Dream Theater "Images and Words" magic formula

I'm not much into Dream Theater music, but one thing that bores me in Images and Words is that all the long songs seems to be a "magic formula": a intro with some guitar and keyboard, main riffs during the verses and chorus then a long instrumental interlude with many solos. Near the end returns the verse/chorus section to finish the song.

Not that it is bad, but most of songs follow this structure. The result is the losing of interest in the album. When I first heard Learning to Live, it seemed a great song. Listening it in the album, it doesn't seem so great, because at the time it starts, I'm already bored with the same structure.

Are the other albuns the same thing? All their longer songs are made over this formula?

akin wrote: Are the other albuns the same thing? All their longer songs are made over this formula?

No. No. Many of their songs do not follow and sort of formula, they just do what they want and what they feel is best.

oh, and please don't make more dream theater threads.


Edited by MajesterX - July 31 2006 at 18:29

I hope Rafaella doesn't faint after she sees the title of this thread.

juanvalverde wrote: i dont see why we cant make any more dream theater threads.....

you can, but many people (including myself) won't like it because there are around 4 dream theater threads a day and we are all getting sick of them, so if you want to be respected more by many of the forumers, don't make another dream theater thread for a while.

Pretty injust these responses about another topic talking of Dream Theater.

I didn´t said how Dream Theater is great neither how Dream Theater is not prog. I asked an advice about their other albuns.

Dream Theater topics bore me when they are made just to say they are the best or they are the worst. As all topics asking if band X is prog or not.

If you don´t like Dream Theater topics, don´t read them. And be civilized next time.

akin, Try "Lines in the sand" off Falling Into Infinity, some great emotional guitar from Petrucci.

Tony R wrote: Interesting to see that you have elected yourself spokesperson for the people....

It was an observation. I think most of the people who have been doing the complaining would agree.

Hey, it worked! Persuasion isn't an easy thing to do with only your opinion.

Sorry If I offended thee, Master Tony, I will proceed to flog myself to the bone in order to please your great self.

Why do some people seem fixated on remembering songs and basing their enjoyment of songs just by their structure ? Surely we should be appreciating the riffs, the soundscapes created, mental imagery, the sheer volume of ideas involved.     of course structure is important, but you have to consider that very few combinations of songs in this genre can't have their structures compared and generalised to create an "average" theory of how the structures relate to eachother. Next time you listen to these songs try to observe more than just the basic formula

Zitro wrote: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, in which the first disc is amongst the most creative and imaginative of both the band and the genre. What?? Please tell me you're joking. Glass Prison sounds like a metallica song stretched too long, Disappear has the dark sound that you could find in ballads of prog metal bands, the great Debate sounds way too much like tool, blind faith has nothing innovative, and the other one is cool and has some psychedelia in metal, but that has been done before (hint: Third Eye)

maybe he meant the second disc, that one meets the description fully IMO

It sounds pretty well as a whole, and it's not your typical progmetal. There's plenty of experimentation/innovation on parts like Overture, Goodnight Kiss...  and It's not even metal for the most part.