I am amazed at so many first time listening to Dream Theater reactionary videos randomly select this masterpiece in their introduction. If you keep listening to this band you are in for a journey unlike any other. Thanks for sharing this.
yup. this is Dream Theater. they always bring both amazement and joy with their music. as to the next one, it is generally accepted that the following are masterpieces: Octavarium, The Count of Tuscany, In the presence of enemies (both parts at once), Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (full song)
Glad you were able to check out some Dream Theater! The band has had such a long career (back to the 80s) with over 150 songs, most of them sounding quite different from each other, so if you ask 20 Dream Theater fans what their top 10 Dream Theater songs are, you'd get 20 different answers. But here's my stab at recommendations: 1. The Shattered Fortress (live version from Boston Opera House - Breaking the Fourth Wall) - Hearing the band is great but seeing them play is a visual spectacle in itself. Killer keyboard solo with heavy guitar riffs and a nice guitar solo. This song is part of the 12-Step Suite, with lyrics by the band's former drummer Mike Portnoy about his struggle with alcohol addiction. 2. Voices (studio version) - This is an older song (from their brilliant 1994 album Awake) but has a nice mix of heaviness and vocal harmonies, with a great guitar solo at the end. 3. In the Name of God (live at Budokan version) - Also fun to see the keyboard and guitar duel in this one, with a nice guitar outro solo. James Labrie's vocals have been hit-or-miss since his food poisoning incident in 1994 and this is at the end of a long show, so he's not perfect, but it doesn't detract too much from the otherwise great song. This song is the closer of their 2003 album Train of Thought, one of their most metal-oriented albums to date. 4. Metropolis Part 1 (either studio version or Live at Luna Park): Classic DT from their 1992 album Images and Words, their first with their current singer. 5. Octavarium (studio version or live from Score) - Possibly the band's best song. 20+ minutes long and quite proggy. 6. A Change of seasons (studio version) - Another long, proggy song sometimes considered the band's best. 7. The Glass Prison (studio version) - This may be the proggiest song so far, with several time signature changes and an extended length. But it's a popular RUclips reaction song and vintage Dream Theater (from 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) for a reason. 8. At Wit's End (studio version hits harder, Live in London version has a better ending) - This is, in my opinion, the best song from Dream Theater's second-newest album, 2019's Distance Over Time. The song effectively has 2 parts - the first is heavy, fast, and metal, the second a ballad. Both have great guitar riffs and solos. 9. Breaking All Illusions (can't go wrong with either studio version or Live at the Boston Opera House - Breaking the Fourth Wall version) - One of the band's best-known songs in recent years, this song has some prog elements (time signature changes, odd instrument voicings) but has a great extended guitar solo in the middle. 10. To Live Forever (live in Japan) - Not a very metal song but an absolute masterclass by guitarist John Petrucci. Honorable mentions - About 100 of the band's 140 other songs deserve mention but to keep it short, Illumination Theory (fantastic song but not super metal and a bit long), Take the Time (mix of light and proggy), 6:00 (heavy meets groove), Hell's Kitchen (instrumental) - often paired with Lines in the Sand (great guitar solo), The Enemy Inside (straightforward hard stuff - a lesser version of As I Am), Answering the Call (good song from their consistently good-but-not-great 2021 album A View from the Top of the World), A Fortune in Lies (Live at Luna Park version is good; originally from the band's 1989 album When Dream and Day Unite). Good luck!
Love this comment! I am always at a loss for words when trying to recommend DT songs to people - not only because they have so many amazing songs, but also because my favorites are always changing. Yours is a great list, with many of my all time favorite DT songs.
If you want to see each of the members play at the same time during a piece, go and check out Instrumedley live in Budokan! Super sick reaction keep it comin!
So, this is Dream Theater's most technical track. It's a track that is built for accuracy and timing. Over 100 time signature changes (for a song that's under 7 minutes, that's insane), is part of a concept album, and this is one of their older tracks (pre-2000). To get a gauge on them, I'd recommend songs from their first 4 albums (When Dream and Day Unite, Images and Words; which I HIGHLY recommend, Awake, and Falling Into Infinity; wasn't a good album for many reasons, but does have some really good songs; also the demos for this album are amazing). I would also recommend A Change of Seasons (Studio or Live; before the official release in 1995 it was a slightly shorter track); if you're a fan of long tracks, I would also recommend Octavarium (both song and album) and The Count of Tuscany; a beautiful track If you're not a fan of longer tracks, then they have plenty of tracks that are just right in terms of length.
Notable super group side projects of Dream Theater include OSI, Liquid Tension Experiment, John Petrucci solo albums, Transatlantic, James LaBrie solo albums, and Jordan Rudess solo albums. I would recommend just tackling one studio album at a time. May I suggest beginning with Images and Words for starters.
It's not the ideal song to start with if you're not a musician who knows a lot about Music theory because this song is very technical. Try next The count of tuscany.. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of Music in history
![ELECTRIC!! DREAM THEATER - THE DANCE OF ETERNITY [ BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL ] REACTION](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Q_LkWqKTiI/mqdefault.jpg)
![ELECTRIC!! DREAM THEATER - THE DANCE OF ETERNITY [ BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL ] REACTION](/img/tr.png)
![Guitarist Reacts to Dream Theater - The Dance Of Eternity [Breaking The Fourth Wall] REACTION](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WZmPgZHCeXs/mqdefault.jpg)
I am amazed at so many first time listening to Dream Theater reactionary videos randomly select this masterpiece in their introduction. If you keep listening to this band you are in for a journey unlike any other. Thanks for sharing this.
Glass Prison is a great track to check out
Octavarium or Count of Tuscany
this
Yep!
yup. this is Dream Theater. they always bring both amazement and joy with their music.
as to the next one, it is generally accepted that the following are masterpieces: Octavarium, The Count of Tuscany, In the presence of enemies (both parts at once), Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (full song)
Glad you were able to check out some Dream Theater! The band has had such a long career (back to the 80s) with over 150 songs, most of them sounding quite different from each other, so if you ask 20 Dream Theater fans what their top 10 Dream Theater songs are, you'd get 20 different answers. But here's my stab at recommendations:
1. The Shattered Fortress (live version from Boston Opera House - Breaking the Fourth Wall) - Hearing the band is great but seeing them play is a visual spectacle in itself. Killer keyboard solo with heavy guitar riffs and a nice guitar solo. This song is part of the 12-Step Suite, with lyrics by the band's former drummer Mike Portnoy about his struggle with alcohol addiction.
2. Voices (studio version) - This is an older song (from their brilliant 1994 album Awake) but has a nice mix of heaviness and vocal harmonies, with a great guitar solo at the end.
3. In the Name of God (live at Budokan version) - Also fun to see the keyboard and guitar duel in this one, with a nice guitar outro solo. James Labrie's vocals have been hit-or-miss since his food poisoning incident in 1994 and this is at the end of a long show, so he's not perfect, but it doesn't detract too much from the otherwise great song. This song is the closer of their 2003 album Train of Thought, one of their most metal-oriented albums to date.
4. Metropolis Part 1 (either studio version or Live at Luna Park): Classic DT from their 1992 album Images and Words, their first with their current singer.
5. Octavarium (studio version or live from Score) - Possibly the band's best song. 20+ minutes long and quite proggy.
6. A Change of seasons (studio version) - Another long, proggy song sometimes considered the band's best.
7. The Glass Prison (studio version) - This may be the proggiest song so far, with several time signature changes and an extended length. But it's a popular RUclips reaction song and vintage Dream Theater (from 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) for a reason.
8. At Wit's End (studio version hits harder, Live in London version has a better ending) - This is, in my opinion, the best song from Dream Theater's second-newest album, 2019's Distance Over Time. The song effectively has 2 parts - the first is heavy, fast, and metal, the second a ballad. Both have great guitar riffs and solos.
9. Breaking All Illusions (can't go wrong with either studio version or Live at the Boston Opera House - Breaking the Fourth Wall version) - One of the band's best-known songs in recent years, this song has some prog elements (time signature changes, odd instrument voicings) but has a great extended guitar solo in the middle.
10. To Live Forever (live in Japan) - Not a very metal song but an absolute masterclass by guitarist John Petrucci.
Honorable mentions - About 100 of the band's 140 other songs deserve mention but to keep it short, Illumination Theory (fantastic song but not super metal and a bit long), Take the Time (mix of light and proggy), 6:00 (heavy meets groove), Hell's Kitchen (instrumental) - often paired with Lines in the Sand (great guitar solo), The Enemy Inside (straightforward hard stuff - a lesser version of As I Am), Answering the Call (good song from their consistently good-but-not-great 2021 album A View from the Top of the World), A Fortune in Lies (Live at Luna Park version is good; originally from the band's 1989 album When Dream and Day Unite).
Good luck!
Love this comment! I am always at a loss for words when trying to recommend DT songs to people - not only because they have so many amazing songs, but also because my favorites are always changing. Yours is a great list, with many of my all time favorite DT songs.
If you want to see each of the members play at the same time during a piece, go and check out Instrumedley live in Budokan! Super sick reaction keep it comin!
Favorite band of all time. Check out Under A Glass Moon!
This song is just ONE PIECE of a greater picture that is Metropolis Part 2, which is also a concept album. It has a plot and there are characters.
So, this is Dream Theater's most technical track. It's a track that is built for accuracy and timing.
Over 100 time signature changes (for a song that's under 7 minutes, that's insane), is part of a concept album, and this is one of their older tracks (pre-2000). To get a gauge on them, I'd recommend songs from their first 4 albums (When Dream and Day Unite, Images and Words; which I HIGHLY recommend, Awake, and Falling Into Infinity; wasn't a good album for many reasons, but does have some really good songs; also the demos for this album are amazing).
I would also recommend A Change of Seasons (Studio or Live; before the official release in 1995 it was a slightly shorter track); if you're a fan of long tracks, I would also recommend Octavarium (both song and album) and The Count of Tuscany; a beautiful track
If you're not a fan of longer tracks, then they have plenty of tracks that are just right in terms of length.
The MASTERS!!!!♥️🤟🏻
Notable super group side projects of Dream Theater include OSI, Liquid Tension Experiment, John Petrucci solo albums, Transatlantic, James LaBrie solo albums, and Jordan Rudess solo albums. I would recommend just tackling one studio album at a time. May I suggest beginning with Images and Words for starters.
Octavarium or The Count of Tuscany.
Lost not forgotten (live) next? Or Answering the Call from the last album
Watch a video of the song Finally Free by Dream Theatre. If you like good drumming the last 3 minutes are mind blowing
It's what happens when you take Berkley College of music musicians and add a virtuoso pianist from Julliard that decides to redefine prog-rock.
It's not the ideal song to start with if you're not a musician who knows a lot about Music theory because this song is very technical. Try next The count of tuscany.. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of Music in history
This isn't the best for a new Dream Theater listener. Check out Lost Not Forgotten or anything of a dramatic turn of events album.