Breaking All Illusions by Dream Theater

Album: A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011)

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This song acts as Part 2 to the preceding track "Far From Heaven" and the two tracks share the same themes. Guitarist and producer John Petrucci told Musicradar.com: "We specifically wanted to write a more epic piece, and when we do that, we know that we're not bound to any sort of structure as far as verses and choruses."
Petrucci discussed the song's arrangement with MusicRadar: "Arrangement-wise, it's very non-traditional, so you hear a lot of breakdowns. There's a great John Myung moment where he does an ostinatto part in the first verse. He's going in something of a circle, and it has a real hypnotic effect, drawing everybody in.

The song is extremely proggy, with a lot of keyboard breaks. As a guitarist, I had a great time on the section that's very 'La Villa Strangiato' [by Rush]. It starts out kind of bluesy, then it's kind of jazzy, and it builds and builds. I got a chance to use so many aspects of guitar playing: phrasing and melodic elements, blues, jazz, shred. It was very satisfying to record. Alex Lifeson was definitely in my mind as I was playing."

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Bert De Graaf from Amsterdam, NetherlandsFrom 2:25 onwards the famous poet Kahlil Gibran is quoted by a narrator: "Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens. Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars" This seems to be a reference to its Images & Words album counterpart Learning to Live.

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