Black Clouds & Silver Linings [Special Edition] [Limited Edition, Box set]

More greatness from the gods' that are Dream Theater. If the last few albums put you off, this has brought back their respect.
1. A Nightmare to Remember - Great start to a well balanced album, heavy riffs and a softer acoustic spot in the middle. Amazing solo's from the keyboards and guitar alternating. Some growling from Portnoy and very solid vocals from LaBrie.
2. A Rite of Passage - Some good vocals on this track with a catchy chorus but seems to be aimed at newcomers rather than die-hard DT fans. Some fancy soloing from the guys too.
3. Wither - A softer ballad and a well placed break from the intensity so far. A brilliant solo from Petrucci too reminiscent of Bohemian Rhapsody. Beautiful song overall.
4. The Shattered Fortress - The last part in the AA series which concludes all these songs together brilliantly by bringing in all the old riffs, with some new ones but keeping it entirely fresh.
5. The Best of Times - Very moving lyrics from Portnoy...about his father that died of cancer recently. The opening of a piano with a violin, and then an acoustic guitar, leading on to electric guitar and the whole band. You can really hear the rush influence in this song, amazing.
6. The Count of Tuscany - A new epic for Dream Theater that rivals Octavarium, A Change of Seasons and In The Presence of Enemies. Outstanding work from the guys and you'll have to listen to the song to understand. Yes/Pink Floyd with a twist! EPIC!
However it seems that Labrie has lost a lot of his range but in no way does it stop him from being an amazing singer, and the bass seem to disappear somewhere far too often.
Overall an outstanding album so far and looking forward to June 23rd.
Cover 1. Stargazer - Rainbow
Cover 2. Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley - Queen
Cover 3. Odyssey - Dixie Dregs
Cover 4. Take Your Fingers From My Hair - Zebra
Cover 5. Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part II) - King Crimson
Cover 6. To Tame A Land - Iron Maiden

warning-if you're a budding musician listening to this album could seriously affect your self-confidence!!this is,quite simply,approx.75 minutes of sheer musical genius-how on earth these guys top this i really do not know!!anyway,that's the future-for now i'd just like to lavish praise on the six songs that make up this masterpiece!! (ONE)A NIGHTMARE TO REMEMBER(10/10)a chilling(horror movie style)opening is immediately shattered by one of john petruccis heaviest ever riffs(think pantera-"walk" & you'll get the idea!)then james la bries voice kicks in and he really does sound at the top of his game!excellent musical performances from the rest of the band too-alternating between heavy/soft/heavy and then(to top it all off!)an unbelievably awesome-as well as extremley menacing-vocal break from mike portnoy towards the end of the song!! (TWO)A RITE OF PASSAGE(10/10)classic dt song-huge chunky guitar riff and extremley catchy chorus!la brie & petrucci both sound awesome again-as do the rest of the band!probably the most accessible song on the album for first time listeners!! (THREE)WITHER(9/10)the first two songs will leave you breathless so the band bring the tempo down a notch or two for a big sweeping ballad as la brie gets a chance to show off more of his very impressive vocal range!!this song is right up there along with all the other great dt ballads such as "the silent man" or "the spirit carries on" - understated,but still excellent!! (FOUR)THE SHATTERED FORTRESS(10/10)absolute classic-huge crunching riffs,aggressive vocals as well as awesome interplay between la brie & portnoy!!sits comfortably alongside anything in their back catalogue and a great way to bring mike portnoys 12 step alcohol recoverey saga to an absolutely glorious ending!! (FIVE)THE BEST OF TIMES(10/10)dt do journey?no i never thought that it was possible but it would be quite possible to picture steve perry singing this song-that is if it wasn't so personal to a certain member of the band!a soulful,haunting opening breaks into a very soft "aor" type melody-this is mike portnoys(very moving)tribute to his father who died of cancer and,given the subject matter,i absolutely defy anybody not to have a lump in their throat at the end of this song!la bries voice is very restrained which fits the sentiment perfectly and there's a wonderful soft passage right in the middle of the song which then builds up towards the end-could be said that this sort of "soft rock" song is out of character for them and that's probably a fair comment but when you get a band who are this good they can usually pull anything off and they do that here,no problem! (SIX)THE COUNT OF TUSCANY(20/10)oh my god-just how good is this song??definetley one of the best(if not the best)track that dt have ever recorded-an absolute solid gold CLASSIC!!after a slow acoustic start the song bursts into life with some amazing guitar/keyboard interplay before petrucci takes over and starts riffing like a madman-awesome stuff!!the spotlight then falls on la brie(sounding fantastic)who uses the lyrics to paint wonderful picture-you could actually close your eyes & see the castle that he's singing about!things move along at a cracking pace until,just over halfway,the band bring things down with a soft musical interlude,and then it's back up quite a few notches as la brie brings the musical journey to an end!!close on twenty minutes of sheer musical perfection!! and that's the album,just a couple of points!a special mention must go to john myung who i feel often gets overlooked because of john petrucci but it has to be said that his performance on the album is "top-notch"!!having said that,the whole band are on absolutely top form throughout the entire album and with them now playing bigger arenas-such as wembley-it does finally look as if they're getting the success & acclaim they richly deserve-it's been a long,long time coming!!granted,if you're not a fan of "the mighty dt" and you're looking for a good starting point then i would recommend "systematic chaos" or "octovarium" because either one of these albums are probably more accessible for a first time listener but,speaking as a longtime(huge)fan of the band i can honestly say that i regard this album as "a work of sheer genius" and worth paying the money alone just for the "epic" that is "THE COUNT OF TUSCANY"!!

There is probably no other band on earth like Dream Theater. Bringing together so many different styles of rock and metal, effortlessly bridging sub-genres often within a single epic, multi-dimensional composition. There are elements of other bands' sound within "Black Clouds & Silver Linings". Within one song it is possible to pick out the influence of legendary bands such as Rush, Queen, Pink Floyd and Metallica, whilst retaining Dream Theater's individual sound. The album itself jumps from hard riffing and growling vocals to wide, expansive prog-metal, melodic, near-populist balladry, making it an engaging and often thrilling listen. It's the eclectic nature of this album and the superb performances from the band, especially guitarist John Petrucci, which make it such a resounding success, especially after the poorly received "Systematic Chaos".

There are six tracks on the main album, only two of which are less than ten minutes long. The album closer, the brilliant Rush-esque "The Count Of Tuscany" is only less than a minute shy of hitting the twenty minute point! It is, therefore, almost impossible to talk about the individual songs in all but an overview. Such is the complexity and varied nature of each song, you could literally write an essay of musical criticism about each one. However, what I will say is that, from start to finish, it's a extremely good album. It is rare that you get music this powerful heavy and yet containing so much melodic beauty. Even the covers on the bonus disc are well worth listening to - I especially enjoyed the Rainbow and Queen tracks. Dream Theater are firing on all cylinders with this release and it stands proudly amongst the best of their work over their 25 year career.