Dream Theater - Falling into infinity ?

A great album indeed......Petrucci still hangs in there as axeman and arranger!! Burning my soul is one of my favs :)

nick_h_nz wrote: I sometimes wonder if people don’t appreciate FII just because they are grumpy that the band didn’t use their usual font for the band name. I think a lot of the sound of the album came from their preceding tour with I Mother Earth. Petrucci reportedly really enjoyed playing with the band, and wanted to incorporate a little of that band’s sound into DT. You can hear that at times on the album, and even more on some of the songs recorded during the sessions that didn’t make the album. Maybe, as an IME fan, this is why I like the FII album as much as I do? Just a thought....

and a good thought too I appreciate your input 

For me this album is among the least interesting one up until Portnoy left the band, though it's some nice moments in it. Now, the demos version of the album is a very interesting listen indeed... it's got a few songs omitted from the album, which I don't understand why they left out, since they even had some radio potential. And a few that are really better than the one used in the album, which were changed to please the record executives (mostly, for me, You or Me (instead of You Not Me) and Burning my Soul (which in the demo version was longer, with an instrumental section in the middle that is actually Hell's Kitchen).

Dellinger wrote: Enchant X wrote: Cristi wrote: Enchant X wrote: Enchant X wrote: Cristi wrote: dougmcauliffe wrote: I rate Six Degrees as 5 stars, all 90 minutes of that are amazing, I also love Dramatic Turn of Events & DOT as well as ofc Awake, Images and Scenes. I really want to like Self Titled and Astonishing but they're just not for me sadly. SDOIT along with Systematic Chaos are two albums that got worse for me over time, especially SC. The self-titled has a strange drum sound, rather plastic sounding, I dunno. Still a solid release for me. Stay away from The Astonishing.  One thing is certain my mind SDOIT disc 2 deals with the subject of mental illness extremely well and with such respect as a person (myself) whos suffered with 'bipolar' for years I relate to each and every word , its an inspiration to know there's song writers out there who delve deeply into a subject many people don't want to talk about.  this clap is for Dream Theater showing the courage to tackle such a delicate subject with respect and great dignity and possibly enlightening many folks who listen to it, Knowledge is power to overcome ignorance and fear.  again, like I said, they got awesome lyrics that you enjoy and appreciate, awesome then.  I just don't feel the need to listen to it, that's all. There is little excitement for me in it. I also listened to it a lot when it came out.  I haven't played it in some time maybe I'll give it another spin I do remember when it come out how blown away I was by the lyrics, I couldn't have said it better a lot of study went into the writing of the lyrics.  I don't know about the lyrics on the second disc, but the music really doesn't do much for me... which is a shame, since I really love the first disc, and if it was released alone as an album, it would be my absolute favourite from the band.

It's fairly rated, especially with it wedged between the two stand out albums that it is.

Catcher10 wrote: For me pretty much everything after BC&SL is mediocre at best with a couple bright spots. The Astonishing is at minimum boring, their magnum opus of garbage, I have yet to sit and listen to the album start to finish and doubt I ever will. I've lost faith that DT will create anything interesting in the future....as long as they continue with Rudess's wonking on the keys like a lead guitar. And not sure why Mangini sounds like a plastic drum kit, he's not musical at all. They should have listened to Portnoy and taken a hiatus.

I think Dramatic Turn Of Events is one of their best albums ever. On The Backs Of Angels, Lost Not Forgotten, Bridges in the Sky, Outcry and Breaking All Illusions are perhaps DT at their most progressive, those songs are absolutely mind blowing. This is the life is a great cut too, they really push the jams and instrumental fills to the absolute limit on that album. It is their 5th highest rated here on PA which is how I rank it so glad people seemingly agree it’s up there. Not big on the two albums that came after that, but I really enjoy Distance Over Time.

I think Mangini is a great player, def musical based on live videos such as Luna Park and seeing them live myself, I think it’s the way his drums are mixed, especially on Self Titled and The Astonishing that suck the life out of his playing.

Edited by dougmcauliffe - November 27 2020 at 06:13

dougmcauliffe wrote: I think Dramatic Turn Of Events is one of their best albums ever.

I received FII as a graduation gift back in '97, and was totally blown by it. I would've rated it 5 stars then. But nowadays, I think its current rating is fair. Sure, there are outstanding tracks like "Lines in the Sand", and a favorite of mine which hasn't been mentioned, "Trial of Tears". But there terrible exec-pleasers such as "You Not Me", and "Just Let Me Breathe" that bring the overall rating down.

Great thread. DT are one of my favourite bands.

FII is rated fairly for me. Not one of my favourites, but there are worse.

I maybe need to listen to them all again and then rate them.

But I&W is the best. And The A is the very worst....