Train of Thought

As I Am - The opening song (and also the single) sounds a lot like a cross between Alice In Chains and Metallica. It is a regular metal track, and probably my least favourite on the album. It just does not have the DT magic that you expect from their songs, and instead sounds like everything else in the crowd. Thankfully, it is saved by an absolutely blinding solo by John Petrucci, that does make you truly realise how much of a guitar god he really is. Overall, very average.

This Dying Soul - Now this is what I'm talking about. Thundering guitar, bass, drums and keyboard kick in the first second and they hardly ever let up. A very heavy song, with some more blinding solos from both John Petrucci and Jordon Rudess, and even a little bit of rapping from James LaBrie (don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds). Also, this song could be known as The Glass Prison Part 2 (or The Mirror Part 3), actually continuing on from where The Glass Prison ended. There are two very obvious and similar riffs taken from said song, as well as numerous lyrics and ideas. Overall, a brilliant song, but not one for the faint of heart.

Endless Sacrifice - What starts out as a very slow acoustic ballad very akin to Metallica's Sanitarium suddenly turns a lot darker and heavier. Very good and very moving with great keyboards and great guitar. Once this songs reaches the 5 minute mark though, you are treated to an absolutely over the top instrumental complete with thundering fast guitar solos, and Jordon Rudess's funny keyboard noises. If you don't crack a smile when he plays his cartoony bit, you are made of stone.
A very good song with a marvelous instrumental at the end.

Honour Thy Father - From reading this title, it seems like this would be a heart felt song with religious overtones. That view couldn't be more wrong. This song, written by Mike Portnoy, is literally a giant "*** you!" to his dad. With grindcore-ish type drumming at the beginning it becomes very obvious this is Mike's song and he's not letting it go. The lyrics are very haunting, and James LaBrie puts this across perfectly. Like every other song on this album (except Vacant), expect excessive guitar and brain tumour inducing bass. This song also has the brilliant fade-out "DON'T CROSS THE CROOKED STEP" line, which no doubt will be synonymous between DT fans for many years to come.

Vacant - This is the resting point on the album. Like Wait For Sleep, this song is a quiet peaceful song that really contrasts the rest of the album. Only 2:57 in length, it is by far the shortest song on the album, but it's beautiful constructed nature with keyboards and violin serve as a welcome rest before the two last songs. An absolutely beautiful song.

Stream Of Consciousness - What can be said about this song? However could an 11 minute instrumental from Dream Theater ever sound anything less than amazing? It's very difficult to describe this song, but it does not disappoint. This is my second favourite song on the album.

In The Name Of God - This song is just fantastic. What appears to have religious overtones like Honour Thy Father, is actaully a progressive masterpiece argueing against how people can kill in the name of God. Very heart felt lyrics from John Petrucci here, portrayed perfectly by James LaBrie, with the same old crunch heavy guitar and bass, and classical piano. The song gets even better after the first half when the instrumental kicks in with what can only be decribed as Liquid Tension Experiment type progressive, with time changes, solos, and instrumental harmony abound, finishing with a perfect outro with classical piano. It is truly amazing. By far, my favourite song on the album, and the best song to end with.

Overall, I absolutely adoured this album. If you like the heavier side Dream Theater (The Glass Prison, Lie, The Mirror), then you're in for a treat. A progressive masterpiece, I would consider up there with Images and Words, Awake, and Scenes From A Memory. Astounding, but not to be taken lightly.

So what of the new album? Seven songs and a running time of 70 mins proves we're still in the the progressive metal territory here that DT practically invented. What is surprising here is the lack of musical subtlety - the band have gone straight for the jugular with a barrage of heavy and intense riffs which lack a little cohesiveness. Make no mistake about it, we have their darkest and most brutal offering to date.

Essentially the album offers all the DT trademarks we have come to expect, but i suspect it may lead to criticism for some fans for being overly heavy and lacking in finesse and melody compared to their recent releases.

I've been a huge fan of DT since 'Images' but i've always preferred their 'colder' songs like Scarred, The Mirror, and The Glass Prison so from my point of view i'm very impressed with with this release, but how fans of the last two albums will view this remains to be seen....

As I Am starts the album, and as i see it is a response to the modern music industry, focussing as i see it on recording labels, who look for simply how well their new five piece all singing band will be accepted by the braindead modern music industry. "To those who understand, I extend my hand, To the doubtful i demand, take me as i am.."
it also has a great instrumental section. This song is not the most musically challenging, (read: it's mainly in a 4/4 beat) This of course however is not necessarily a bad thing, and the band deals with it extremely well

This Dying Soul extends the themes of The Glass Prison from the previous album, and explores the theme of the program set by Alcoholics Anonymous to rid oneself of alcohoism by a 12 step program. It also develop themes from The Mirror, a track from the album Awake. It again is a heavy song with a metal feel to it. It is varied throughout of course, and sometimes you can get confused as to what song you're listening to because of the sheer scale of the number of different themes throughout the album.

Endless Sacrifice starts off with a good riff (ominously similar to a Michael Jackson riff) and then descends into full a blown progressive metal track, with extremely proficient guitar / keyboard duets. This is a common occurence in the album, when John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess play the same notes extremely fast for a few bars, and then go into harmony. Its very impressive seen live, i was amazed that it was possible to do it so proficiently without some time keeping method such as a conductor. The theme i guess is confusion and frustration and is in the form over all as a metal ballad (if that is not an oxymoron.)

Honor Thy Father is "a hate song" written about the Step Father of a friend of a band member, and is a powerful explosion of emotions with speech samples. This (if again possible) is the essence of modern dream Theater, this is a great song

Vacant is a welcome break from the metal thus far, and is an emotive song with keyboard 'cello and guitar, and voice. It puts the 'cello (in my opinion one of the best and most variable orchestral instruments) to very good use. most importantly it does not sound cheesy or pretentious.

Stream of Conciousness is a very proficient and impressive instrumental, up there with the Ytse Jam and The Dance of Eternity. Quite simply its a showcase of the incredible talent of each member of the band (with exception of course of James LaBrie.)

Finally "In The Name of God", my favorite song on the album is an exploration of religious fanaticism, and is a powerful track with varied themes. It discusses ideas of Cult and of course violence in the name of God. I do not see it as an exploration of faith of the band. Eight minutes in is one of the best keyboard/guitar duets i have heard. Again live it is mind blowing. I also love the way that the musical themes are so varied in their dynamics and timing. Again i see this track as the essence of modern Dream Theater.

Overall i think this is a fantastic album. It is not my favorite Dream Theater album (at the moment) yet it harks back to Awake etc whilst looking forward to what the metal and progressive genre can produce in the future. I think it is a quite groundbreaking album, and it of course will never get the recognition it deserves.

To those who like metallica, if you hear this, i'm afraid your opinion of the more popular band may decrease. For those with a musically trained mind this is a must. I cannot recommend this album and band enough.