The Shattered Fortress

Correction in the opening stanza: Freedom - Calls my name Serenity - Keeps me sane Happiness - It dulls the pain Honor - ???? Open - To Other ways Willingness - To understand Justice - I do not judge Courtesy - From honest hearts ?? Kindness - It's not that hard Self Restraint - The Self-impaired Inventory - My daily bread Analysis - And then you're gone

Anybody else think Portnoy got a little lazy on the musical side of this song. I know how this is the last of a 5 song suite where it covers each of the 12 steps of AA.

Dont get me wrong I thought it was pretty badass of a song, they all were, but it just seems kinda cheep to simply copy and paste parts from different songs onto this song.

Fateful ascent Through darkest fires I've found the path To take me higher -from The Glass Prison

Keep all of me The desires that once burned me deep inside Help me live today And help to give me grace To carry out your ways I am ready Help me be all I can be I am ready Help guide me and keep me free -from Root of All Evil

Very end of song was part from the song Octavarium, then it stopped and it had the drum beats from the intro of The Root of All Evil

Not to mention its littered with other little tidbits from other songs... but hey, it did sound pretty cool.

It sounds more like "Fateful ascent" rather than "Faithful ascent"...

Also, in the opening stanza: Freedom - Calls my name Serenity - Keeps me sane Happiness - It dulls the pain Honest - To see my fate Open - Don't want to wait Willingness - To understand Justice - Why do you judge? Courtesy - ??? Kindness - It's not that hard Self Restraint - ??? Inventory - My daily bread Analysis - Until you're gone

...that's from what I could gather. A lot of these words (sung/spoken by MP) are from previous songs, most notably TGP and TDS, are likely in the AA book(s) a lot.

-Marc.

Also, in the same voice MP uses in "Repentance" to site the Twelve Promises, he sites the Eleventh Step Prayer (a.k.a. the St. Francis Prayer). Here is a transcription of his version spoken during Step XI:

"Help me make a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. that I may seek to comfort rather than to be comforted; that I may seek to understand rather than to be understood; that I may seek to love rather than to be loved; for it is by self-forgetting that one finds; it is by forgiving that one is forgiven."

-Marc.

New version up.

What a wicked song. I love: "Look in the mirror. WHATS THAT YOU SEE??!! The shattered fortress. That once BURNED ME!" About 2 weeks till full album release, wish i could spare the cash for the box set.

"Look in the mirror What's that you see? The Shattered Fortress Fly now, be free!"

I love the way James LaBrie sings the word, "free." I orgasm every time.

Correction to the opening stanzas: Freedom calls my name Serenity keeps me sane Happiness it dulls the pain

Honest to see my place Open to other ways Willingness to understand

Justice but do not judge Courtesy for others' flaws Kindness it's not that hard

Self-restraint of tongue and pain Inventory my daily friend Analysis let down your guard

After the first chorus in X. Restraint, the second verse should be: You're smart enough for me to trust go live your life now Just keep these steps in your life and you'll know how If you're not sure, ask yourself "Have I done to them As I would have them do to me?"

Then the end of X. Restraint should be: I once thought it better to be right But now I have finally seen the light Sometimes you've got to be wrong And learn from mistakes I live with serenity now Not self-righteous hate

The end of XI. Receive is printed as: I am ready Help me be all I can be I am ready Help guide me and keep me free

Then the last step, XII. Responsible, is print just once as: I am responsible When anyone, anywhere Reaches out for help I want my hand to be there

-Marc.

This Suite, or mostly this song, is, hands down, the most epic thing on this planet, next to the earth itself and Mike Portnoy is a god among men :D

This Suite, or mostly this song, is, hands down, the most epic thing on this planet, next to the earth itself and Mike Portnoy is a god among men :D