Systematic Chaos' Track Order Sucks: Change My Mind

Systematic Chaos has quite a few of my favorite DT songs, yet I almost never find myself listening to it front to back. I recently came to the conclusion that I feel the track list has quite a few awkward transitions, and perhaps that is why. I don't think it is completely awful, for example bookending with the two halves of ItPoE is truly inspired. Let's just get into it, and maybe you will see what I am talking about.

  1. Starting with ItPoE pt.1: Totally badass, perhaps the most exciting opening to any DT album.
  2. ItPoE pt.1 -> Forsaken: I like Forsaken, but after the bombast of ItPoE pt.1 it feels so restrained and manicured as to be underwhelming. I actually think it does Forsaken a disservice and makes it seem worse than it is.
  3. Forsaken -> Constant Motion: This just sounds off to my ears. D minor and E locrian have a lot of notes in common, but the transition feels unnatural to me. Maybe it's the texture contrast? The shift in energy seems abrupt too.
  4. Constant Motion -> TDEN: Feels great, wouldn't change it at all
  5. TDEN -> Repentance: The first of three egregious (imo) transitions in a row. TDEN is probably the DT song that gets me the most hyped up; to me it just gets more and more exciting as the song goes on. I actually think Repentance is excellent in it's own Pink Flyod-y way, but after TDEN I want to run a marathon and/or die in a mosh pit; I am in entirely the wrong headspace to enjoy the vibey but extremely low energy Repentance.
  6. Repentance -> Prophets of War: Man, the super quiet "The truth is the truth, and so all you can do is live with it" is such a cool way to end that song. Super pulled back, but kind of a gut punch; I personally find it emotionally impactful whenever I hear it. Then literally ONE SECOND later BAM pop song synth arpeggios! Because that makes sense, right guys? RIGHT GUYS!?!?!
  7. Prophets of War -> TMoLS: Prophets is my least favorite song on the album, and placing this upbeat angsty political song between two moody epics just feels totally off. It ends with heavy riffs and angry shouts culminating in some harsh guitar noises with a little keyboard. Not a bad way to end the song, but that immediately pivots into this cinematic and hauntingly beautiful progression that sets up one of the most emotional songs DT has ever written; complete whiplash. TMoLS slams right in with no buildup, which serves the song perfectly fine in isolation, but is a major contributor to the aforementioned whiplash.
  8. TMoLS -> ItPoE pt.2: An intentionally gapless transition. Sounds great, and the flow of energy and vibes is perfect.
  9. Finishing with ItPoE pt.2: This song is incredibly climactic, and the resolution is so satisfying. Love the MinorMajor7 chord ending.

Today I made a playlist with a different order, and it made a huge difference for me. It's not even a total re-work, just a few key changes.

My personal order:

  1. ItPoE pt.1
  2. Constant Motion
  3. TDEN
  4. Prophets of War
  5. Repentance
  6. Forsaken
  7. TMoLS
  8. ItPoE pt.2

This tracklist is just "two moves" away from the original: 1. move Forsaken to track four (bumping up CM and TDEN), 2. swap Prophets of War and Forsaken. Not only does this preserve every transition I enjoy, it addresses every transition I dislike while keeping the overall flow of the album decently in tact.

A. CM has enough energy and intensity to follow ItPoE pt. 1.

B. Instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, Prophets of War now serves a purpose: it is able to bring the hype and energy down after TDEN so I can now enjoy Repentance as much as I want to. Also I actually think the "guitar cable being plugged in noise" sounds great before Repentance. It's the kind of sound effect you might hear in The Glass Prison or This Dying Soul.

C. Repentance to Forsaken still isn't perfect, but the gentle solo piano feels waaaayyy more appropriate than the beginning of Prophets

D. Similar to C, the beauty and elegance of the solo piano is much more in line with the beauty and elegance of the intro to Ministry. Also the full 20ish seconds of peaceful music better suits the beginning crash of Ministry to my ears.

E. I bet they felt the need to put Forsaken up front (as it was a single), whereas my tracklist kind of buries it. Who says singles need to be at the beginning of the album??

The title does say "Change My Mind" for a reason. Am I missing something here? I don't feel this way about any other DT album, so I don't know a good reason why the boys would have gotten it wrong this time.