Dream Theater could not write "The Great Debate" now

The Great Debate is a fantastic song. It has quite an unusual structure for a DT song, rather exceptional lyrics and absolutely killer hooks.

But the subject matter is now too caustic. When it was released, I'm sure that stem cell research was quite the hot topic, and indeed Petrucci does seem to focus on the individual aspects of stem cell research.

But when I listened to this song again for the first time in ages, what jumped out to me was the heated way in which left wing Vs right wing debates go these days. Stem cells was really just a place holder for anything that gets in the media and divides the public.

In the song, Petrucci offers pretty much equal time to both sides of the argument and invites the listener to form their own opinion.

I feel like if Petrucci were to make this song about e.g. Roe v Wade, there would be a massive backlash from either side, that this is not something that you should write a "neutral" song about and you shouldn't apply credibility to the other side.

It was a great song for its time, but I cannot help thinking it would not go down well if it was released today with lyrics about a more contemporary issue.