyname wrote: Snow Dog wrote:   JoeyPS wrote: Octavarium. I LOVE the melancholy beginning segments.    Shine On You Crazy Rudess?  Oh big time!!! Count of Tuscony too. Huge FLOYD influences Actually, that spacey section was inspired by Gershwin''s "Rhapsody In Blue". It just isn't

What? You have a T-Shirt!? Well this changes everything. Your opinion matters a lot more now.....ummm.....not technical...not innovative. Well then hey! I can say you sound like hater or a discretator for DT. I mean come on man....not technical??? Logic has been ripped from your prog sphere for sure then. 😒. You tell me who you really like? I would like to know your favourite band. Just curious that's all. We're all friends here 👊

Well actually, they almost invented the progressive metal genre, or at least they created his guidelines and clichès. Isn't it innovative?The fact is that very often they are accused of abusing of patterns and clichés that are typical of progressive metal, forgetting that most of these clichés have been invented by them!

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dtguitarfan wrote: Ambient Hurricanes wrote: dtguitarfan wrote: progbethyname wrote: Ytse_Jam wrote: DT has haters like every single band on the earth. Everyone has its tastes, not a big deal. Honestly, I find most of King Crimson's albums to be more boring, pretentious and unuseful than most of DT's tracks, but who cares? Talkin about lyrics, has anybody figured out what Metropolis pt. 1 is about?  John Petrucchi has a way of starting off a story and then having it make no sense. Metropolis part 1 deals with the maracle (the after life) and the sleeper(hypnotheripists) who originally puts the main character NICHOLAS into after life orbit. Now I really can't say today how metropolis pt 1 and 2 really connect with one other lyrically. It doesn't make sense just like the track THE KILLING HAND. we just have to guess or assume what happens. Kills me!! Anyway, terrific question, but I'm just as baffled as you. 😁 Actually I heard that the whole story of Metropolis Parts 1 & 2 are a modern retelling of the mythical tale of Romulus and Remus, the sons of Mars.... I'm pretty sure that part 1 is based upon the myth of Romulus and Remus and the founding of Rome, but I don't think part 2 has anything to do with it.  To Progbethyname: you have to look at parts 1 and 2, not as two parts of a story, but as an extraction of a story from the themes of an existing work.  I think I've read that the "Part 1" thing was meant as a joke, but then people started looking for a part 2.  The band took some of the themes explored in Part 1 and made them into a story (and one of the best stories I've ever heard, to boot). Well, I had heard part 2 was also a myth retelling, but if it is, it's a lesser known one because I've never been able to find exactly which one. But my understanding of the story is that it goes like this: There are two lovers, and a jealous former lover. Jealous gets drunk and goes out to kill new lover, ends up killing them both accidentally and covers it up, making it look like a murder/suicide and totally gets away with it. This ticks off the Fates, though, because...well, that was basically their favorite soap opera they were watching and Jealous just cancelled it. So they plant the memories of the two lovers into - I think his name was Nicholas? - into Nick's head. Nick doesn't understand why he is having visions of these things that aren't his own memories, so he sees a hypnotherapist. And through hypnotherapy Nick figures out what really happened and solves this old mystery. That's my bad summary and I'm sticking to it.