OK, so these are a compilation of five songs coming from separate albums and also talk about how drummer Mike Portnoy got ride of his Alcoholism disease, and I think it is encouraging for other people with this problem. Consisting of, you guessed it, 12 parts, with a 13th "crooked step" in there as well. These songs are kind of long and all together could potentially make an entire album being almost an hour long. While I go through this, I'll be mentioning which steps each song gets as well as what think about each one.
1 The Glass Prison- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, This one is my favorite of the five and also the heaviest in my opinion. Being 14 and a half minutes long, this is the first song of their first album of the new millilium and also a valiant effort. Following parts 1, 2, and 3 this is, in fact, split into three parts. Also it's the most famous of the 12 step suite. 2 This Dying Soul- Train Of Thought, this one, like the others, transitions out of the previous one. Following steps 4 and 5, this is my third favorite of the pack and it is more catchy as well as heavy as heck. It also references the next song The Root Of All Evil, in the beginning. Being more of a shred fest, much like that of The Dance Of Eternity from Metropolis Part 2. Great song so check it out. Then it transitions to... 3 The Root Of All Evil- Octavarium, The first song of the album, and the shortest of the pack being 8 and a half minutes while everything else is at least 10 minutes. Following parts 6 and 7, it has a melodic chorus in the first part and overall my second favorite song. I love this song, in fact it's in my top fifteen. Probably a worthy song for Easter eggs, and mentions the previous song This Dying Soul. Repentance- Systematic Chaos, this song I wish just didn't exist and the reason for that is that it is a ballad song and so slow and boring. I wish this was swapped in length with the last one. All I hear is the same redundant riff all through out. Following parts 8 and 9, these must be the most depressing parts of all. This song I would skip if it really didn't have an important meaning. But regardless, its in here so I have to talk about it. The Shattered Fortress- Black Clouds And Silver Linings, The last phase of the suite and an epic grand finale too. All at once it references all of the songs in this 14 minute epic conclusion. Following steps 10, 11, and 12 this the fourth track of the last album Mike Portnoy is in. In December of 2010, he plays the entire 12 step suite as a farewell note to all of there fans and also has some fun with it. Also he plays this last. The Shattered Fortress is my fourth Favorite song, take a guess what is in last place. Being the final song you would expect it to be epic of all, and it is. And it ends of with a little bit of everything clashing together as the last few seconds unfold and marking the end of the Holy Grail of all alcoholism messages.
This is good for those of you reading this that have this sort of problem, you would need to talk to someone as well but, this helps. On YouTube, you can find the entire 12 Step Suite in one full video, if you can sit through all of it then you should be OK. There is also the entire 12 Step program written somewhere. In Fact, all of the songs' parts are named after a step in the program. I don't have this problem, but the songs are very cool and are good for global help and inspiration for, well, anything really. If you put your mind to it, You can help the world be a better place like these guys did with the Music version of the 12 Step Program. See you all later.