When I first heard this song don't know why, but I just cried. It's just soo beautiful. Also hearing it live is just... undescribable. Truly one of their best songs.
Full story, as I understand it. 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 Petrucci's life. The stories are the black clouds and the resulting songs are the silver linings.
Hi Michael, the Count of Tuscany, who took JP to his Villa Calcinaia in Chianti, is actually Sebastiano Capponi: his brother is Niccolò Capponi, an historian and a noble man.
Also, about your comment re Rush's influence on this band - the story goes that John Petrucci and John Myung (guitar & bass players), who were boyhood friends in Long Island, met Mike Portnoy (drummer) while waiting in line to buy tickets to a Rush concert. Portnoy happened to live just a few miles from them on Long Island. They were like 16 or 17 years old at the time. So yeah, Rush's influence was huge on them (other influences included Yes, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa - the masterpiece Octavarium is all about their influences past & present). Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy ended up going to Berklee College of Music in Boston, and dropped out before graduating to pursue their career as a band. Jordan Rudess, the current keyboardist, was accepted at Julliard at the age of 9, and joined the band in 1999 after Derek Sherinian decided to leave the group. He was the band's third keyboardist, after Kevin Moore and Sherinian.
My cousins went to King's Park high school with Petrucci and Myung... I was about 18 miles away in Miller Place. As you mentioned, Portnoy is from Long Island as well. Got to meet them all during the Images & Words tour... Everyone was very nice - except Kevin - he was on his way out of the band at that time...
Tears flow every time especially when I hear the outro , it’s nostalgic the psychedelic part initially reminded me of sunny days on my bmx with my brother and the lovely life my mum n dad gave us, then recently I think about my little baby girl in her mums womb. The final solo is heavenly so peaceful, complete heart melting beauty, my favourite song of all time. Great reaction mate 🤘🏻
I requested this on your Take the time video... I'm so happy you did it. This song makes me cry. it takes me back to when I was like 15 and went to see DT. My first concert ever. This was the ending song of that night.
Welcome to Dream Theater. You will want to hear everything they have done especially since Scenes From A Memory. This will occupy your minds on a permanent basis for months if not years. In my opinion, their best albums are Scenes From A Memory and Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. They are experts at writing long epics with lots of references and repeating patterns they play with different manners and variations. Lots of odd signatures, sometimes no rules stand, very impressive. Virtuosis musicians.
I am from a classic rock/70's 80's heavy metal world and there was a part of me that didn't want to give Dream Theater a chance.....UNTIL I DID. Now I can't get enough
I have one other MEGA-suggestion: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence disc 2 (this is a 42 minute mega-epic that deals with 6 different individuals that deal with mental issues). You'll question your existence after hearing this 42 minute masterpiece.😆😆
Anything by Dream Theater is epic. May I humbly suggest Octavarium, In the Presence of Enemies Parts 1 and 2, Illumination Theory (from Breaking the Fourth Wall live show), and Dark Eternal Night. All of these songs will leave you beside yourself.
Octavarium is one of my favorite albums. Also I'd recommend anything from Liquid Tension Experiment. Basically a purely instrumental form of Dream Theater, but not really. Just reflecting the artistic output of the instrumental artists of Dream Theater in collaboration lol.
I discovered DT many years ago, around 1991. I was talking to the singer of my band who had his pulse on a wide variety of music. I already loved Fates Warning and Queensryche at the time. I told my singer that I would love to find a band like Rush, but heavier. So the next practice, he brought me a cassette of When Dream and Day Unite. I LOVED it. It was exactly what I wanted. A few months later, Images and Words came out. Loved it more. I was very lucky that DT went on tour to promote Images and Words, and played at the Back Room in Austin, TX. They were a new/upcoming band. This was before Pull Me Under got released on MTV. Such a small club, and such a great show (the first of many!). This song is one of my all-time Dream Theater favorites. Great to see you enjoy it! If you think DT is an extension of Rush, I encourage you to seek out the British Prog Metal band Haken; Crystallized is my favorite of theirs.
I would also like to suggest Dream Theater's AA suite. It chronicles Mike Portnoy's struggles with alcoholism. It includes 5 songs over 5 albums: 1) The Glass Prison 2 This Dying Soul 3) The Root of All Evil 4) Repentance 5) The Shattered Fortress All of it is mind-blowing!!
A story about John Petrucci went for an Adventure in Florence, Italy. The story recalled and started during Dream Theater 2002 tour where John Petrucci and his Guitar tech went for a visit to meet the Count of Tuscany and view the wine farm. But for John Petrucci this is not a regular visit as he thought it would be. Yeah, that’s another example of a story that I shared, you know, something that happened to me that I would tell my friends and family but I never really wrote about it. Yeah, it’s sort of hard to follow the story but it’s basically a few years ago when Dream Theater were playing in Florence or something and there was my friend who is my guitar tech, he’s also wine importer, so he wanted to visit a winery in Tuscany, so he asked me if I wanted to come along. So, yeah, the guy who owned the winery is a count, he wasn´t the count of Tuscany, he is a count of something, anyway he brought us to this winery, it was a very old castle in the hills of Italy, it was very bizarre, you know just really weird stories the guy told, you know, like a mummified saint and a chapel, very strange and weird, I thought it would be great to tell that story, probably make a movie of,
I saw Dream Theater live this last March. They played this song I thought the melodic part towards the end was Jordan on the keyboard. No it was John Petrucci on the guitar. ICREDIBLE !!
My favorite band of all time and it's not even close. You should react to Illumination Theory live at the Boston Opera House! Another emotional journey! The Berklee choir and orchestra join them and it's insane.
Rush was a huge influence on John Petrucci. I once saw John on "That Metal Show" and he spoke about how Rush influenced him. He even had a jean jacket from his high school years with 2112 painted on the back of the jacket.
Great reaction. This is one song that literally took me for a ride the first time I heard it. It nearly brought me to tears when I heard it. It's a tune that I wish I could hear again for the first time, every time.
This song was one of those that changed my life. Loved it so much that my alias online is Tuscany and even my cat is named Tuscany. Dream Theater has so many of these beautiful pieces as well! Check out Change of Seasons Live!
I know this was a few months ago and you probably won't see this but I'm going to also throw in and say that no matter how much I love them I can't pretend that dream theater is popular
The most talented band of all time💜 If you react Dream Theater songs you should do it LIVE Dream Theater performances then you can see how amazing they are how they play those amazingly masterpieces on Live. You will Enjoy and amazed more trust me.. ive been watching you since you react DREAM THEATER songs and i like it! Keep rockin man 🤘🏽✌🏽( Sorry for my bad English btw )
I am new in your channel , this is the very first time thanks to the algorithm . For something different, and epic as well (even if in a different gente e), i warmly suggest and recommend the band NOFX , song The Decline (1999 masterpiece) Thank you very much
Oh man, I am so jealous that you have so many amazing DT songs you've yet to hear. In this video you mentioned how they would be mindblowing live - you should check out A Change of Seasons live from their Live: Scenes from New York DVD. It's on RU-vid and I will be happy to send a donation if you'd react to it
That is totally crazy is that it's even better and powerful live. I Saw them in Paris a few month ago and it was wonderful. The play this song as callback and John was on fire...
Great reaction. You gave me goose bumps, because you made me remember the first time I discovered or began to understand the construction of the song lol.
Agree!! Really love the live version of A Change of Seasons. The vocalist's part in the middle of the song (Another World) still gives me goose bumps. 👍
As a Dream Theater fan for a long time, I can recommend TONS of material, because they have produced TONS of material for quite awhile. If you want epics, try "Illumination Theory" or "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence." Bring snacks, that is a long one. EDIT: For shorter songs, try "Blind Faith," or "Fatal Tragedy."
For ambitious, try Manowar-Achilles the agony and the ecstasy and Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull. For insane musicianship, check out When the Water Breaks -live in LA by Liquid Tension Experiment
I can't wait until somebody lays Dream Theater's Octavarium on you, Mr. Slop. Or Hell's Kitchen/Lines In The Sand (must do those two together). Enjoy, good sir!
No wonder you’re confused. The lyrics you read aren’t correct, and many VERY central lines have been altered. Here’s the full text, as written in the booklet of the album: (Narrator) Several years ago In a foreign town Far away from home I met the Count of Tuscany A young eccentric man Bred from royal blood Took me for a ride Across the open countryside (Count) Get into my car Let’s go for a drive Along the way I’ll be your guide Just step inside Maybe you recall A cannibal curator A character inspired by my brother’s life (Narrator) Winding through the hills The city far behind On and on we drove Down narrow streets and dusty roads At last we came upon A picturesque estate On sprawling emerald fields An ancient world of times gone by (Count) Let me introduce My brother A bearded gentlemen Historian Sucking on his pipe Distinguished accent Making me uptight No accident ((Narrator) I want to stay alive Everything about this place Just doesn’t seem right I I don’t want to die Suddenly I’m frightened for my life I want to say goodbye This could be the last time You see me alive I I may not survive Knew it From the moment we arrived (Count) Would you like to see Our secret holy place? I come here late at night To pray to him by candlelight (Narrator) Then peering through the glass I saw with disbelief Still dressed in royal clothes The saint behind the altar History recalls During times of war Legend has been traced Back inside the castle walls Where soldiers came to hide In barrels filled with wine Never to escape These tombs of oak Are where they died (Count) Down the cellar stairs I disappear Like the angel’s share The end is near Come and have a taste A rare vintage All the finest wines Improve with age (Narrator) I want to stay alive Everything about this place Just doesn’t feel right I I don’t want to die Suddenly I’m frightened for my life I want to say goodbye This could be the last time You see me alive I I may not survive Knew it From the moment we arrived Could this be the end? Is this the way I die? Sitting here alone No one by my side I don’t understand I don’t feel that I deserve this What did I do wrong? I just don’t understand (to the Count) Give me one more chance Let me please explain It’s all been circumstance I’ll tell you once again You took me for a ride Promising a vast adventure Next thing that I know I’m frightened for my life (Count) Now wait a minute man That’s not how it is You must be confused That isn’t who I am Please don’t be afraid I would never try to hurt you This is how we live Strange although it seems Please try to forgive The chapel and the saint The soldiers and the wine The fables and the tales All handed down through time Of course you’re free to go Go and tell the world my story Tell about my brother Tell them about me The Count of Tuscany Sorry I’m so late to the table. I didn’t know about your channel and just came over it today by chance (or rather by some intrinsic formulae, I’m sure). This is definitely my favorite metal band, and this just happens to be my favorite song by them, but they have so many fantastic songs. Enjoy the rabbit hole, if you haven’t explored it already. Great reaction video! I hope you found some more meaning when reading the correct lyrics. It’s a strange and ominous tale about something that seems to be out of this world, and luckily for the protagonist, it’s not that dangerous after all. The text in parentheses are mine, so they could be wrong here and there, but I’m pretty sure they’re correct as well.
I think this is the song that was heavily influenced (maybe most influenced) by Rush's La Villa Strangiato. I think I remember some of the band saying that when this came out. It sounds a lot like it. Dream theater sounds like Rush if Rush was metal and a 5 piece. It is hard to compare the two bands since Rush was doing so much with just 3 guys. DT can do so much more in large part because they have 5 members. but rush was not a metal band either. They had more groove than DT. I like DT but I am not a huge metal guy. The groove is often lost especially with prog. metal .DT is one of the best at keeping a groove even though they are playing metal. I get tired of some other Prog. metal bands because often the musicality of the songs are lost with someone trying to play fast and technical with abrupt tempo changes. Again Rush and DT are kings of making great transitions compared to most prog. metal bands.
LOL, this isn't really ambitious for Dream Theater. It's longer than most of their songs but every song is pretty much this complicated. Please do them live for the full affect. They got a Zillion vids on youtube. They have been around since 1988 and release a new album about every 2-3 years. Petrucci and Mike Portnoy the drummer are the guiding lights of the group. But Portnoy left the group after this album. The drummer that replaced him might be technically better but he much less a showman and in my opinion, the over all quality of the songs slipped after Portnoy left about 10 years and 4-5? albums ago.. Don't get me wrong, they are still amazing and maybe even better musically after he left. Just, the songs are not as interesting to me as much. P.S. Stay away from "The Astonishing" album. It is their Mr. Roboto and pretty much every DT fan hates it. For you youngsters. Mr. Roboto was a song released by the group Styx at the height of their career in the early 80's and basically brought their career to a screeching halt.
THIS DT fan doesn't hate it, but I'll freely admit that it asks a lot of the listener. If you can't absorb it in one sitting without interruption, then it will likely be lost on you.
To me, whether music has soul depends on the listener. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve listened to them so much, or because I listen to them differently, but I think Dream Theater has plenty of soul. However, I’ve heard from people like yourself -who appreciate their talent, but can’t connect to the music- that they appreciated Portnoy’s other band Transatlantic more. So maybe if you can’t get into Dream Theater, Transatlantic might be your thing. I’d recommend All of the Above, a lengthy piece, but a great listen :)
How can you say there is no soul? Towards the end after he says the count of Tuscany and that soaring guitar comes in how can you not feel anything after that?
I'll never understand how someone can listen to the raw emotion in Petrucci's guitar solos, especially at the end, and claim DT has no soul. I've been reduced to tears by them live on several occasions, and I was surrounded by people crying just as hard as I was. Don't mistake slop for soul...these guys move people emotionally as well as anyone.
They are all amazing at their craft but… It’s like pretentious and egotistical Rush. Complexity overshadows the feel to a fault. Impressive but forgettable. Saw them once live and they all gave remarkable performances I have to say. They are a tight and well oiled machine.
