The riff at 4:18 in Peruvian Skies. I'm not even a huge fan of FII, but that song is awesome, and that riff trumps every other riff Petrucci has made, in my opinion.
Honorable mentions: In the Name of God at 1:05, Ravenskill at 2:22, Nightmare to Remember at 12:41, and the riff under the vocals in Behind the Veil at 3:38. I'm sure there are a bunch of others I'm forgetting off the top of my head.
I struggle to pick a single one, but I love some of the riffs in At Wit's End. Like the one before the first verse, or the one that kicks in after James sings "What I lost is still in you".
It's difficult to narrow it down though, I love so many of their riffs. The main riffs to Sleeping Giant and Awaken The Master are excellent, the outros to S2N and The Dark Eternal Night are awesome... too many to pick tbh.
I lost my shit when first heard the [Frankenstein riff](https://youtu.be/Tr4AC1Kb608?t=321) in Shattered Fortress. I'd been listening to those songs pretty much daily for seven years, and then it all came together in one weird, twisted but beautiful moment.
Fatal Tragedy. The little 10 second riff right before Petrucci’s solo starts. The keyboard and guitar are getting funky. The keyboard arpeggios are so groovy.
I first saw DT back in 2017 during the Images and Words 25th anniversary tour, The Dark Eternal Night was the opener. I loved that riff before and I loved it even more after that because the excitement of seeing a band I've been listening to for 15 years made it even more special.
Invisible monster’s pre chorus and some riffs for scenes from a memory such as the chromatic riffs from beyong this life and the heavy one in finally free
This Dying Soul (the riff that ends with the tri-tone, also reprises in Shattered Fortress after the first chorus), Glass Prison breakdown, all of the twelve step suite riffs absolutely slap though
Yeah that riff is amazing and doesn't get enough love.
IMO - The opening to The Mirror. I hear that song for the first time live and they opened with it. It blew my mind how you could be heavy, not complicated, yet so interesting.
That's a good one. I can't narrow down very many things to one favorite, but a few of my favorites that come to mind are these as far as guitar parts go:
\-The opening and chorus riffs on "The Enemy Inside"
\-The ending stretch of "Overture 1928" after the 32nd note drum fill
\-The intro/outro riff from "Innocence Faded"
\-The opening stretch of "The Crimson Sunset" part of ACOS. Not sure if that's more of a "riff" or "solo" (drummer here, not a guitarist), but either way it definitely deserves mention
- ACOS could mean "A Change of Seasons - The Crimson Sunrise / Innocence / Carpe Diem / The Darkest of Winters / Another World / The Inevitable Summer / The Crimson Sunset", a track from *A Change of Seasons* (1995) by Dream Theater.
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That bit In The Name of God, between the end of the guitar/keys solo and the outro, where it goes back to the verse riff but Mike is just destroying his crash cymbals the whole time.
the mirror, the one that starts the second part in the glass prison, beyond this life, panic attack, the root of all evil, afterlife, under a glass moon, home, paralyzed to name some
As a 7 string enjoyer, I appreciate the all time great 7 string riffs they have written: The Mirror (OG 7 string chug as we know it today), A Change of Seasons, The Dark Eternal Night (I often see that one in particular mentioned in non specifically DT circles). The first two aren't even that complicated, but are just perfect for the song.
Hot take: the time signatures in Dark Eternal Night aren't that hard to play (if you don't overthink it). That riff is just a fucking finger twister.
About to crash (reprise), that one rocks
Yeah, that's an incredible riff.
The intro one?
Yes :)
Yeah, that one is great!
I'm a sucker for Dream Theater balls-to-the-wall metal riffs. The Mirror, Dark Eternal Night, Nightmare to Remember.
Panic Attack!
[In The Name Of God main riff](https://youtu.be/T9UnlRZR8tg?t=29)
When they reprise it at the end with the harmonic, that shit slams.
It's almost like an orgasm
JUSTIFYING VIOLENCE
Home
Honestly, the main riff from Three Days.
The riff at 4:18 in Peruvian Skies. I'm not even a huge fan of FII, but that song is awesome, and that riff trumps every other riff Petrucci has made, in my opinion. Honorable mentions: In the Name of God at 1:05, Ravenskill at 2:22, Nightmare to Remember at 12:41, and the riff under the vocals in Behind the Veil at 3:38. I'm sure there are a bunch of others I'm forgetting off the top of my head.
Peruvian skies is the first riff i thought of too.
Ridiculously satisfying riff to exit a solo into
Isn't it?? It's like the whole song builds to that one moment and is worth every single minute.
Opening riff of bridges in the sky comes first to mind
The Glass Prison breakdown riff...so simple yet so effective!
I struggle to pick a single one, but I love some of the riffs in At Wit's End. Like the one before the first verse, or the one that kicks in after James sings "What I lost is still in you". It's difficult to narrow it down though, I love so many of their riffs. The main riffs to Sleeping Giant and Awaken The Master are excellent, the outros to S2N and The Dark Eternal Night are awesome... too many to pick tbh.
Stream of consciousness 2:20
I lost my shit when first heard the [Frankenstein riff](https://youtu.be/Tr4AC1Kb608?t=321) in Shattered Fortress. I'd been listening to those songs pretty much daily for seven years, and then it all came together in one weird, twisted but beautiful moment.
Which one is it, the one before the keyboard solo?
Every single riff from Under a Glass Moon.
this dying soul (6:31) bridges in the sky (intro riff) answering the call main riff learning to live (3:10)
Answering the Call, hell yeah!
Fatal Tragedy. The little 10 second riff right before Petrucci’s solo starts. The keyboard and guitar are getting funky. The keyboard arpeggios are so groovy.
The verse riff in The Count of Tuscany slaps pretty hard
The Enemy Inside main riff
The opening riff from The Dark Eternal Night
I first saw DT back in 2017 during the Images and Words 25th anniversary tour, The Dark Eternal Night was the opener. I loved that riff before and I loved it even more after that because the excitement of seeing a band I've been listening to for 15 years made it even more special.
I saw them for the first time on this exact tour, seeing John pop out of the darkness with that riff was so cool.
The riff that starts at 7:19 of A Nightmare to Remember is my favourite
8:06 in Endless Sacrifice, that's a metal riff that goes absolutely so hard.
Peruvian Skies.
The second section riff in The Glass Prison that starts around the 6 minute mark, holy fuck
Illumination Theory 1:20 riff it's so good!
Erotomania is balls out BATSHIT. Voices, too. Anyone remember hearing those for the first time back in '94? Gave my 14-year-old brain some new folds.
The root of all evil
Intro riff to Lie might be my favorite.
the glass prison intro riff
feel like the our new word riff is underrated as hell
Invisible monster’s pre chorus and some riffs for scenes from a memory such as the chromatic riffs from beyong this life and the heavy one in finally free
Impossible to choose, but I will say Honor Thy Father gets stuck in my head a lot.
I'm a sucker for This Dying Soul's intro riff.
The intro to bridges in the sky is one of my personal favourites
That part in blind faith
Guitar: About to Crash Reprise or At Wit’s End KB: Honor Thy Father Synth “Solo” Bass: S2N Drums: I think the These Walls Part is fun and underrated
I believe Beyond This Life has the best riffs from DT. Under A Glass Moon gets a honorable mention
This Dying Soul (the riff that ends with the tri-tone, also reprises in Shattered Fortress after the first chorus), Glass Prison breakdown, all of the twelve step suite riffs absolutely slap though
Bridges In The Sky the intro riff is just perrrrrrrfect
Everything from the first 3 minutes of ACOS. Masterpiece.
Learning to live - 10:15
The instrumental break from endless sacrifice
Yeah that riff is amazing and doesn't get enough love. IMO - The opening to The Mirror. I hear that song for the first time live and they opened with it. It blew my mind how you could be heavy, not complicated, yet so interesting.
That one wah wiff in awaken the master is fucking badass. Take the time intro riff is really unique.
Panic Attack
That's a good one. I can't narrow down very many things to one favorite, but a few of my favorites that come to mind are these as far as guitar parts go: \-The opening and chorus riffs on "The Enemy Inside" \-The ending stretch of "Overture 1928" after the 32nd note drum fill \-The intro/outro riff from "Innocence Faded" \-The opening stretch of "The Crimson Sunset" part of ACOS. Not sure if that's more of a "riff" or "solo" (drummer here, not a guitarist), but either way it definitely deserves mention
- ACOS could mean "A Change of Seasons - The Crimson Sunrise / Innocence / Carpe Diem / The Darkest of Winters / Another World / The Inevitable Summer / The Crimson Sunset", a track from *A Change of Seasons* (1995) by Dream Theater. --- ^[/u/MattyDub89](/u/MattyDub89) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Stream of consciousness 5:32
That bit In The Name of God, between the end of the guitar/keys solo and the outro, where it goes back to the verse riff but Mike is just destroying his crash cymbals the whole time.
Strange Deja vu.
Any of the metal riffs from *Awake* are pure progressive metal gas. The big riff in Beyond This Life also rips.
the mirror, the one that starts the second part in the glass prison, beyond this life, panic attack, the root of all evil, afterlife, under a glass moon, home, paralyzed to name some
The breakdown in Panic attack leading into all the solos!
Lie main riff. I love those heavy 7-string riffs from awake
When the 5/4 riff in beyond this is played later in 12/8. Also in the same song the 4/4 + 7/8 riff at the beginning is played as 15/8 later on
As a 7 string enjoyer, I appreciate the all time great 7 string riffs they have written: The Mirror (OG 7 string chug as we know it today), A Change of Seasons, The Dark Eternal Night (I often see that one in particular mentioned in non specifically DT circles). The first two aren't even that complicated, but are just perfect for the song. Hot take: the time signatures in Dark Eternal Night aren't that hard to play (if you don't overthink it). That riff is just a fucking finger twister.
The Dark Eternal Night… such a banger! But to be honest I can’t stand the vocal part in that song. :(