Favorite DT Lyricist - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Who do you think writes the best lyrics?

For me it´s Myung, followed by Portnoy (especially for Change of Seasons)

Myung's lyrics are great, especially "Learning to Live"

There was no time for pain
No energy for anger
The sightlessness of hatred slips away
Walking through winter streets alone
He stops and take a breath
With confidence and self-control

OBQM: www.soundcloud.com/onebigquestionmark (solo project)
nQuixote: www.soundcloud.com/n-quixote (ambient + various musical ideas)

1. Kevin Moore
2. John Petrucci
3. John Myung
4. Mike Portnoy
5. James Labrie

1. Kevin is an awesome lyricist and penned some fantastic lyrics- Pull me under, Space-dye vest, Only a matter of time.

2. John's early lyrics are some of DT's best. He wrote full on fantasy (though suprisingly non-cheesy) lyrics like Metropolis and the Killing Hand (some of my favorite lyrics) and more thoughtful but just as good lyrics such as Scarred and Lines in the sand. I'm not a big fan of his recent lyrics though.

3. All of JM's lyrics are very well-thought out with tons of metephors and intricate language. He does lack a sense of true rhythm, however and sometimes the lyrics don't fit all that well with the melody.

4. Mike is a fair lyricist. His great stuff is A Change of Seasons and The Glass Prison. But he fails to paint a picture or use language the way the above ones do. It's like he writes one line and continues, with only a small idea of what he's writng about.

5. James is probably on par with mike. He doesn't use alot of metephors and most of his lyrics are very simple and able to comprehend right from the beginning.

I dont think DT lyrics are really bad...but truth be said, I think Petrucci should write a little less hehehe

Still, nothing I have read from them has surprised me...I leave that job to Hammill and Keenan I supouse

"You want me to play what, Robert?"

Petrucci for me mostley because of A Change of Seasons

I want to be an astronaut

proglil49 wrote:

Petrucci for me mostley because of A Change of Seasons

You mean Portnoy.

I voted John Myung, the few songs he has written have all been masterful lyrically.

Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005

I vote for Portnoy, only for "A Change Of Seasons" and "The Glass Prison".

Edited by Yito - August 29 2006 at 20:19

Psalm 96
1 Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Fusionman wrote:

Kevin Moore. Then the rest are all amateurs.

I'll qualify, the rest are amateurs except Petrucci who wrote some solid stuff before Awake, and then he just fell apart.

I enjoyed LaBrie's lyrics for Sacrificed Sons but that's probably only due to my patrioticism.

"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "

I would vote for Kevin Moore if he was on the list.

Definately John Myung, quality over quantity. Kevin Moore is good too.

"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls."

Poll Question: Who do you prefer
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
La Brie	1	[4.00%]
Myung	13	[52.00%]
Portnoy	6	[24.00%]
Petrucci	5	[20.00%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted