Well, what can you say? The new release by giants of progressive metal Dream Theater hit the streets today and it hit them running. Or perhaps charging! I have followed these guys ever since I bought a copy of When Dream And Day Unite just because I read a review in which Mike Portnoy was hailed as the new Neil Peart. To me, this was a hell of an accolade as he along with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee comprise one of the greatest bands of our time (at least as far as I am concerned) in the combined entity of Rush. And not only has Portnoy proved worthy of that comparison but so have James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess and John Myung all of whom possess a frightening amount of musical ability!
Just about every Dream Theater release has left me staggered by the breadth of their skill and heights of their musicianship and this is no exception. From the opener "The Root Of All Evil" - with its echoes of earlier songs "The Glass Prison" and "This Dying Soul" - to the monstrous epic that is the title track, the emotion never lets up. John Petrucci wrings such a range of sounds from his guitar you'd think it had 5 times as many strings as it does. Jordan Rudess's keyboards soar and dive through blistering scales and delicate melodies. The rhythm section of Messers Portnoy and Myung not only keeps time but enhances the music in an almost lyrical manner. And as for James LaBrie, he has a vocal range that defies logic.
I cannot wait to hear these tracks played live because it is in that arena where this band truely excells. Like the other true progressive greats - Yes, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator et al - it is when Dream Theater are let loose of the studio that they really show what can be done with an assortment of woods, metals, plastics and circuitry.
This album deserves a 5 star rating everywhere it is reviewed. I, for one, rate it with 6.