The Glass Prison Reaction! Dream Theater - 13 minutes of mayhem! 

You hit the nail on the head when figuring out the literal meaning of "The Glass Prison." Being imprisoned by the bottle, the person who wrote these lyrics (Dream Theater's founding drummer, Mike Portnoy) quit drinking and joined Alcoholics Anonymous in the year 2000, and having gotten clean with their assistance, wrote "The Twelve-step Suite" about his experiences in that program, going through the 12 steps one at a time. _The Glass Prison_ is the opening track of the suite (and also of their 6th studio album, 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence), and probably my favourite song in the suite (comprising steps 1 + 2 + 3). The other songs are: _This Dying Soul_ (steps 4 + 5; 2nd track on the 2003 album Train of Thought) _The Root of all Evil_ (steps 6 + 7; 1st track on the 2005 album Octavarium) _Repentance_ (steps 8+9; 5th track on the 2007 album Systematic Chaos) _The Shattered Fortress_ (steps 10 + 11 + 12; 4th track on the 2009 album Black Clouds & Silver Linings) So as you can see, between April 2000 and the recording of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (which started in March 2001), Portnoy had gone through at least most of the program, enough to feel that it was definitely working for him and for him to want to raise awareness of it by writing this suite (clearly his sobriety was the most important thing on his mind at the time). Unfortunately, he left the band about a year after the release of Black Clouds & Silver Linings, before the entire suite could be performed BY Dream Theater in concert. However, Portnoy has performed it with other musicians since. And for the record, while I personally don't think AA is necessarily the BEST way for someone to reduce or end their dependence on various substances, it certainly works for some people, and it obviously worked for Portnoy. I actually can imagine how hard it is to free oneself from an addiction, and so I respect the Man (and as you'll learn, Portnoy is THE Man) all the more because of both his willingness to be vulnerable and admit that he couldn't take care of this problem by himself, but also because he was able, with AA's help, to beat his addiction. That shows tremendous character.

You're right, it's about alcoholism, the first 3 steps of the twelve step program of the alcoholics anonymous to be exact. Drummer Mike Portnoy wrote 5 songs about his experience with alcoholism which are on 5 different albums, known as the "Twelve Steps Suite" or "AA Saga": The Glass Prison (Steps 1-3), This Dying Soul (Steps 4+5), The Root of all Evil (Steps 6+7), Repentance (Steps 8+9) and The Shattered Fortess (Steps 10-12). And yes, that was a keyboard :) Jordan Rudess can play it very guitar-like which sometimes fools people into thinking it's a guitar :D

Part two of this song This Dying Soul is another 12 minutes of lyrical and instrumental mayhem!!

Dream Theater will fry the synapses of most people...yes, this song is about alcoholism and recovery. Dream Theater is the quintessential progressive metal band, and if you dare to follow this rabbit hole, you will never be the same.

The deeper voice is Mike Portnoy, the former drummer for Dream Theater, he wrote the lyrics for this alcohol-problem rant, his own personal story.

YOU: *What time signature is that?* DREAM THEATER: *YES.*

Dream Theater is probably the most technically proficient band to ever record music. Each of these guys is easily top 5 in the world at their respective instruments, and they write music that is supremely technical while still being interesting and, frankly, beautiful. They tackle deep subject matter in their lyrics with sensitivity and respect, and some of their pieces are truly epic in nature. I hope you explore these guys more, they are very rewarding for deep divers. :) Edit: btw, trying to count or anticipate a Dream Theater song is pretty much an exercise in futility. They use such odd time signatures and change it up so frequently, you just have to trust them and let their music take you on it’s journey.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the time signitures in this song should be as follows (I didnt look it up, wouldn't know where to): Intro in 4/4, first heavy riff in 13/8, second part of riff in 14/8, verse in 6/8, reprise of first riff and then second riff but with singing now (both unchanged in timing), reprise of intro including the chorus (unchanged timing), transition (bit with the record scratching) in 6/4, then its a lot of 4/4 with one bar in 5/4 (right before "help me"), more in 4/4 and then 2*( 9/4 + 7/4 ) starting at the words "into the door", more 4/4 and then its 2*(5/4 + 5/4 + 8/4) at the word "believer", more 4/4 and 5/4 at "help me" again, and unless I missed something the rest of the song is unbelievably in 4/4 only with two speed changes, including all transitions except the final one to the final bit of singing that should be one bar of 18/16. Sorry, just couldnt resist :) Great reaction video!!

You're at the very first step of discovering Dream Theater discography. It's progressive metal, with many influences. It's complex music construction but it's very simple to appreciate. See live sessions to see them on stage, it's crazy. I recommand to listen by allbum. Good job !

Great reaction man! Dream Theater is considered progressive metal so their songs are usually complex and have a lot of time changes. All of their musicians are very talented and creative. lf you want more chaos and the continuation of "The glass prison" you should react to "This dying soul" which covers some of the next steps in the 12 step program. I would also suggest listening to some of their epics like "The Count of Tuscany", "A change of seasons" and "Octavarium", which are all masterpieces!

Dream Theatre time signature could be anything from 17/16 to 2/4 in 3 bars. they did 108 in Dance of Eternity.

If you want something that focuses more on instrumentals but still has singing, check out Breaking All Illusions. If you really want to see James LaBrie's vocal range, check out Learning to Live. If you want a pure instrumental that is truly crazy (103 time signature changes!), check out The Dance of Eternity. Either way, you must check out The Count of Tuscany, A Change of Seasons, and Octavarium as these epics will really show you how much you have been missing.

Dream Theater are all musicians at the top of the game. Odd time signatures, lots of time changes, chromaticism, exotic scales. So much variety.

Listening to most DT songs for the first time is daunting. It usually takes several listenings to really appreciate the whole thing.

Great video man! Dream Theater is the most underrated band in history!!! Keep it going!

A Dream Theater song is like an episode of Arrested Development. The first listen, you hear it...cool. The 2nd listen, it's like hearing an entirely different song. Details, themes, rhythms, chord changes come out of the woodwork, that you missed the first time. Then you listen a 3rd time, and much to your dismay, you discover more you didn't hear, the layers are intoxicating. Their music is deep philosophically, and lyrically yes, but MUSICALLY as well. They are a class in music theory unto themselves.

7 months later and I just watched this video. Really cool! Talking about the relevance of the voices left and right of the earphone, you should definitely do a video on The Great Debate by Dream Theater as well, same album: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

There is no MIDI guitar . It is Jordan Rudess who plays the keyboard solos. As you said immense musicians with sick-ass kind of talent.

Wow, you nailed the lyrics. I'd never figure it out on the first go. Much respect, sir. As a completely non-lyrics suggestion, it would be cool if you react to the band called 65daysofstatic. A very unique sound that melts a bunch of genres, criminally underrated guys. I think you'd like "Aren't We All Running?", "Drove Through Ghosts to Get There", "Monolith", or "Prisms".

Finally!! Someone reacts to Dream Theater!!

I love watching you react to every change in tempo and instrument. You haven’t heard anything yet

'Is it alcohol?' - Your eye movements gave you away my friend but of course it is; and of course the song is made better for that realisation - well done! - love, fellow Northerner

"What time signature is that?" -Yes

I can see many have explained the meaning behind the track. Interestingly enough, one of the best gigs I've gone to is the Shattered Fortress tour which was Portnoy touring with most of the Haken band (instead to Dream Theater) with the setlist being his musical expression of the 12-step program riddled throughout DT's discography. It was behind brilliant.

Excellent reaction Tommy, as usual. I think that he is referencing the 12 step program and the glass prison is alcohol bottles. Splendid interpretation my young friend. I really enjoy progressive rock. It's never boring.

If you like the time changes look no further than the “Dance of Eternity” off their concept album metropolis Pt. 2 Scenes From a Memory, but don’t try and count them cause that’ll take all day to figure out. 😁 💯➕🎼

Why would someone dislike this reaction??? He adds so much compared to others that pause just for copyright purposes.

I recommend Illumination Theory from their live at the boston opera house dvd. Buckle up and hold on for an epic musical ride.

They pull it off live.

Great reaction mate. Love the analysis and attention to detail. Catching the small things and figuring out the song's theme was pleasant to watch. Quite an intense first song to start with (arguably one of their musically most intense). For a suitable second reaction, for features on James Labrie's voice, "Scarred" or "Take the Time" are great options. But if you want to continue on the footsteps of The Glass Prison, you can move on to "This Dying Soul", which is the second part in their 12 step suite by their drummer Mike Portnoy; a series of 5 songs unto his experience with alcoholism. Their magnum opus in my opinion is "A Change of Seasons" which is a 23 minute musical masterpiece with quite an emotional and moving story. Would highly recommend after a few more Dream Theater listens to acclimate the ears.

Just started watching your reaction and... Did you really try to dissect the timing of a Dream Theater song? How cute is that? Reminds me of myself when I first heard them.

They are spectacular live! So awesome to see in person.

Honor thy Father de Dream Theater es una obra oscura e impresionante! Te lo recomiendo, excelente reacción

Ho boy, wait til you get around to The Dance of Eternity (and Home from that album -- actually, just listen to all of Metropolis Pt. 2) and Octavarium (2005 live version is highly recommended) if you haven't already. You're in for a massive treat 😉

Saw your video for Steven Wilson's Routine. Ended up here and will watch the rest of the metal videos. Yours may be the only "reaction" channel I end up subscribing too. And you asked "what time signature is that?" It's Dream Theater time! They do all kinds of nutso stuff.

Great song, you should check more of them, what a great band, check voices from the awake álbum

If this is your first foray into modern progressive rock, you picked a good piece. One cannot get complacent listening to this type of music. I recommend that you check out "2112" or "Hemispheres" by Rush for a more classic experience. Welcome to the club.

Prog Rock - Progressive Rock - Many Changes

pls get to react to Symphony X as well. The only ones that can get even close to Dream Theater. Their style is more towards power metal and neoclassical but you'll find a lot of prog elements in it. Walls of Babylon is the best song to get your aquiantence with them.

Awesome Reaction! You got one more sub! Try the live version!

More Dream Theater? Alright, top of my head, go for As I Am from the Train of Thought album. The song where they give the standards of the music industry the finger and say "This is who we are and this is how we're staying". It's also the first track on the album so, great way to intro you to the album.

What a splendid reaction. I saw a lot of recommendations here so Ill just say this : If you wanna listen to A Change of Seasons (my request) do the live version from 2000. You will definitely enjoy every minute of it. Subscribed!

it is satisfying the sounds they put together

For your next progressive metal band you should listen to Periphery. One of the guitar player's uncle is the lead guitar player in Dream Theater. Spencer, the singer, has one of the greatest vocal ranges out there. You think it is 2 singers but really only him.

Great song that means so much more today to me.

4/4 at the start, the crashes come in on the 2nd bar of the beat. Classic DT, rhythms that throw you off 😅

I have another suggestion/request. Change of Seasons by Dream theater is one of the most epic songs I have ever heard and would live to hear what you think of it.

a glass prison man, is no much hard to figured out, a bottle, a glass, alcoholism

Octavarium is theyr masterpiece

This is the first song in the 12 step suite. The other parts are one song from each album following this one.

If you thing the ending of this song was abrubt, you should check out Pull Me Under.

The serenity prayer

Dream Theater is Progressive Metal. Metallica is more like thrash metal, especially in the early days. You should definitely check out more Dream Theater, like Metropolis Part 1, 6:00, Lie, Octavarium... And other progressive metal bands like Opeth

First listen to Dream Theater; "I know it's gonna be a long video: 13 minutes." After years of listening to them; lolololol. That's a short one, bruh!

Top tier: Old stuff: Take the time, Scarred Mid stuff?: Home Newer stuff: Pale Blue Dot Technical prowess e heaviness: Train of thought album Ultimate mindblowing: Octavarium, Change of seasons, Metropolis pt. II whole album, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence whole second disk

It may not be police.. Being the subject alcoholism, its probably an ambulance. (It took me decades to get it. And I feel proud!)

You just gained a new subscriber. Now that I know you’re going to be doing dream theater. This is the first song of a five song package called the 12 step suite. Of course it’s about alcoholism. The second song is this dying soul off of the train of thought album. Third one is the root of all evil on the Octavarium album. The fourth one is repentance off of systematic chaos. Fifth one is a shattered fortress on black clouds and silver linings. If you listen to all five you realize that there are callbacks of melodies and every song

Haha love your video dream theater is a wonderful band without a doubt it is my favorite you should listen to them you will not regret (where are you from? I love your accent xd

Te haz ganado un nuevo subscriptor, ojalá reacciones a las otras 4 canciones de esta maravillosa saga y después escuches octavarium, six degrees of inner turbulence Y change of seasons, me gustó mucho tu reacción y la atención a los detalles, saludos desde México!!

According to mr Portnoy himself, they wrote this whole album in just 3 weeks... Would take me 5 years to learn how to play one song.

Listen to the DT repertoire and you will know music.

Great band and song! Wow!

AA Creed

The Drummer Wrote This Song And He Is The Deep Voice & The Lead Singer Is The Other Voice

The parts you thought were midi guitars are keyboards, by Jordan Rudess, regarded as one of the best anywhere. You should really watch a live performance next. Watching them is an entirely different experience. Anything from the "Breaking the Fourth Wall" DVD would blow you away.

It's a metaphor for alcoholism.

Could you please react to the Dream Theater's song : honor thy father ?? 🙏🙏🙏

they are excellent and I have seen them live, but at times I can not listen to them because the arrangements are so complex and they switch so much that I can not concentrate.

Should have started with something more generic like Take the time or Pull me under. If you're not a musician this must sound like a dumpster fire. I've seen these guys 4 times with Mike and they crushed it every time.

Hey bro. Dream Theater in presence of enemies part I and II live version

Hmmm, I'm not sure if you should listen to Metropolis Pt 1 or Panic Attack next....

What's the very very last thing you heard at the end? Glass shattering, as if he threw his glass prison to the ground. Also you're no the right track. You could say that if you were to put Rush + Metallica + Yes in a blender(as your main ingredients), the end result would be Dream Theater.

Be carefull. Dream theater can't be reduce at only a super technical band. Try the others aspects... Musical freedom, storytelling, strong thematics. A nightmare to remember, octavarium, voices etc etc.... Enjoy!

This Song Is About The Dummer's Addiction To Alcohol...

I wonder what would you say if you reacted to dragonforce..

I came for 9:52

They are actually called snares lol

He talk about alcool dependance

Did he say 8 /4. Lol.

To me Dream Theater are 10 steps over Metallica