Yazılar

The Twelve-step Suite, also known as the Alcoholics Anonymous Suite is a series of songs by progressive metal band Dream Theater. Each song, written by drummer Mike Portnoy, deals with his experience of alcoholism in some form, and each represent a certain number of the Twelve Steps.

The songs feature a number of recurring musical and lyrical themes, and all of them (except for "Repentance") are among Dream Theater's loudest and heaviest. Gathering all songs, the suite reaches a total of 57:16 minutes. All of the steps start with the letters "Re", a reference to the word "rehab". Mike Portnoy stated in an interview on the Eddie Trunk show on March 16 that he prefers to call it the "Twelve-step Suite" or "Twelve-step Saga" rather than "AA Suite".

The band also plans to release all of the songs together on a future live album. All songs are dedicated to "Bill W. and his friends".


Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
1. "The Glass Prison" 13:52
I. "Reflection"
II. "Restoration"
III. "Revelation"

Train of Thought (2003)
2. "This Dying Soul" 11:27
IV. "Reflections of Reality (Revisited)"
V. "Release"

Octavarium (2005)
3. "The Root of All Evil" 8:25
VI. "Ready"
VII. "Remove"

Systematic Chaos (2007)
4. "Repentance" 10:43
VIII. "Regret"
IX. "Restitution"

Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
5. "The Shattered Fortress" 12:49
X. "Restraint"
XI. "Receive"
XII. "Responsible""



Additionally, the song "The Mirror" (Awake) was written about Portnoy's alcoholism, and is considered by many fans to be the prologue of the Twelve Step Suite, while not actually being a part of it. The song is also alluded to in the opening lyrics of the second, third, and fourth songs from the suite. Also, the first step of "The Glass Prison" is entitled "Reflection", and is often viewed as an allusion to "The Mirror" as also the title for step IV is, which is actually a quote from The Mirror. ("Reflections of reality are slowly coming into view...".)

It could also be noted that lyrically and/or musically, each song references the preceding songs:

This Dying Soul:
- The first 5 guitar notes of This Dying Soul are the last 5 guitar notes of The Glass Prison.
- The lines "Hello mirror, so glad to see you my friend / It's been a while" references the song The Mirror.
- The lyrics "Now it's time to stare the problem right between the eyes you long lost child" and "Spreading all your lies from coast to coast / While spitting on the ones that matter most" is similar to the lyric in The Mirror "Let's stare the problem right in the eye / It's plagued me from coast to coast / Racing the clock to please everyone / All but the one who matters the most"
- The lyric "I can't break out of this prison all alone" is also said in The Glass Prison.
- This song also shares a riff with The Glass Prison.

The Root of All Evil:
- The starting guitar riff is similar to the last riff played in This Dying Soul, a bit slower.
- The Opening drum riff is also nearly identical to one of the drum riffs in This Dying Soul
- The "I can feel my body breaking" prechorus also features in This Dying Soul along with an identical riff but raised from key of B to C.
- The lyric "I can't break out of this prison all alone" is mentioned again.
- The lyric "Heal this dying soul" references the title of This Dying Soul.
- In the lyric booklet that comes with the album, the second chorus is printed with slightly different lyrics than the first, yet both choruses were recorded with the same lyrics.

Repentance:
- The starting melody is identical to the one in This Dying Soul at 2:04 but raised from key B to C#.
- The first lines "Hello mirror, so glad to see you my friend / It's been a while" are the same as the first lines in This Dying Soul.

The Shattered Fortress:
- The title of the song is derived from two lines from The Glass Prison; "A shattered glass prison wall behind me" and "A long lost fortress"
- The song is nearly entirely composed by parts from the previous four songs in the saga.
- A drumming video of Portnoy has been released showing him playing a section that is almost identical to one in The Glass Prison.
- References main parts of all the previous songs in the series. Intro sections, vocal sections, and main guitar riffs.
- The song ends with the intro to The Glass Prison, one final distorted chord, and the intro of The Root of All Evil fading into the opening static from The Glass Prison, ending the suite in the exact same way it began.




Amazing history and music construction! Must Listen!

http://www.lastfm.pt/user/PiresMachine/library/playlists/35bqt_the_twelve-step_suite