Aquabot
01-28-2004, 11:19 AM
Late in 2003, one of my all-time favorite bands, Dream Theater, realeased a new album rather unexpectedly. Dream Theater who are known for taking around 3 years between releases very quickly released Train of Thought in November. This album follows the very impressive, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which was released in the spring of 2002. Six Degrees was a massive progresive rock album with the title track spanning 42 minutes!!
Obviously, being a progressive rock band expectations are very high for every new Dream Theater release. Musicially and performance wise, Dream Theater has lived up to their end of the bargain. Amazing polyrhtymic sections, hyper speed time changes, dynamics, and key changes pepper the new album.
One immediate charachteristic that is obvious is this new album has a very pissed off feel to it. Dream Theater sound as if they hit the studio in a VERY bad mood this time around. 6 out of the 7 songs are extremely heavy!! Talk about a bad mood, check out the song, Honor Thy Father! With lyrics written by Dream Theater drummer, Mike Portnoy, one has to wonder what kind of relationship Mike has with his dad these days!
Speaking of Portnoy, fear not fans, his drumming is as fierce as ever. Jaw dropping to be exact. The drum fill that opens up, Honor Thy Father, makes me fall out of my chair when I hear it. Guitarist John Petrucci also makes a stellar outing on this album. John can play so damn fast, I think he has probably melted a pick from time to time. If you are a fan of Petrucci's you MUST own this album.
The only complaint I have with this album is that it has a feeling of, "been there, done that" to it. Probably because I have been a fan since the 1st album, I have a slight feeling this album is regurgitating old themes. But, for a band that has written 42 minute songs, the best concept album of our generation, and stayed true to what they are, I can grant them a reprieve.
Check out this album. Very heavy and progressive. This album receives 3 and 1/2 Aquabots out of 5.
Obviously, being a progressive rock band expectations are very high for every new Dream Theater release. Musicially and performance wise, Dream Theater has lived up to their end of the bargain. Amazing polyrhtymic sections, hyper speed time changes, dynamics, and key changes pepper the new album.
One immediate charachteristic that is obvious is this new album has a very pissed off feel to it. Dream Theater sound as if they hit the studio in a VERY bad mood this time around. 6 out of the 7 songs are extremely heavy!! Talk about a bad mood, check out the song, Honor Thy Father! With lyrics written by Dream Theater drummer, Mike Portnoy, one has to wonder what kind of relationship Mike has with his dad these days!
Speaking of Portnoy, fear not fans, his drumming is as fierce as ever. Jaw dropping to be exact. The drum fill that opens up, Honor Thy Father, makes me fall out of my chair when I hear it. Guitarist John Petrucci also makes a stellar outing on this album. John can play so damn fast, I think he has probably melted a pick from time to time. If you are a fan of Petrucci's you MUST own this album.
The only complaint I have with this album is that it has a feeling of, "been there, done that" to it. Probably because I have been a fan since the 1st album, I have a slight feeling this album is regurgitating old themes. But, for a band that has written 42 minute songs, the best concept album of our generation, and stayed true to what they are, I can grant them a reprieve.
Check out this album. Very heavy and progressive. This album receives 3 and 1/2 Aquabots out of 5.