Composer/Musician Reacts to Dream Theater - The Count Of Tuscany (REACTION!!!)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Dream Theater - The Count Of Tuscany
ORIGINAL VIDEO: • The Count Of Tuscany
Patreon: www.patreon.com/criticalreactions
Twitter: critreactions

[@gooysda]

PLEASE do A Change of Seasons, it's remarkable

[@Leonhavenify]

I second this

[@shupakiko]

100% Agreed, you can't take Count of Tuscany and Octavarium without doing Change of season, the superior 20m epic imho

[@timodynsy6672]

"Does Dream Theater make any shorter songs?"

[@minimumwage_music]

@@timodynsy6672 trust me they do on some stuff on images and words and it's just as amazing

[@bjhellstream]

That song may be their best song ever. At least one of them.

[@forgottenfantasy3983]

John Petrucci, the guitarist, meets a fan while they're touring in Tuscany. The fan introduces himself as the local Count and asks John if he wants to come visit his grounds. During the ride there, the Count explains a fun fact. The character of Hannibal Lecter as seen in Hannibal is loosely based on his brother, Sebastiano. The count introduces them, shows John his wine cellars and tells him another fun fact or two. The ones about the soldiers who hid in wine barrels only to be hammered shut and never released and the one about what happened in the chapel. John is legitimately freaked out that he trusted the wrong guy and he'll end up like the soldiers or worse. He asks the Count about it and gets the answer you heard at the end of the song. The Count didn't mean to frighten him. He just wanted someone he admires to remember him and know his colorful story. He lets Petrucci go and years later, John writes the song about him. Not sure how much of the story is fiction and how much is true, but it still makes for one hell of a story. Many songs on Black Clouds and Silver Linings are based on dark experiences from Petruccis life. The stories are the black clouds and the resulting songs are the silver linings.

[@maxlindqvist163]

Saying that Dream Theater sounds like "a soundtrack to a fever dream" is definitely the best description of their music I've ever heard

[@MarWeyog]

And matches their name also!

[@777malkavian]

For me, that'd be Car Bomb

[@jackmartino8245]

You gotta listen to A Nightmare to remember

[@TylerJMacDonald]

I second this

[@husker6395]

🤘🏻😎

[@jaijaijaijauuh]

Agreed

[@michaelgiaquinto3295]

@@TylerJMacDonald I third this!!!

[@connollyc]

The slow atmospheric section, Jordan (the keyboardist) is playing the slow synth pad strings and then John (the guitarist) is playing the lead tone there. He's using a volume swell pedal to create that effect. If that's the part you were referring to..?

[@hawkeye2816]

Was about to comment that. It physically can't be much more legato than that because he has to turn off the volume between notes, forcing at least some separation. I've tried it myself with both the volume knob on the guitar and a volume pedal and it's really tough to get it as smooth as Petrucci did.

[@timmokoo5679]

@@hawkeye2816 Probably easier with studio magic when you can adjust the volume curve.

[@phredhenson9638]

It's always fun to hear somebody ask "is that the end"

[@mike2003ars]

Hey, My suggestions for the upcoming reactions i. Your dream THEATER Journey: A CHANGE OF SEASONS THE SHATTERED FORTRESS THE DANCE OF ETERNITY A NIGHTMARE TO REMEMBER

[@BigIsk52]

Great choices! Love them all!

[@TheIppoOps]

The Glass Prison

[@shanechaisson9383]

Best of Times

[@moretto6575]

i think that the album "scenes from a memory" must be listened as a whole piece

[@yotambraunshtein9786]

@@BigIsk52 dance of eternity yes

[@jacobhumphrey3535]

Funny how you felt that the verse had a very "early Metallica" vibe. The guitarist John Petrucci has said in one of his instructional videos that with the chugging low notes the verse was directly influenced by Metallica's playing style, especially songs like Creeping Death and Master of Puppets.

[@JakobStrand]

John also mentioned Megadeath in the fast, palm muted parts. :D

[@stubbynubby6926]

The verse part always gave me an iron maiden feel, but with the fill leading into it, I can definitely hear those influences as well

[@Metalton95]

It's no wonder. The Metallica inspiration was already prevalent on Peruvian Skies, As I Am, Endless Sacrifice, Root of All Evil, Constant Motion etc.

[@joelroberts8050]

I heard the short Megadeth-type part just after as well. Good catch.

[@nunosantos2679]

"In The Presence Of Enemies, PT. 1" followed by PT. 2 is also quite a journey 🙂

[@BigIsk52]

Great reaction. When you're ready, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory in it's entirety. Listening to the full album is how it should be done. For me, it's the greatest album ever made. Hope you do more Dream Theater reactions. On DT's most recent release, Distance Over Time, all tracks are under 10 mins and it's another great work from these phenomenal musicians. Peace.

[@ahwsmith]

Agreed. Listen to the full album in order but please listen to Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper first.

[@Arianwubbe]

I concur that it's the greatest album of all time.

[@pocznjm]

On their Scenes tour before the lockdown i saw them in London on the second night. It brought tears to my eye. Such memories.. this band is the Band! I love them!

[@BigIsk52]

I saw them in November '19, the 2nd time I saw Scenes in it's entirety, this time with my son Nicholas! Great evening and great memories. Peace.

[@andrearodriguez9005]

My favorite album also. It's such a roller coaster ride!

[@acc3209]

A change of seasons, you are going to be blown away

[@danisuar3z]

Yes, please!

[@ilovetacos6092]

I have read that DT recorded A Change Of Seasons in one single shot. They all rolled into the studio, laid the song down, and rolled out. They are just so so good

[@barefootalien]

Eh... I've never quite gotten what all the fuss is about A Change of Seasons. I think it's their worst album, other than maybe their very first.

[@drolakdum7751]

I believe the reason for the calm outro sounds are because the song ends on a positive note, as does the album. Whereas the first song of the album, Nightmare to Remember starts with thunderstorm sounds and that song has a dark, scary feel.

[@vaklam1]

Dream Theater did short songs too, also beautiful ones. The reason why you receive so many recommendations for long theme-based songs, suites and concept albums is because it's basically their signature. The epics is where they really stand out. Each one telling a different story, each one exploring a single precise theme that you can recognize through the music and the lyrics. Long Dream Theater suites is what they will always be remembered for. Funny enough, the longer the suite, the more memorable, so that their longest suite, the album Metropolis Pt II: Scenes From a Memory (around 1h 30m), is my favourite album of all times, ahead of The Dark Side of the Moon in my opinion. Here's a little summary of the suites, in order of my taste: - Metropolis Pt II: Scenes From a Memory (90') - Six Degrees of Inner Turbolence (not the album, the song) (45') - Octavarium (24') - A Change of Season (23') - The Count of Tuscany (19') - The Ministry of Lost Souls (15') - In the Presence of Enemies Part I + Part II (two connected songs in the album "Systematic Chaos" that are the first and the last track of the said album) - Hell's Kitchen + Lines in the Sand (two connected songs in the album Falling into Infinity) - Erotomania + Voices + The Silent Man (three connected songs in the album "Awake" composing the suite called "A Mind Beside Itself) As for the shorter songs, there is many: here's a bunch of my favourites: Another Day, Take the Time, Surrounded, Under a Glass Moon, The Silent Man, Space-dye Vest, Hollow Years, Take Away my Pain, Anna Lee, pretty much any song in SFAM, The Glass Prison, The Answer Lies Within, Panick Attack

[@baguspermana6320]

I love , "the scene from memories" all the song

[@AdvaitBhalerao]

The lyrics in The Count of Tuscany are very uninspired and bland.

[@portalboy3187]

you realise that metropolis pt2 is nothing in length to the astonishing

[@AdvaitBhalerao]

@@portalboy3187 he's talking about songs, not album length.

[@portalboy3187]

@@AdvaitBhalerao he said that the longest suite is metropolis pt2

[@Itsleakim]

For a “SHORT” Dream Theater song, let me suggest “Wait for sleep” from the album “Images and Words” easy peasy... 02:31 min, but quite beautiful 👍

[@lincolnosiris3665]

I think you should really take a look at "Breaking all Illusions", "The Ministry of Lost Souls" or "Illumination Theory". Apart from that...Ayreon is a great band/collective to check out....I really like "The Fifth Extinction" for e.g.

[@metalstream]

really great proposals, the dance of eternity it would be fantastic too

[@surj1kal]

dance of eternity or blind faith!!!

[@lucaskaoid1240]

omg first time I find someone who listens to Ayreon. he totally check out "the banishment" (11 min)

[@davidoscarcuello7079]

The only problem that I have with recommending someone to listen to Ayreon, is that I recommend the WHOLE ALBUM. With that been said... You should check THE HUMAN EQUATION

[@fabianwinters7826]

@@metalstream dance of eternity would be too messy for a non stop reaction video. Another epic like Metropolis, in the name of god, learning to live, stream of consciousness or one of the songs listed above would be a better choice.

[@jeromedutil-martin6823]

"Black Clouds & Silver Linings" was the first DT album i ever listened to, and this song will always be one my favorite songs from this band.

[@andrewsitek190]

This song came out in 2009. They have an epic (15+ min) on probably every other album out of their 14 albums. Dream theater are known for their intros and outros. Not many bands do them as often or as well as they do. Some of their earlier albums they were "forced" to make more mainstream sounding songs by the record companies in an attempt to make them more accessible. While I'll hop on the "change of seasons"/"breaking all illusions" bandwagon for the next epic, a good dark horse suggestion for you would be "Scarred". A very different sound of dream theater than anything you've really heard so far.

[@FranFuzz]

Andrew Sitek thanks to those companies, the best Dream Theater albums exists, everything after Octavarium has fallen in disgrace... no more falling into infinity, Scenes from a memory, six degrees... certanly the highest notes of their carrer

[@jima6545]

They did manage to sneak in Learning to Live on Images and Words. A pure DT song

[@filiplekic2859]

@@FranFuzz I disagree. In my opinion "A dramatic turn of events" is one of their best albums, and the new one is really awesome. Falling into infinity has only one REALLY great track, and that's trial of tears (don't get me wrong, i love the album).

[@scorpiusbalthazar4327]

Trial of Tears.

[@FranFuzz]

@@filiplekic2859 Maybe for you and that's fine, but that is the new and changed Dream Theater, when they flipped into more "aggressive metal" everything turned.. So we, the early fans (not all of course) got spooked.

[@MrJetlagman]

This is my favorite Dream Theater song, cause it has everything all packed into one.

[@mightykriss]

This is my favorite band of all time and I definitely love how they sound with Mike Mangini (current Drummer), but god damn.... Mike Portnoy was just something else. This is the last song of the last album in which he participated. Just to had some more flavor to my comment, Portnoy's father came up with the name of the band and past away while the band was still recording this album which led (among other things) to him leaving the band. In my opinion he is still among the greatest drummers there are.

[@deminybs]

i love how mike portnoy play for avenged sevenfold for a bit (: opeth is possibly my favorite band of all time. hard to say for sure, i like waaaaay too many bands hahah \m/

[@Canalbiruta]

@@deminybs and of course the guy nailed in A7X too.

[@crawfordmerk]

This album was based on real life events that went on with different band members. This song was about the band’s tour in Europe. They were in Italy and they went to meet the Count of Tuscany

[@azdarkforce]

Speaking as a big Dream Theater fan, I wish to request more reactions. Also, a scary challenge to suggest would be Twelve step suite that is made of their five tracks spanning five albums starting with The glass prison in 2002 and finishing with 2009 The Shattered fortress featured in the same album as this fun small song. I always found fascinating how musical themes, parts, vocal schemes were reused in between those songs and how different flavours were brought from them by using them in the context of a different song.

[@TheVoitel]

Hello mirror, so glad to see you my friend, it’s been a while ...

[@sky173]

The first time I heard this my jaw hit the floor. I don't know many metal bands that can put a whole range of feeling into their playing, let alone one song. Great reaction. Thanks for sharing.

[@jakelee8789]

Quick fact that guitar lovers may know, John petrucci was part of g3 with Joe satriani and friends. He's such an epic guitarist

[@gregorykenfield3134]

Great tour!

[@randyhenderson6166]

I saw him on that first G3 tour. John said that after he eagerly accepted the invitation, he realized that he needed songs to play. So in a couple of months, he just came up with songs like Glasgow Kiss and Damage Control, etc. which would constitute the majority of his 2005 solo album. I found it incredible that he wrote and rehearsed all those great instrumentals in just a short amount of time. Petrucci is an American treasure, IMO.

[@Chachem3]

I think you would love illumination theory, change of seasons, or stream of consciousness

[@jamesbennett2254]

Fantastic reaction, and you nailed the description of “flying through the clouds” synth section but It’s definitely integral to the climax, in my opinion it’s a beautiful almost nostalgic part it takes me back to my childhood cycling around my neighbourhood with my brother on a sunny day that is slowly turning into dusk. I believe with multiple listens you will agree that this part is integral to the song as a whole.

[@geneabrego9759]

"A very contained honed insanity", pretty much what they're all about, they even named an album after this idea...Systematic Chaos.

[@tigerhawkteenager]

The story of the song is a literal anecdote, the guitarist and his guitar tech actually went to an Italian Count's mansion and drank wine, and while they were amazed by the grandeur of it all, they were also creeped out by the Dracula/Hannibal vibes (because one of the characters, "the brother" is a real guy, who was in the movie Hannibal and was a source for the film). From the FanWiki: "The count is: Count Niccolò Capponi. He is a bearded, historian count who lives in the Tuscany area, and whose family is in the wine business. He was a source of information for the Thomas Harris film "Hannibal", and is mentioned in the book. He also makes an appearance in the movie as one of the panel members for Dr. Fell's (Lecter's) selection as curator of the CAPPONI Library.""

[@TheVoitel]

Well, you could do ”Six degrees of inner turbulence“, that’s about 40 minutes. The song is so long, it gets it’s own CD. How about ”In the presence of enemies“, that is one prog masterpiece. Or anything from Metropolis pt. 2, especially Home+Dance of Eternity and Beyond this life. Seriously, Metropolis pt.2 is slightly weird, but imo their best album. Edit: I mean it. Do ”Beyond this life“, you won’t regret this, that is the pinnacle of songwriting!

[@charlesguitt]

SURE

[@benjamincollard502]

So true, I feel like the entire systematic chaos album is soooo underrated. People always go straight to images or scenes straight and away but some of the stuff on there is so good. Once again, the intro on enemies 2 is just so tasty. It can't be denied that pretty much everything they write is amazing and I'd definitely suggest checking out stuff like dance of eternity/metropolis but chaos deserves more recognition

[@TheVoitel]

@@benjamincollard502 Not even talking about tasty, the whole thing is such a perfect composition. Itpoep1 is a nice proggy tune, lot’s of tasty stuff too, but itpoep2 is is just so perfect in it's structure. Just take [III], it’s such a perfect buildup. The way the Angels fall hook is repeated thrice, and the Dark master hook twice is just perfect. Then you get an energetic Allegro in [IV], a proggy interlude with [V], and a nice finale with [VI]. That is some coherence DT fails to achieve on e.g. Octavarium. Then, many people dislike Forsaken, but it is a nice tune. It’s got a very nice layering of sound. Just check out the first verse. The 7/8 layering of piano, bass and the palm muted guitar is so nice. The second verse is powerful, and that gp after ”lips” is very nice. The chorus is a bit popy, but, well, it’s Dream Theater. Constant motion doesn’t give me that much, it’s just fast and aggressive. The Dark Eternal Night is a nice combination of metalcore and prog. A little bit too repetative for my taste, but much nicer than CM. Repentance is very nice, like everything from the 12-step suite. [Hello, mirror, so glad to see you my friend ...]. Definitely one of the best DT songs. Prophets Of War is a bit repetative again. It’s got very nice parts, but it’s not as good as the better songs. And I thing DT is not very good with such moralistic lyrics, they tend to feel a bit unrefined. The Ministry of Lost Souls - that song is quite good, it was my favorite for some time when I was younger. It’s a calmer, softer song than most DT songs, and that is a good thing. DT has far to many fast and heavy songs, especially nowadays (on Scenes from a memory the soft parts might feel to popish for some, but they are very important for giving the album dynamics). And the instrumental section is quite nice. So we see, Chaos has quite a few gems on it, and it’s not like Octavarium, Train of thought, DC&SL or Six degrees had significantly less not so good songs. Scenes is a special case for it’s structure, so you cannot compare these, and the ealy albums are quite different in style and songwriting, so you cannot compare them very well too (Images and words has many nice songs, but rather deficient songwriting). So after all, Chaos is quite a nice album, honestly. I think DT fans split in several groups. The vintage guys, who think that everything after Moore left is much worse, the heavy guys, that like everything that is sufficiently heavy, loud, fast, distorted and aggressive, the theatralic guys, who like big pathos, and the epic guys, who like every song that is longer than 20 minutes. And while Chaos has a song for most of these groups, there is just always an album that fulfills this particular aesthetic more throughly. And thus Chaos tends to get overlooked, although is a quite nice album.

[@benjamincollard502]

@@TheVoitel not sure where you're from but as someone who is currently studying a level (under uni) music and grade 8 theory, hoping to study composition at conservatoire next year, I don't think you realise how happy it made me read that, someone obviously as excited about music as I get haha

[@pocznjm]

@@benjamincollard502 systematic album did get me into DT through the Dark eternal night song! And i saw them 1st time with this Black clouds album tour in Wolverhampton. I clearly remember when they played the count of tuscany too. It was unreal. Since that gig there is no turning back for me. They're my absolute favourites.

[@menjoSIM]

Pls, someone with patreon tell him to react to the dance of eternity, would get blown away with those changes

[@michaelgiaquinto3295]

A composer 🎼 would love ❤️ that

[@OracleCura]

"When did those strings come in?" Honestly I would recommend something a little different if you're going to delve into the DT discography again. Space Dye Vest is a pretty unique song that I think you'd enjoy; it's not a huge 20-minute epic you've experienced so far, and yes there are plenty of other aspects of their musical capacity in other songs, but this one in particular I think exposes something you won't get in many, if any other songs.

[@lucassaraiva817]

You would love "The ministry of lost souls" by them

[@grahampiercemusic6018]

Lucas Saraiva yes!!!!!!

[@andrewsullivan3180]

Live version from choas in motion tour

[@finalfantasy7hero]

So funny you call them wizards. The keyboard player, Jordan is nicknamed the wizard by fans. What that man can do is just magical. The story about the count of Toscany was based on a real life event. The guitarist (John Petrucci) went to travel through Toscany. He med an historian count, the story gets a bit strange and he started to feel threaded. At the end it was all an misunderstanding but the song takes you through there moments how it started out with a drive with the count. Than how it all became strange, even feeling as there life was in danger and then how it all was an misunderstanding. It is truly a masterpiece. I personally felt the middle piece as an feeling of accepting the situation. Almost accepting death in a way, but if feels off. It is not the end and so hope arrives and a sense of fight. I don't know maybe I'm imagining stuff. I've said it before somewhere in the comments but definitely check out the ministry of lost souls. Again an epic story that takes you places. And last... Keep up the good work. It is amazing to see you enjoy and analyzing songs. We can really enjoy with you. Thanks for that. (Sorry for the long story, but I'm so passionate about dream theater)

[@giovac.6814]

Actually the Count is a wine maker and his brother is an Historian, but i like the interpretation of the middle piece! Oh and in Tuscany we really drive like crazy, especially in the many curves that our countryroads on the hills :P

[@finalfantasy7hero]

@@giovac.6814 Ooh yes that's true! I'm sorry, thanks for the correction. I love the song so much ^_^ haha poor john, probably never drove like that. But it sounds really nice to drive through that scenery though (especially with count of tuscany on) :D

[@giovac.6814]

@@finalfantasy7hero definitley! Driving with that song on is great 😋

[@UnWantedProduction]

Also... Pretty sure that middle section consists of swells on the guitar with a volume pedal.

[@vvvvv290]

Yep that's Petrucci doing the notes. The Synth is doing the ambient in the background

[@einbertalstein9611]

You're right!

[@hawkeye2816]

I know it's been commented before, but the middle section was not a synth. It was a distorted electric guitar with a lot of delay and reverb. The effect that made it sound like a synth was a volume swell, where he cranks the volume down to nothing, hits the note, and gradually brings it back up. This is why the shorter notes sounded staccato, since he had to turn the volume up after the attack and back down again before the next attack. The overall effect of a volume swell is it sounds kinda like a bowed instrument, since you don't hear the pick transients and the sharp attack of a plectrum.

[@otacon04psn]

Love those reactions, i would like to see more of them, expecialy from Dream Theater

[@EpicMinerSK]

"it sounds theatrical, like a soundtrack for a fever dream" Well, that's the name of the band for ya, Dream Theater Also I hope you react to more of their work, there are just too many awesome songs to recommend a specific one but I see a lot fo great suggestions here in the comments

[@enzostuani8390]

React to a "change of seasons" from them aswell. Certantly a masterpiece

[@UnWantedProduction]

If you're are into their epics, A Change of Seasons is a great one to touch. It was their first "epic". Metropolis pt 1 and Learning to Live are both great earlier songs to check out as well. Someone mentioned Stream of Consciousness. Great instrumental (and my personal favorite DT instrumental.) I'm loving your reaction videos.. Keep them up!

[@jakepyrett1715]

All these songs suck. Pull me under blows this crap away. Why can't they write more song like pull me under?

[@brunoflorentino1278]

I must confess that it took 10 years for me to dig this song in its entirety. Back in 2010 when I listened it for the first times I only liked the intro and second half and I kind didn't like the heavy parts, at that time I thought the transition from the intro to the heavy riffs too abrupt. So last year I listened to it again and I must say that it got a hundred times better. It's a truly masterpiece.

[@sethbrundle6506]

About mimicing other groups: yeah, they've been known to kind of write in references and refer to parts like "this is the metallica riff". They even bring reference albums to the studio to kind of lay out what they feel like going for. It's well established in their documentaries. At least used to with this line up.

[@sofiejones7270]

After your first DT review, I was looking forward to another. You happened to choose probably my favorite dream theater song of all time. Excited to watch this

[@nicolasneveu298]

Man , this Band is amazing!!! They have 14 studio album plus the live one and bootleg!!! To understand the vibe of it, you need to listen old one, change of season, images and words, live scene from new york show, and TRAIN OF TOUGH 🤘🏼😉 A bunch of epic song !!!!

[@xTroels]

Not all their songs are as long as this and octavarium, but they usually have atleast one very long epic on each album. Not that their "normal" songs are short, probably average of 8 min or something along those lines. would be cool if you reacted to the whole album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Which is my favorite album and also a concept album. or maybe just listen to it on your :D.

[@jkill0993]

I averaged the lengths of every song and if i remember correctly its like 6:52, without the astonishing its probably much longer.

[@alexstevenin1007]

"This is like a soundtrack to a fever dream" is probably the best way I've heard someone describe DT, I love it

[@andrewsullivan3180]

I love how u point out that they throw in influences from other bands during the song...many times when they play live they throw in little covers during songs, a lot of pink floyd. They have also covered the entire dark side of the moon, master of puppets (which is different with 1 guitar and a keyboard) and number of the beasts albums and have many other cover song.

[@vr7life]

"Illumination theory" is another wonderful song to react!

[@tompramanaaccount8892]

Of course everyone's gonna recommended you to review A Change of Seasons after this, but I personally want you to react to their newer works with Mangini and hear your opinion about it compared to older ones. I love Outcry and Breaking All Illusion the most.

[@deminybs]

haha i read your comment then read the one directly below yours...xD

[@uzielmerino2701]

Portnoy wrote's these songs too,and the all CD,Mangini just played them, i'm sorry.

[@ilovetacos6092]

Something off “Distance Over Time” would be great. Any song would do for me. All of the are just awesome.

[@thelayerzero6177]

@ 21:00 Also that dreamy synth tone is also John Petrucci on guitar. He’s hitting the note and choosing how it comes in with a pedalboard.

[@joelroberts8050]

Volume swells with a volume pedal. This can also be done by striking or hammering on the fret and using the guitar's volume knob to 'swell' up & down.

Oh hey the single Dream Theater song that I know and love! and it's better than I remembered. Thanks for reminding me, I really should get into them more! Every time you mention 'oh a twenty minute long song again!' I get reminded of the 60-minute-long epic of Mike Oldfield, Amarok. The whole album is one song, constant switches and evolution etc etc... of course you could probably separate it to several parts but like, why would you. It's from 2000, I think it's his most eclectic stuff, kind of to spite the label who expected pop sound from him. But it's... well, it's genius. Probably one of my all time favourite albums. So, for maybe when you have a loooot of time to get into some strange prog rock! :)

[@phredhenson9638]

I just subbed, and if you keep doing DT, every week or two preferably, I will stay that way. I dig your take

[@jackmartino8245]

Also I strongly recommend listening to Come Hell Or High Water or do a video on it or something. A perfect arrangement honestly but you probably aren’t going to get very many requests for it

[@jackmartino8245]

That would be by Native Construct, should’ve included that haha

[@zaqueusantana5682]

You would definitely love Illumination Theory from DT. My favorite song ever.

[@riddhimanmedhi99]

This is fast becoming my favorite reaction channel. Especially for prog. On point analysis, often providing some interesting insight and appreciation into the songwriting elements. This really is a music reaction channel for musicians. Top stuff. Yes they cite Metallica as one of their major influences, their idea for the band was to merge Prog sounds of Pink Floyd with metal riffs made famous by Metallica. They have done full album concerts for Dark Side of the Moon and Master of Puppets. If you could do a reaction to Metropolis Pt. 2, that would just make me so happy!!!

[@andresaedozapata7549]

Another EPIC song is "A Change of Seasons" releasead as en EP in 1995, but the song was written way before around 1989

[@Jeff321]

You should do Haken - Crystallised. Compositionally it is... crazy but awesome haha. Definitely some surprises in that one.

[@lucasmsoto]

Second that

[@tomopeth]

I'd like to suggest a shorter song, Under a Glass moon. It's still as awesome, has one of the greatest guitar solos in the band's catalogue, and it's just 6 and a half minutes long.

[@chewypc]

You gotta do a reaction to "The Odyssey" by Symphony X. It is a 24 minute epic master piece.

[@grizzly8356]

Agreed.

[@Thi0209]

Big DT fan here... I’ve heard them for more than 20 years now and yes they have shorter songs... I would recommend "Take the Time" (around 8 minutes), “Solitary Shell” around 6 minutes (it is a “part” of a song), "Silent Man" (less than 4 minutes!), "Another Day" (around 4 minutes)… “Surrounded” is the first song I played on a piano, it has almost 6 minutes.

[@Skaarn_]

The Dark Eternal Night

[@kaspalone]

The "Clouds Section" was not made on a Synth, but on the guitar with volume swells. When you see them on concert, you can see Petrucci doing it on the guitar. Now, I'm with you there, that's the section I dont like on the song.

[@radish1972]

That is by far the best section

[@kaspalone]

@@radish1972 I beg to differ. It's good, no question, but coming from the chugging sections, that's a major change and the mood drops for me.

[@radish1972]

@@kaspalone It literally sounds like a composition that Mozart or Beethoven would create. It stands alone in this song as the best part.

[@kaspalone]

@@radish1972 I would not go that far as to call it like something Beethoven or Mozart would create. Again, It's good, it's just such a mood change that makes it my least favorite part of the song.

[@jarreldrakeabugan7937]

That section translates well live

[@gabrielraraujo9001]

I like how in the end of the song you just close your eyes and feel the vibe hahaha

[@bachtiarnurbudiman5991]

next : dream theater - the dance of eternity

[@jima6545]

It fit...if you listened to the lyrics. And it was supposed to break the flow. One of their most complete songs. Everyone shined

[@Blackened4everPS3]

Love it! I like that you are able to break the music down as its being played, and your brain just analyzes whats happening right away. This was Mike Portnoy's departing gift. The last song before he left the band, and i guess he figured he might as well go out jamming, which is exactly what he did on those drums. I suggest A Change of Seasons next

[@oscarwagner8263]

"The ministry of lost souls" and "The best of times" by Dream Theater are also awesome :)

[@rjacamargo]

When he said " it's almost out of place", I immediately replied outloud " you're out of place!!!"

[@greymindedguy]

It was a moment of pure surprise to me when I saw this post at the front page of KZbin on my laptop, while like ten seconds earlier than that, I just hit the play button of the exact same song on my cellphone.

[@oliversvensson8280]

Hello and greetings from Germany! For decades now I 've been a huge fan of DT. I' m pretty sure, you will be amazed also by their concept-album "Metropolis II. Scenes from a memory" Please listen to it! Have a good one! Regards Oliver

[@gregorykenfield3134]

Welcome to my favorite song by my favorite band! I wanted to point out something that your review suggests that you missed. The section of the song just before the acoustic break in the middle (the part you said you had wished remained more legato) foreshadowed the chords of the acoustic break, which in turn foreshadowed the vocal melody. BUT WAIT...THERE'S MORE! The basic melody of that foreshadowing was in turn revisited and elaborated upon in the electric guitar solo AFTER the acoustic part had fleshed out into the finale...and ALL of that had been introduced in the original guitar solo during the first minute of the song! I'm glad you compared and contrasted this song with "Octavarium"...to me, Octavarium was more of a keyboardist tour de force, while "Tuscany" is more guitar-centric, but each is a masterpiece. And they have MANY such masterpieces. Thanks for the review, and the insights! God bless!

[@davidallengraul4834]

I really enjoy listening to your thoughts on music ! GREAT to take it all in ... ✌

[@terrymtbnurse4760]

S2N man, off their latest album "Distance Over Time" Heavier sound great production, everything you want in a DT song.

[@slawaxas]

Except a good song

[@terrymtbnurse4760]

@@slawaxas That's cool bro, different flavors for everyone. I've been listening to DT for 30 yrs and I think S2N absolutely rips. Anyway, interested to hear what are some of your favorite songs/bands. Rock on and have a great summer.

[@slawaxas]

@@terrymtbnurse4760 I have listened to a lot of stuff, but recently I'm digging the band duster. They do the exact opposite of what dream theater is doing lmao. Also King crimson is great, but I don't wanna create a huge list now. I also like some new stuff like playboi carti

[@Temporal72]

I really like S2N, my favorite song on the new album, I think the best 2019 for me was Terraformer by Thank You Scientist, they are making a really interesting prog sound, you should listen to them :)

[@GeoffreyGodshall]

As a fellow musician, I'm with you 90 % of the time. Really good stuff by Dream Theater. Best wishes dude, I subscribed!

[@SpiralDogs]

With regards to hommages, their live version of Peruvian Skies (from the Once In A Livetime album) has a couple of obvious nods to their influences. Definitely worth checking out. Plus it's only about 6 or 7 minutes long.

[@adalb7691]

The intro and outro connection is gorgeous, all of the sounds coming together fill you with wonder and awe. In reference to classical music, this happens quite often. One off the top of my head is Symphony no. 4 by David maslanka. An incredible epic that follow a similar style. Connected intro and epic finale, with a whole lot of crazy in the middle. Highly recommended.

[@robertmunroe9635]

6 degrees of inner turbulence by dream theater is a 10/10 master peice. 42 minutes long

[@2424Lars]

My absolute favorite song from Dream Theater!

[@DamianSieradzki]

I feel you're gonna end up going through whole DT discography :) Good. Looking forward to it. Great reaction and analysis.

[@philipblank6896]

Everything they do is for purpose. I have seen them 20x and still continue to be mesmerized

[@rcjd7834]

Definitely check out Breaking All Illusions! Nightmare to Remember off this album is also incredible. Edit: God of the Sun and Opus Maximus off Sons of Apollo’s album Psychotic Symphony are also amazing epics. I think you would find God of the Sun incredible.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

The majority of DT songs are normal length, but people seem to love the epics. For great shorter DT songs: Pull Me Under, Lifting Shadows Off a Dream, The Spirit Carries On, Blind Faith, As I Am, I Walk Beside You, The Dark Eternal Night, The Enemy Inside, Fall into the Light... which will also give you a sampling of their styles and albums over their 30-year career.

[@MetalMann-de3xi]

Those songs are still longer than the typical song lol.

[@W4Rx1Sx0V3R]

This album came out in 2009, I highly recommend A Nightmare to Remember, best song on the album!

[@jima6545]

This song gets better everytime. Go back and listen to the lyrics. Then dig into the backstory. There are audiobooks, this is audio cinema. It's a Goddamn masterpiece, and the last album Portnoy played in. And yes, Megadeth influences definitely. Fyi...Symphony for Destruction is not old school Megadeth. I think Peace Sell but Who's Buying would shock you.

[@wadewilson991]

For another Dream theater song I certainly suggest "The Ministry of Lost Souls" or "The Glass Prison"

[@thelayerzero6177]

At 16:00 It’s a simple chord progression except pay close attention there are open strings mixed in there and a pretty complicated strumming technique to nail the syncopation. They never give a second of blandness even out of cliche phrases.

[@deanparadis9483]

Dude you kniw your shit. DT has been my favorite band for 30 yrs.(I am 50) every album has a different theme. Song to song sometimes thread together in weird ways. They are brilliant and LIVE they are EPIC and on point musically.

[@frlong1]

That 80’s synth part was done on guitar using the whammy bar .. not done on synthesizer .. seen it live and it blew my mind. And then he transitioned into the acoustic sound using the same electric guitar.

[@diperf]

The great thing about the reaction videos is having to "actually" listening... then realizing still that Portnoy is/was SUCH a driving force. Another great CR video, the Octavarium video, ALL the transitions are driven by Portnoy.

[@Isaiah_McIntosh]

Upon my 11th listen in the last 2 days I think this is definitely up in my top 5 songs across any genre.

[@feenux09]

What if I told you: the dreamy section is actually the guitar xD the synth is just backing it up. You may want to react to "A nightmare to Remember" (same album as this one), and the massive "In the Presence of Enemies" (around 25 mins total haha) , and all the others are saying here as well

[@MalFunktion2024]

The trance like section i think you might have thought that was a synth, but it was actually petrucci on guitar.

[@MrSk8guyJr]

The song is about the time when the guitarist, John Petrucci, met the count of Tuscany. John was frightened and thought he would die, but he got the wrong impression of the count. The count tells him "that's not how it is" and tells him he's free to go and tell everyone about his exeprience at the count's residence.

[@enriquecalvo8459]

The 70's - 80's keyboard with decay in the Middle section is the guitar, he's doing volume swells to approach that kind of strings effect, so that's why he has to that way, because of the technique he's using. Recommend shorter but mind blowing: metrópolis part. I, the miracle and the sleeper, from images & words álbum (1994) I also think it will be great to have a Steven Wilson song: The raven that refused yo sing. Ancestral

[@ahwsmith]

Please consider Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper ... which led the way for the concept album Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory. I also suggest listening to what is broadly referred to as The 12 Step Suite which consists of The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, The Root of All Evil, Repentance, and The Shattered Fortress. Happy Listening!

[@sanchzilla477]

I love these reactions, you really know what you're talking about! Change of Seasons or In the Presence of Enemies Pt 1 & 2 should be next! Edit: I believe the "flying through clouds" section was actually done by volume swells on the guitar, not a synth. I may be wrong though!

[@cristiancho2916]

You should listen Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper. Also the album Scenes from a Memory: Scenes from a Memory y a great concept album. Great reaction!

[@derikthehobbit395]

A change of seasons

[@joshmunn3444]

Scrolled through the comments a little and I don't think anyones mentioned the Six Degrees of Separation suite. Its an incredible experience, especially with a live video

[@stetig1]

Thank you for my favourite Song of my favourite group.

[@acc3209]

That middle section is actually played on a guitar, watch the song live.

[@jakelee8789]

I'm a dream theatre fan boy a little bit lol. They do have shorter songs. But usually it's on concept albums. They have so much different sounds from album to album as well. Great choice in songs.