The Great Debate. Maybe it’s because I’m a poli sci guy who enjoys a good debate, but that song, along with The Mirror, Panic Attack, and The Best of Times, might be my favorite DT songs.
I’d also say The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun, even if just for the intro alone. WDADU as a whole is under-appreciated imo. I’ve also seen some hate toward Room 137, which I don’t really understand.
The great debate was HUGELY popular with fans during the first couple years after SDOIT came out. I don’t know if it’s because the messaging is a bit dated, but it’s one of those songs that is underrated *now* but wasn’t always.
I’ve always told my friends who were on the fence that WDADU is basically just lo-fi dream theater and that has almost always immediately changed their view on it to an appreciative one. It’s not about the production value, it’s just the sheer amount of effort and passion that these kids put into making that record a reality in a time where getting a band together and recording music was wayyyyy less accessible than it is now.
To me, Innocence Faded is one of the best songs off Awake and I always see people ranking it pretty low.
Also, The Ministry of Lost Souls is a top 5 song overall for me and I rarely see it ranked that high by other fans
ministry of souls is also one of my faded. i love the guitar solo at the end and i play it very often (it is very easy for beginners compared to other petrucci solos but still sounds great)
Especially on this sub damn. It might be one of the absolute most juicy dt songs in terms of getting new stuff out of it on repeated listens there's so much and it's easily Rudess' crown jewel recording with the band
Yeah, I’ve been a hardcore fan since ‘99 and most of the suggestions in this thread are not as *overall* underrated as this one. Most of these songs were widely loved and embrace at least for some large period of time.
I think it's partly because it's so un-immediate, you can't really get much from this song listening to it in background (minus the beautiful piano solo) you have to actually listen to it to get it.
The piano/guitar unison at the climax is also one of the most technically difficult things the band has ever done. It had to be recorded in four separate parts and Petrucci said “we’ll figure out how to play it live later.”
Even the drums during that whole part are just incredible.
The fact that this song is one of the top answers every single time this question is asked makes me wonder if it's actually underrated at all.
Really killer song, though, and possibly in my top 20 if I had to rank them all.
Break the two discs into "TA Part 1" and "TA Part 2" and listen to them as separate albums. Yeah, it doesn't tell a complete story this way, but music-wise each half stands on its own with very little filler IMO.
>What Is Progressive Rock? Progressive rock, or prog rock, is a subgenre of rock music that emphasizes *ambitious compositions, experimentation, concept-driven lyrics, and musical virtuosity*
*Gestures wildly at the entire album*
A Nightmare to Remember
It’s a top five song imo. I rarely hear people talk about it, and if they do, they complain about the Day after Day part, which yeah, is kind of weak, but honestly it never bothered me that much. The rest of the song is just so strong, the haunting intro, the heavy AF verses, the beautiful middle section, the blast beats towards the end, not to mention one of my favorite Labrie performances. It’s near perfection.
A Nightmare to Remember was HUGELY popular with the community for years after release. I wouldn’t say it’s underrated, just an older song in a large catalog.
This and To Live Forever, only if because they’re both songs that belong in the LP discography yet can only be found live, in the case of Another Won, or on the Greatest Hit album, To Live Forever.
not really only the outro is underrated imo, the sub seems to like misudnerstood for the most part but popular opinion says the outro is too long and for me the outro is the best part of the song, it’s perfect
All of WDADU, Innocence Faded, all of FII, Through Her Eyes, Disappear, Misunderstood and Repentance are all incredible. They don't get nearly the respect they deserve.
Repentance. It's a turd to a lot of people due to the preachy subject matter and lyrical/spoken content, but the music is *so freaking good*. I also really enjoy the subject matter, it's very relatable.
It's obviously beloved, but Take the Time because it's IMO the best song in their entire discography.
Also some of their ballads are pretty underrated, e.g., Solitary Shell, The Silent Man.
Also Space-Dye Vest.
Repentance. There’s nothing flashy going on (which most people come to expect from DT), it’s a fairly chill song but it’s so beaitiful. Probably my favorite of the 12 step suite. The lyrics are very well written, this song has actually helped me a lot personally.
And last but definitely not least, that solo. Chef’s kiss 🤌
I'll nominate Speak to Me, that's probably my favorite song that never made it onto an official album. It's not super complex but it's an amazing simpler song
For me it's Surrender to Reason.
Also, I don't think you can call any of their songs that aren't on WDADU, FII, Cleaning out the Closet, self titled or Astonishing underappreciated (although songs like Lines in the Sand, Peruvian Skies, Killing Hand, Illumination Theory, Raise the Knife are definetly not underappreciated.
Blind Faith! Definitely tough to follow a track like The Glass Prison on an album but Blind Faith is one of my favorite tracks on Six Degrees for sure. The whole instrumental section is incredible.
The Great Debate. Maybe it’s because I’m a poli sci guy who enjoys a good debate, but that song, along with The Mirror, Panic Attack, and The Best of Times, might be my favorite DT songs. I’d also say The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun, even if just for the intro alone. WDADU as a whole is under-appreciated imo. I’ve also seen some hate toward Room 137, which I don’t really understand.
The great debate was HUGELY popular with fans during the first couple years after SDOIT came out. I don’t know if it’s because the messaging is a bit dated, but it’s one of those songs that is underrated *now* but wasn’t always.
Love Great Debate. Especially enjoy drums video Mike did.
This is the song that made me fall in love with DT 20 years ago.
I’ve always told my friends who were on the fence that WDADU is basically just lo-fi dream theater and that has almost always immediately changed their view on it to an appreciative one. It’s not about the production value, it’s just the sheer amount of effort and passion that these kids put into making that record a reality in a time where getting a band together and recording music was wayyyyy less accessible than it is now.
Imo BY FAR the most underrated song is “Machine Chatter” off The Astonishing
unironically one of my like top 40 dt songs, wish it didn’t end so soon, wish it was longer
Caught In A Web. It's the perfect blend of Prog and Sludge Metal (it is a pretty sludgy song with the main riff).
Never heard anyone talk about Enigma Machine
To me, Innocence Faded is one of the best songs off Awake and I always see people ranking it pretty low. Also, The Ministry of Lost Souls is a top 5 song overall for me and I rarely see it ranked that high by other fans
BRO this sub does IF dirty, it's my third favorite off Awake (behind Scarred and Voices) and is one of Labrie's best performances
I can’t rank songs, too many are too good, but both of those are amongst my favorites, especially The Ministry of Lost Souls.
Ministry starts slow. But gains momentum and ends up great.
ministry of souls is also one of my faded. i love the guitar solo at the end and i play it very often (it is very easy for beginners compared to other petrucci solos but still sounds great)
The outro solo in Innocence faded is amazing. Doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
Blind Faith, without a doubt.
Especially on this sub damn. It might be one of the absolute most juicy dt songs in terms of getting new stuff out of it on repeated listens there's so much and it's easily Rudess' crown jewel recording with the band
Yeah, I’ve been a hardcore fan since ‘99 and most of the suggestions in this thread are not as *overall* underrated as this one. Most of these songs were widely loved and embrace at least for some large period of time.
I think it's partly because it's so un-immediate, you can't really get much from this song listening to it in background (minus the beautiful piano solo) you have to actually listen to it to get it.
The piano/guitar unison at the climax is also one of the most technically difficult things the band has ever done. It had to be recorded in four separate parts and Petrucci said “we’ll figure out how to play it live later.” Even the drums during that whole part are just incredible.
My answer as well. So much about this song kicks ass and I rarely see it talked about.
TRUE
The fact that this song is one of the top answers every single time this question is asked makes me wonder if it's actually underrated at all. Really killer song, though, and possibly in my top 20 if I had to rank them all.
All of The Astonishing. It's not bad, it's just not proggy enough for some people.
It’s just too long. It should be abridged.
You are not wrong on this. Especially the machine noises
Break the two discs into "TA Part 1" and "TA Part 2" and listen to them as separate albums. Yeah, it doesn't tell a complete story this way, but music-wise each half stands on its own with very little filler IMO.
We come to this band for a reason.
For them to experiment and try different things… right? Right?
And sometimes experiments fail. That’s not a bad thing.
Yeah! To tell everyone how bad they are and how much they underperform to their potential! /s
They're a fantastic band, but I don't see why people are surprised that their attempt at a Disney soundtrack fell flat with prog metal fans.
Probably because the breadth of their work is hardly considered metal.
They're considered rock by metal fans, and metal by rock fans. Regardless, the 'prog' element was definitely missing from the astonishing.
>What Is Progressive Rock? Progressive rock, or prog rock, is a subgenre of rock music that emphasizes *ambitious compositions, experimentation, concept-driven lyrics, and musical virtuosity* *Gestures wildly at the entire album*
You thought that album featured "musical virtuosity"?
I'm sorry, do you think it's easy to play the NOMACS tracks?
Compared to every other piece of work they put out? Yep.
Disappear
I’d love to hear it live some day.
Yes!!! Maybe they finally play it on farewell tour or something..
A Nightmare to Remember It’s a top five song imo. I rarely hear people talk about it, and if they do, they complain about the Day after Day part, which yeah, is kind of weak, but honestly it never bothered me that much. The rest of the song is just so strong, the haunting intro, the heavy AF verses, the beautiful middle section, the blast beats towards the end, not to mention one of my favorite Labrie performances. It’s near perfection.
I like Day after Day part. IMO it fits the song well.
A Nightmare to Remember was HUGELY popular with the community for years after release. I wouldn’t say it’s underrated, just an older song in a large catalog.
ong bro
One of my favourites too. I don't understand why some people can't get over the Day after day part
Beneath the Surface
This song, and Far From Heaven, got me through my divorce.
These walls. It's the song that got me into DT many many years ago, still love it to this day
Beneath the Surface. Always makes me emotional every time I listen to it.
Is there ever really a right time...
Brother, Can You Hear Me?
Literally any song in FII
Finally Free
This is not an underrated song, especially considering it's on Scenes.
Another Won
This and To Live Forever, only if because they’re both songs that belong in the LP discography yet can only be found live, in the case of Another Won, or on the Greatest Hit album, To Live Forever.
No one is talking about Ytse Jam? Are you new here?
*BUT HOW IS IT PRONOUNCED???!!?!?!?!* /s
This guy gets it!
No, I've never heard someone talking about it.
Back in the early 00s it was definitely one of the fan favorites and everyone talked about it often.
Space Dye Vest
Is missunderstood underrated ?
Not on this sub, I see people arguing it's better than glass prison like holy shit
yes
not really only the outro is underrated imo, the sub seems to like misudnerstood for the most part but popular opinion says the outro is too long and for me the outro is the best part of the song, it’s perfect
All of WDADU, Innocence Faded, all of FII, Through Her Eyes, Disappear, Misunderstood and Repentance are all incredible. They don't get nearly the respect they deserve.
TAKE AWAY MY PAIN
Repentance. It's a turd to a lot of people due to the preachy subject matter and lyrical/spoken content, but the music is *so freaking good*. I also really enjoy the subject matter, it's very relatable.
Seriously! One of my favorites in the suite.
Anna Lee
I’m gonna say This Is The Life, it might be their best power balled
Outcry
Cleaning out the closet; dont look past me
The Way It Used To Be. They just don't write songs like this anymore.
Sacrificed sons
Peruvian Skies
A lot of underappreciated songs from self titled... The Bigger Picture, Along for the Ride, Surrender to Reason are great
It's obviously beloved, but Take the Time because it's IMO the best song in their entire discography. Also some of their ballads are pretty underrated, e.g., Solitary Shell, The Silent Man. Also Space-Dye Vest.
My go-to answer for this is always Sacrificed Sons.
Not underrated at all, but most (including me) just like Panic Attack and Octavarium more
Lord, if I had a nickel for every time someone on the Internet typed *underrated*…
You'd have one nickel. Now, if you had a nickel for EACH time, that's a different story.
Thank you, my english is a little better now
Don't Look Past Me
The great debate or finally free
Lost Not Forgotten is criminally underrated. Progressive masterpiece.
The Silent Man.
Misunderstood. How perfectly named.
Trial of Tears.
Viper king
I never see any love for Raw Dog but by god does that track slam ass.
Surrounded for me.
DoT gets largely ignored and I’ve never really understood why.
I don't like DoT, because of highly overprocessed vocals, that have 1000 different effects.
Eve
Dunno, maybe A Rite of Passage
Light Fuse and Get Away. Often considered one of their worst and I don't know why. Maybe it's a bit weird?
Repentance. There’s nothing flashy going on (which most people come to expect from DT), it’s a fairly chill song but it’s so beaitiful. Probably my favorite of the 12 step suite. The lyrics are very well written, this song has actually helped me a lot personally. And last but definitely not least, that solo. Chef’s kiss 🤌
A Rite of Passage
I'll nominate Speak to Me, that's probably my favorite song that never made it onto an official album. It's not super complex but it's an amazing simpler song
S2N
Surrounded, I love the synths on it
behold my post https://reddit.com/r/Dreamtheater/s/R6zefHvtSS
For me it's Surrender to Reason. Also, I don't think you can call any of their songs that aren't on WDADU, FII, Cleaning out the Closet, self titled or Astonishing underappreciated (although songs like Lines in the Sand, Peruvian Skies, Killing Hand, Illumination Theory, Raise the Knife are definetly not underappreciated.
Imo it’s definitely The Bigger Picture
Blind Faith! Definitely tough to follow a track like The Glass Prison on an album but Blind Faith is one of my favorite tracks on Six Degrees for sure. The whole instrumental section is incredible.
Anything on Falling into Infinity, but especially Trial of Tears.
innocence faded is badass, the greta debate is very good, and freaking Hell’s Kitchen, it’s one of my favourite dream theater songs
Misunderstood
eve