Well, I'm taking a break from the regular song discussions for a couple weeks, & for the next 8 days, I will post a discussion on each song from Octovarium.
 
First up, the opening track, the 3rd installment in Mike's AA saga.  A great opening build-up with some musical references to This Dying Soul.  The obvious diffirence with this one from TGP & TDS is that it's in F instead of B which is a nice change.  Obviously they needeed to do this because of the key sequence on the album, and the fact that they started with the low F from the end of ITNOG.  I just knew from the first moment I heard this song that I was gonna be in for one hell of a listening experiance!
 
Offer your thoughts & opinions on The Root Of All Evil.

I just wish I had Octavarium in my hands.

Why do I feel so numb? Is it to do with where I come from? Should this be fight or flight? I don't know why I'm constantly so uptight.

I always find the "Take all of me..." and the reprise of "I can feel my body breaking" very emotional, intense. Very "explosive" starting song for a show.

I thought the song was the worst out of the AA saga so far.  The only part I really like is "I can feel my body breaking..." that they took from TDS.  TDS is second best.  The Glass Prison wins (the awesome intro and outro helped).  

I can't stand the part in TROAE that uses the same riff as TDS  cause I sing the lyrics from TDS there.  I wonder how this will transition into the next part of the saga tho

I love the chorus.

"Searching for something, to lash out at..."

Wii # - 3582-1392-3791-2521

A wonderfull song, truly amazing!

I going to see DT this evening, and I think it'll be good opener! key/drums, and then when JP starts playing the riff the croud will go crasy
 

So, in the lyrics of this song, it has two sections, VI and VII  (I think, I don't have the booklet with me right now) and the lyrics to Octavarium have I II III IV and V (again, not sure, but something like that)
 
SO, did they go for the George Lucas prequel/out of order story thing?  Is Octavarium the next chapter in the AA saga?

Execllent Intro, and of course it has the bells that started in the Glass Prison at the end of it, so the next part in the saga may kick off with the bells again.  This song has great lyrics and I love it but I don't think it is quite as good as the other parts, but it is in no way back and a great sequal.

They also have never brought back the very first part (Part 2 was in TDS and Part 3 was brought back in this song during the instrumental break) of the Glass Prison back into any riffs yet, so we may see it's return on the next album.
 

ORIGINAL: HalenRush

So, in the lyrics of this song, it has two sections, VI and VII  (I think, I don't have the booklet with me right now) and the lyrics to Octavarium have I II III IV and V (again, not sure, but something like that)

SO, did they go for the George Lucas prequel/out of order story thing?  Is Octavarium the next chapter in the AA saga?

And no, Octavarium (the song) has nothing to do with the AA saga.  It would be signed To Bill W. and is friends.

This Is Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled...- Steve Wilson, Lightbulb Sun

Great rocking tune.  The intro, tying into both the end of ITNOG and the end of TDS, is a great slow build, and once the full band comes in, that is one excellent job of rif****e, my friends!
 
Further, JLB does a great job on this song, as well (along with the rest of the album).  He really captures the emotions behind Mike's lyrics.
 
The lyrical and musical nods to TGP and TDS are great, and tastefully done, and don't take away at all from the newness of this song.  I also love the piano at the end, playing the Octavarium theme.  The fact that at the very end it is only piano leads me to believe that the next chapter perhaps won't be quite as heavy as the first three.  But maybe not.  Either way, once the complete cycle is done, Mike has said that he wants to perform the whole thing, like one long concept album performance.  I absolutely can't wait for that.

Damn right about the whole performance of the AA saga.  Offical Bootleg (DVD/CD) written all over it.

This Is Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled...- Steve Wilson, Lightbulb Sun

One of my favorite songs from OV! Very \m/.

My favorite part is "I can feel my body breaking, I can feel my body breaking, I'm ready to let it all go!"
So cool.

Though I don't consider it better than either of the previous AA songs, I really like it! It rocks as hell and it will certainly be a nice and dynamic concert opener! 

Better to save the mystery than surrender to the secret

Listening to it right now. When I first heard the samples this was instantly my favourite track. This track kicks so much ass its hard to even describe it. Love the Zakk Wylde style riffs, Velvet revolver stuff whatever.... highlight for me is Jame's vocals, frickin \m/

2nd favourite of the album for me.

"Whoever should be found guilty of burning coal shall suffer the loss of his head." - Edward I in 1306 for pollution control.

Although I don't think it's better than TGP and TDS, it's one hell of a song! While it's not as heavy as the prequels I think it's much more groove-oriented. The chorus is very majestic, part VII is a very nice build-up in itself and the start of the instrumental breakdown rocks! The solos could have been a bit more inspired, though, but maybe that's just me.

Overall a worthy successor for TGP and TDS and a great opener for 8VM for sure.

time to assess. now the nails have been driven.

 
 
This is a pretty cool song.  You can tell it would make a great opener with the TDS rhythm on the drums and the misty tritone on the guitar.  It was mentioned a few times that it is a great change to go from B to F, especially since there are several themes and harmonies (or actually, really just one) occuring throughout the album.  But about the tritone mudulation.  What kind of cool is since the tritone when in the key of B is C and F#, all they are doing by having the song in F with a diminished second is using the exact same tritone.  it is just an inversion and it starts on the F# instead.  Well, C'mon, that's cool!!  I really love the deep melodic parts of this song too.  We finally get a little contrast in the AA saga.  
 
 
The only thing that is a little odd is the way some of the words are sequenced (the "fooouundatioonnnnn").  Also during the chorus, as beautiful as it is, when James sings "I am ready," I think of this:
 

 
t shirt not included

R.I.P. Keith Kitchens

jbn1, I was so close to owning you when I saw this thread...well, not you, but I saw the thread title and was like.."NO...this is jbn1's show....not yours"...then I realized, it was your thread, just a slightly different format...so oh well...

Either way, I dont have much to say about the song right now...I'll post again in this thread some other time when I have something to add...that being said, I think you do a great job with these threads and they are great....its fun to break down songs and see how everyone really feels about them...quality stuff, bro.....

"700 miles from North Carolina for you Dream Theater. You guys fucking Rock!" Me...in the DT DVD and stuff.

ORIGINAL: TheDanceOfMaternity

What kind of cool is since the tritone when in the key of B is C and F#, all they are doing by having the song in F with a diminished second is using the exact same tritone.  it is just an inversion and it starts on the F# instead. 

The tritone is based off the root in TROAE so it's not the same notes: F#-C in TDS, F-B in TROAE

I wouldn't call these songs part of the "AA saga" but just songs based on MP's experience with the twelve steps of AA, TROAE is step 6 &7:
 
"Part of the recovery program that A.A. suggests is set forth in the Twelve Steps listed on page 15. Based on the experience of A.A.'s earliest members, the Steps are a record of the principles and practices they developed to maintain sobriety (after many other approaches had failed). If the alcoholic in your life shrinks from the idea that a formal code of behavior will be required, you can put his or her mind at ease. Each member uses the Steps in an individual way. The Steps are suggested program of recovery. Although experience shows that many A.A. members' comfort in sobriety depends, to an extent, on their understanding and acceptance of the Steps, no A.A. member is forced to accept or even read — them. It is up to the individual to decide when and how the Steps, will be used."



THE TWELVE STEPS
OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
 
 
~kpd, a friend of Bill W's 

ORIGINAL: Bakerman

ORIGINAL: TheDanceOfMaternity

What kind of cool is since the tritone when in the key of B is C and F#, all they are doing by having the song in F with a diminished second is using the exact same tritone.  it is just an inversion and it starts on the F# instead. 

The tritone is based off the root in TROAE so it's not the same notes: F#-C in TDS, F-B in TROAE

Dammit dammit dammit.  That would have been cool, though!, and I have really good relative pitch too
 
 
So i guess we can expect two more of these songs.  Probably the next would be a two step song, and the final one would be a three step just like the first?  Hey!  I'm 79/80 the way there!!!

R.I.P. Keith Kitchens

Great song, took a while to get used to it, but now I think its the best of the AA's (Although Glass Prison minus the middle section [Part II] is probably better).

Probably DT's best opener since Pull me Under, too. (Sorry NM fans, that's one of the coolest songs as well). The only part I don't love is "I'm ready.... " part repeated at the end; not the greatest way to end a great song. The piano Awakening part is sublime, you can guess where Part VIII will start off.

DOM, must you constantly break apart each song by its theoretical parts?  It really isn't necessary.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmwang
Twitter: http://twitter.com/brianmwang

ORIGINAL: xenowang

DOM, must you constantly break apart each song by its theoretical parts?  It really isn't necessary.

 
I like to imagine myself performing a DT song whenever I hear it.   To do that legitamately, I need to know how to play it
 
 
 
Besides, I always get PWNED by Bakerman everytime I try

R.I.P. Keith Kitchens

I hope Dream Theater use this as a show openner.

I think the song is a great addition to the AA series. Very cool.

Ohh yeah, a little nugget I noticed that I think nobody has caught on this song:

The beggining rhythm (the one from TDS) is played exactly 12 times before the song starts, obviously paying homage to the 12 steps of the AA program.

Awsome. They should have called this album Nuggetarium.

..::Peace. Love. Harmony. Minor 3rds::..

This song was such a perfect way to start the album. The one thing I didn't like about the song is the "Iiiii ammm reaadddddyyyy" part after the choruses... it's cool, but for some reason it bugs me. It'll grow though. TRoaE is probably one of my favourite songs on 8V

ORIGINAL: karenplaysdrums


8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

I can easily see the next installment, if it is steps 8 and 9, being a much lighter, more uplifting song than the previous three.  After TRoAE, the mood is not as dark and heavy as the first three were, because the weight of the addiction is not as heavy on the individual.  Now, the person sees the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel" and it is not as hopeless as it seemed in TGP.  Just my take on it.

I love this song. It's easily one of my favorites off the album. Very heavy, and some great emotional lyrics by MP. I don't know about you guys, but this one beats TDS for me. However TGP still is untouchable.

They say that life's a carousel, spinning fast you've got to ride it well. The world is filled with kings and queens, who blind your eyes and steal your dreams, It's Heaven and Hell!

"If God was a heavy metal singer, he would probably sound just like Ronnie James Dio." - Me
RIP Ronnie James Dio

Great song to add to a great series of songs. I love the body breaking part.
 
Interesting thought I had though when reading those 12 steps. Could this saga be a part of MPs 12th step of carrying the message to others. Probably not, but its an interesting thought.
 
Jim

The sexiest man alive, Conan O'Brien:

This is one of my favorite DT songs evah!!!! 
 
It just groooooves.

Who is Bill W. anyway?

Edit: TROAE is badass!!! It took a few listens for it to catch me but the chorus has grown on me so much by now I can't get rid of it. Awesome song.

Christ! What would rock and roll be without feedback? - David Gilmour, Pink Floyd

Bill W. is the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, if I'm correct. "His Friends" are those who he has helped.

Bill W is the leader of Alcoholics Anonymous

Oh, okay. Thanks for the info.

Christ! What would rock and roll be without feedback? - David Gilmour, Pink Floyd

IMO:

TROAE will make for a great show opener...i like the TDS reference in the opening seconds and the fact that the rest of the song takes on its own identity rather than having random bits of TDS and TGP spliced into it..((not to say TDS does either, just saying))

Five steps left, my guess is two more songs will complete the AA saga...unless they decide to devote an entire song to one step or make the next one a monster five step track...thoughts?

http://johnpetrucciisfuckinghuge.tumblr.com

Well its obvious what the reference is to TDS in the song but also, the craziness section at about 5:18-5:31 reminds me of the parts before the last lines in TGP. I just noticed it while listening. Great song... but also... a great 'continuing' song. This song is just as I like to think, a section of one great epic written by MP!

Believe it or not, I'm man enough to say that I actually 'welled up' a little bit the FIRST time I heard this song.  My best friend sitting next to me, I was trying not to let him see out of the 'guy thing' and all, but then again, I didn't mind if he did notice.  He loves DT as much as I do. We made it a point that I would hear the first note with him. I shed a tear, Not only because it was the first song of the new album, and not because I'm very passionate about DT's music, but because this song, like so many hits home with me.  I too, am struggling with my 'addictions' and coming to the realization that change is necessary in order for me to be who I'm capable of being.  This album and this song are very much at home with all my feelings, where I'm going in life and how I identify with my higher power.  DT is very personal to me and this song is in no way an exception. THAT is my first post on this SONG in particular.

ORIGINAL: zedsdead

Damn right about the whole performance of the AA saga.  Offical Bootleg (DVD/CD) written all over it.

Well, even if they never play the whole thing live, I've pieced together the first three songs for my own enjoyment.  It's already a monster; can't wait for the rest of them!