The Worst Dream Theater Studio Album

TheProgtologist wrote: And I love DT but Falling Into Infinity is my least favorite album.It just sounds uninspired.

Ditto

There you go...

 

For me every DT studio album runs hot and cold - especially Octavarium
(love the title track, but that's about it). It's ironical then that the Budokan
live DVD is probably the best live concert I've seen from any band. Perhaps
their next stdio effort should be released as a live DVD!!!

I give my vote to Octavarium. A mediocre and terrible release with a mainstream influence late alternative US bands. I dislike it a lot. Maybe as an alternative album is not bad but a prog release it is a real shame!

Can't come to debase When Dream And Day Unite, save for least than half of the album itself, relating inferiority to auditive capture's failure, from the band, as well as developing a common dislike for Charlie Dominici's voice within Dream Theater, which I won't claim him a mediocre vocalist, though, as the the band itself realised, not what composes DT's nature. Nevertheless, technical performance and lyrical content, throughout tracks as Fortune In Lies, Status Seeker, Ytse Jam (possibly the best instrumental) and Killing Hand, should be deemed enough to guarantee the album's elusion from balefully scorn views. Able to find a sense of reason in plausible contemn (which doesn't really reach those proportions) for Falling Into Infinity, since it bears with it, some of the worst tracks in Dream Theater's history, due to unfortunate basis of shallow construction, alien to the band's grasp, however having as well many of the best songs written (Hell's Kitchen, Lines In the Sand, New Millenium, Peruvian Skies, Trial of Tears), thus close to opprobrium, relative to its anterior and posterior creations. Train of Thought is also rightfully regarded as one of the worst, probably from its "unidimensional" traits binding the album to an ever present plangent proximity to metal's sheer essence, rather than prog (even though, progressive features are always highly noticeable), and also the inaptitude to create more than averagely defined lyricism and musical allurement, despite all its congenial quality. What truely poses a considerable blemish as to DT's virtuous path in music, in my opinion, stands as Octavarium. Many would most likely disagree (which at some extent I fail to fanthom), though it seems to complete the previously mentioned albums' distance to utter failure, as it'd convey an insidiously evolved consanguinity with commercial metal, appearing to writhe in what ailed FII, for most tracks never extend the potential seen before, both in technical performance and composed grandeur, save for Octavarium itself. Lyrics tend to slaughter hopeful poises carefully accompanying the band's success with a horrid thud clashing at banality, which is less than one can say about the music, though it doesn't fall that much behind - Root of All Evil, Answer Lies Within (yes, that could have been a grandiously innovative hit, if only every single individual on the planet hadn't seen/heard/loathed the concept before), These Walls/I Walk Beside You (lean to where the previous tumbled); Panic Attack conceives its own significant ambience, through dynamic sound and congruently rhythmnic vocals/lyrics, providing an identity of its own (at what is possible from such shortened manneuverability, since it barely complies to discern from the rest's quality); Never Enough places itself on a balanced sense of inferiority, though achieving a pleasant enough solo; Sacrificed Sons discusses what every sentient being has come to perceive, which isn't really atributing of much credit, though a prime song over ambience, as well as a better performance. In conclusion, the title track is a sumptuous display of epic depth, but is sadly blemished from previous songs, in the album's overall character, thus why I would consider it even worst than Change of Seasons or any other mentioned above.

AtLossForWords wrote: silversaw wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: A Change of Seasons is an EP I don't think that any of these albums are bad, so I can't/won't choose a "worst". "Seasons" is basically an EP, but I had to keep in there for the title track, as some DT fans site that as one of the band's greatest moments! But A Change of Seasons is also a live album.

No, it isn't. The live songs on A Change of Serasons are bonus tracks. Nearly the equivalent of bonus tracks on a reissue. They aren't really part of the album.

silversaw wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: A Change of Seasons is an EP I don't think that any of these albums are bad, so I can't/won't choose a "worst". "Seasons" is basically an EP, but I had to keep in there for the title track, as some DT fans site that as one of the band's greatest moments!

But A Change of Seasons is also a live album.  The poll is best Dream Theater studio album.  Why don't I just vote for Live at Budokan?

I guess I'll vote for When Dream and Day Unite.  It's an album with some class playing, but the depth to the composing isn't there.  Charlie Dominichi sounds like a strange Geddy Lee.  The good matierial on the album is quite impressive though.  I just can't stand some of the hair metal influence.

MikeEnRegalia wrote: silversaw wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: A Change of Seasons is an EP I don't think that any of these albums are bad, so I can't/won't choose a "worst". "Seasons" is basically an EP, but I had to keep in there for the title track, as some DT fans site that as one of the band's greatest moments! I know ... the problem is that people who consider it to be a full album always rate it lower, because of the live tracks. Which is not appropriate, because these are essentially bonus tracks. The only "real" track is the epic.

I agree. I think the live tracks should be neglected when considering the score of the album. I see all these low reviews for it because of your stated reason, and that, to me, is not right.

And to me, it is out of question what the weakest DT album is: When Dream and Day Unite. It's not the same without LaBrie, the production is poor, and the band hadn't quite reached their potential musically or compisitionally. If they re-recorded the album (in the studio), it might be more worthwhile.

Probably for me it's "When Dream and Day Unite".  I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've listened to it in the past 10 years.

I was really into "Falling into Infinity" when it came out, but haven't listened to it much since.  Interviews with Portnoy revealed it wasn't really the album he (and possibly the whole band) wanted to make - there were various pressures from the label for something more commercial, etc.  In fact, if I remember correctly, around that time Mike believed there was a good chance that the band might just fold up, or at the least he would quit.  Thankfully they got through to record the next album, almost universally acknowledged as the band's masterpiece.

Train of thought and images and words

I can't find one DT album that I think is their worst or an bad album in general. If you ask me which earns the lowest mark, I simply put "Falling Into Infinity". That album seems a bit too polished for my taste, but I still can recommend it to anyone. It's a "grower-album". If you once have accept the mainstream-orrientation of that album, you will find much to love about this record as well.