Del_Duio Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 QUOTE (The Owl @ Jun 16 2009, 11:53 PM) My second complaint is not really a complaint, and I will openly admit it is a bias in the way of progressive rock....... I missed it on this album, and from the onset of this album the goal was for this to be like the first disc of "Six Degrees"... but I would have liked to seen the technacility and diversity that has been accoustomed to Dream Theater music... I'll give you diversity, but oh hell no these songs are just as impossible to play as the rest of them. Listen to the crazy dual keys / guitars.. and the drums are pretty insane on ToT too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tick Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 QUOTE (The Owl @ Jun 13 2009, 02:20 AM) Ah, the one I've been waiting for... Here is the review of... "Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes from a Memory" http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Dream_Theater_-_Metropolis_Pt._2-_Scenes_from_a_Memory.jpg -------------------Act 1, Scene 1: Regression (I won't be saying Track Numbers... lol)------------------ Ah, that ticking noise.... could only be the intro to what still is my faviorate DT album.... and who is that? BRROOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!! very cool, I love small yet quiet sampling from future parts of the album.... and then the guitar and great singing By James La Brie, and great lyrics... leading into........... Scene Score: 8.5/10 --------------------Act 1, Scene Two: I. Overture 1928-------------- ENTER THE PORTNOY!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, shit I need to write this thing, the head banging must stop.......... What an overture.... there is nothing I can say in the way of negative about this, and is a remarkable way to start of the album... Great work by Portnoy, and Petrucci... I love how well thought out this is, featuring some teases of themes from later in the album... and it blends seemlessly into the next phase....... Scene Score: 9.5/10 ----------------------Act 1, Scene Two: II. Strange Deja Vu------------------ Let me say this first.... the story of this album is very very good and well thought out... and as some concept album seem to get very pretentious at times.....well this does too.......but it is a very good thing.... Pretention and Prog go like butter and bread.... and this is the introduction to the story of Scenes from a Memory... great lyrics and singing here... Musically it is just a great.. A little heaver than the rest of the album especially during the second half, and it might seem a little out of place overall, but very minor. But "I just can't help myself" THIS f***ing ROCKS! Scene Score: 9/10 -----------------------Act,1 Scene Three: I. Through My Words------------------- Enter the true beauty of this album.... beautiful lyrics, and beautiful singing..... a little short, but offers a taste of what we will later in hear in "Through Her Eyes" Scene Score: 8/10 ----------------------Act 1, Scene Three: II. Fatal Tragedy------------------ Ah, the new keyboardist makes a great first intro with an errie piano leading into a heavier part of the song... Welcome JORDAN!!!!!!!!! This song is masterfully arranged...a utter perfect transitions from chorus to music back to vocals, and into the utter PROGASMIC solo sections in the second half of the song, and once again what a way to show off the new Keyboardist... Scene Score: 9/10 -------------------------Act 1, Scene Four: Beyond This Life------------------- Here is a nice long chunck of the album that is filled with lyrical and musical delight... As rarely happens with Dream Theater songs the beginning is a great highlight of the songwriting.backing vocals fit in really nice. The Chorus section is awesomely sung, and the The music during the beginning is a bit repeatative during the beginning, but it moves on to more diversity leading towards the middle and ending sections of the song. The Musical half of this section of the album is probably the most metal part of the album, but accompanied by some great solos.....once again featuring the Great Jordan Rudess....this song is intense....but leads into a beautiful and softer arrangement.... Scene Score: 8.5/10 ----------------------Act 1, Scene 5: Through Her Eyes--------------- So we're going to start off with a JP solo and a beautiful female vocal preformance(playing the character Victoria) ? WOW........... Can guitar solos make you cry...........YES THEY CAN......and now the piano and the acoustic guitar..... this song is beautiful in every sense of the word.... The lyrics are a bit cheesy..... Nicholas crying at Victoria's grave... but the backing music......shit.... WOW... a nice change up from what's been been going on musically but this is no doubt one of the best ballads DT has ever written.............though the JBL moaning at the end does weird me out a bit... Scene Score: 8.5/10 -----------------Act 2, Scene Six: Home---------------------- A very very nice startup.... I am loving the instrumentation into the nice buildup into the body of the song... As with other albums there is usually one or two track where the uniformity of the band is better than other tracks... and this is it for ScFAM. I am loving the way all the guys are playing together here. And the lyrics are just awesome... JBL is definatly on key here.. The talking parts, during the middle of the song, and the victoria sex sounds towards the end are kinda off, and feel out of place...but that's minor. There are some great solos once again around 9 minutes in, and that leads well back into a very well placed chorus reprise. And as the intro to this piece was impressive, so is the outro and the transition into the next section Scene Score: 9/10 ---------------------------Act 2, Scene Seven I.: The Dance of Eternity------------ While usually I would say that an instrumental would seem out of place in a concept album, such is not the case here... This is another sampling of epicness... and is sometimes overwhelming..... In all phases.. Everyone's chops are shown to great form here, and everyone comes in with the best musically so far of the album... The instrumental is not to short, nor is it too long...and It works well to bridge the story, if your paying attention to that... (I am).... Scene Score: 9.5/10 --------------------------Act 2, Scene Seven II. One Last Time--------------- Nice Transition into this section.. And once again we are given a break from the intensity, to this more mellow part....... JBL shines vocally again, and the songwriting is great, if your following the story.. This section is kind of short, and could have been a little longer... musically some of the things they were going for could have been stretched out a little more.. It seems to be focued on the story and building for the last part of the album... Scene Score: 7/10 ------------------------Act 2, Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On--------------- If you were going to define, Beauty, Epic, and Outstanding with one song... you would present this song.......... There is not one bad thing about this song...... The Lyrics, the playing, the singing, the reprise of the vocals from "regression"....... and that f***ing solo.....WOW! WOW! WOW! (Though the version from "Score" remains my favorite) Scene Score: 10/10............ nuff said ---------------------------Act 2, Scene Nine: Finally Free-------------------- Broon + John Petrucci on an acoustic= A great song intro... This song is a great wrap-up to all things that have happened throughout the album... the story, the musical themes.... And the singing and playing is just as good as it has been on this album.......Musically this album culminates with this song (duh?) and I am loving how the music revisits previous sections of this album (Like the One Last Time reprise) both lyrically and musically, while offering something in itself.. and there are a couple of great solos thrown in as well....... The sound effects and sampling are oddly welcome here... as it goes with the story and it fits. The song ends in a fadeout... which is cool, but I would have preferred more of a punctuation type ending... but it fits the story nonetheless... and still great. Scene Score 9.5/10 ----------------------OVERALL ANALYSIS--------------------- Concept albums are hard to rate in a song by song basis... as more so than with other albums the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that is the case with this album... This is a Masterpiece, and it is why it still remains my favorite DT album. There is little I can say in the way of negative, (other than the very little I mentioned in the song reviews), as it is really hard to think of anything at all! All the issues with the record label that plagued "Falling Into Infinity" are gone..... thanks to Mike Portnoy giving the label a big "Leave us the f**k alone". And this album shows what DT is really capable of when they can produce an album by themselves. While I can go on for ages about the merits of this album I do want to mention one thing in particular... and that is of course the addition of Jordan Rudess into the final lineup of Dream Theater.. and what an impact he made.. Both Kevin Moore, and Derek Sherinian were great, very great, but what Rudess brought to this album and to future albums is something which could not be told without Rudess.. Welcome.... All that being said......... I give this album a...... 95/100 (not an average of the song scores) Damn good review, but Overture is a perfect 10 ! Change that grade ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 T O T 10 out of 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soni Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 QUOTE (The Owl @ Jun 17 2009, 05:53 AM) --------------------------- Track #5 Vacant--------------------- Feeling Overwhelmed with metal ownage.? Ears Bleeding? Need A Break? Well try out this piece of Dream Theater Ballad.... Once again we are greeted by a James La Brie and Jordan Rudess duet.... Errie as Hell, but soothing... a little short in the end, but a great break from all the ass kicking we have been dealt on this album... Song Score: 8/10 that song is just like Wait For Sleep on I&W, calm before the epic storm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 Okay 3 more reviews left......... and here is another I have been waiting to review.. Here is Octavarium!!!!!!!!!!! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Dream_Theater_-_Octavarium.jpg --------------------Track 1: Root of All Evil---------------------------- From the first note, a heavy piano note picking up where "In the Name of God" left of to start this....I love the build up with the Mike Portnoy drum intro... and it leads directly into the 3rd installment of the 12 step saga.. I am going to be doing this alot in the song reviews and the song analysis... but John Myung owns this album... throughout this whole album he is giving a top knotch preformance... and this song introduces the Myung ownage.. I also am liking the band uniformity here. Not my favorite JBL preformance... but still decent. As with other parts of the 12 step saga, I am liking the harkening back to the other installments of the series, both musically and lyrically... A great opening track, noting too special..... but the higlights of this album are to come... Track Score: 9/10  ---------------------Track 2: The Answer Lies Within------------------------- Its odd for Dream Theater to but a ballad in this early in the album, but I'll take it.... If its a ballad you know were going to hear some epic JBL singing, with Rudess accompany( piano, and a very quiet, but detectable mellotron)... and we recieve.. This is one of La Brie's best vocal preformances ever... and the lyrics are just great.. It's not "Hollow Years" but it is still great... What sets this apart from others is the addition of the "Octavarium Orchestra" and the violins in particular set this one up majestically.  Track Score 9/10  -------------------Track 3: These Walls-------------------------------------- A Weird opening (what the hell is that?) But a nice riff into a band blowup... musically... A nice technical headbanger, with Jordan Rudess at the lead. As aformentioned Jordan Rudess is leading the band in this song... and as before and later, John Myung is giving an awesome bass performance. The vocals are okay, as is the lyrics noting too special. A very nice JP solo at the 4:45 mark, but it gets little face value, and the song does get a little repeatative after a while... but the Rudess and Myung owning masks the minor grievances I have with this track.. Track Score: 7.5/10  ----------------------Track 4: I Walk Beside You----------------------- You want the mark of a good progressive band? Its not what they can do over the 10 minute mark... its what they can do with the under 5 minute marks... This is probably my favorite DT track that comes in at the under 5 minute marks... It is well orchrestrated, and executed... musically, vocally, and lyrically........ The Bridge section is f***ing magical...... La Brie Owns......... No Complaints.. Track Score: 9.5/10  ---------------------Track 5: Panic Attack----------------------- So far the prog elements (to my happiness) have been pretty high on the display here... as well as the technical metal elements... But this is a well placed straight forward headbanger here... and very enjoyable.. And I cannot champion him enough....... GO MYUNG GO!!!!!!!! The lyrics are not the best, but are "entertaining" and they fit the feel of the music..... you do get the feel of a "panic attack" with this song... very well titled.. The song gets a redundant up until the solo sections with two great solos by Rudess and Petrucci...........one last note (THIS SONG IS f***ing IMPOSSIBLE ON ROCK BAND)  Track Score: 9/10 (A rare score for the straight forward metal songs)  --------------------------Track 6: Never Enough-------------------------- A nice heavy opening into what?........... Okay, not digging the "moaning" (for lack of a better word) vocals here... While the singing on this track might be a little off..........and it's nice to know that Mike Portnoy loves his fans (That was a joke..... I actually like the lyrics), the music is really really good, the band is playing very uniform here..... I am hearing a couple of minor transitional change problems, but barely noticeable. The technical metal is killer! Track Score: 8.5/10 ----------------------------Track 7: Sacrificed Sons-------------------------- As with " The Great Debate" Dream Theater does the rare job of being able to sample in this.... and it well sets up the song to some.. And it of course to get you emotionally involved here. (The samples of course are from news casts of 9-11)...... and it works well.. The shut out of the samples to the quiet and errie and dark piano is VERY powerful.. the lyrics reflect the power as well.. This is one of the best written JBL tracks, as well as sung. The whole song contains the errie darkness theme running throughout the first half of the song....... The second half of the song picks it up and it becomes a little more heavy, and as before John Myung shines here.. One of the few times you will get a bass solo forefront.. There are also some great solos by Rudess and Petrucci here. The technicality of this song is so far unmatched.....some really great high and low moments it is unbelieveable.. Track Score: 9/10 ----------------------------Track 8: Octavarium----------------- I. Just Like Him Another one of my favorite DT epics (3rd actually behind "A Change of Seasons", and "6DOIT") The startoff is great, and I am liking that 2 things are very different here than in any other DT epic, first is the inclusion of the Octavarium Orchestra, and the next thing is the opening with Jordan Rudess' new toy... His Contiuum Fingerboard.........and he is using it to an epic errie, and great effect....... a nice and long solo by JR is a great way to begin this masterful Epic........ leading into one of the best full explosions of sound I have ever heard.........EPIC in every sense of the word! The next section of John Petrucci acoustic playing backup to the beautiful solo flute... Then as with ballads before this is an errie yet beautiful JP and JLB duet... with great lyrics, and beautifully sung... which leads us to the next section... II. Medicate (Awakening) This section starts out with some (Once again) Myung ownage, in a great solo intro to this mellower section... The lyrics here are pretty cool.. the singing is very good... as you could say with this JLB written section. Then all hell breaks loose when the singing stops and we are presented with Progasmic Jordan Rudess solo....... WOW.. anything I could write about this solo would be an understatement..... WOW! Mike Portnoy is doing some great owning underneath this epic solo as well..... the best drumming so far of this album...........and the solo finishes bleeding into our next section...... III. Full Circle Here the band is doing a great job, just playing together and jamming and letting the great lyrics and vocals take center stage.. The lyrics by Portnoy are full of references to The Beatles, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Yes, and Genesis.........Then we get into some musical epicocity.......... the uniformity continues, while everyone playing with their upmost powerful chops.........that continues over into the next section.... IV. Intervals The instrumentation continues with a fantastic Guitar/Keyboard solo, playing the near impossible together..... WOW... HOW THE f**k IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!? Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci are owning.... making this the best part of the song........ The lyrics here are great...... revisiting the earlier tracks of this album, with a lyric each... Every by much getting louder and leading to a screaming La Brie....... TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OCTAVARIUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! V. Razor's Edge  Here is where it all comes together, in a glorious Epic finale.. The orchestra makes its ultimate impact....... the band is playing epically, the lyrics are phenominal....... and the epic solo by John Petrucci..........powerful, graceful, the solution to "why are we here", and an epic finish to an epic track! Track score: 10/10     -----------------------------Overall Analysis--------------------------------- I am going to say that other than the minor issues that I had with individual tracks, I had no issues with this album.......it is the album that completes me... an I have nothing but praise for this.. First of all, was the performance of John Myung.. who before this album seemed to have only one or two shining moments, he owned this album.. period! The bass preformance on any DT album. Next, The production of this album was excellent... It has to be, and it is an excpetionally hard thing to do when you are adding an orchestra into the mix, but this album did it fantastically. The sound quality was great, maybe not as good as Train of Thought, but still excellent to hear on my headphones.  One thing I never seem to praise is the writing and orchrestration of the compositions as a whole on the albums.. But this album is worth noting... Octavarium in a way is a concept album.. the number "8" is kind of the theme.. there are 8 songs, each song is written in a different key (all 8, and the main theme running as the original title of the album was supposed to be called "Octave"), Octavarium the title itself is a play on the number 8... and the title track references other tracks....... You gotta love the attention to detail.... I could name alot of other things, but those were the main things to note in this album............noting left to do now but score it........  Overall Score for Octavarium......... 95/100 (not an average of the track scores) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Duio Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 QUOTE (The Owl @ Jun 18 2009, 11:58 PM) -------------------Track 3: These Walls-------------------------------------- A Weird opening (what the hell is that?) But a nice riff into a band blowup... musically... A nice technical headbanger, with Jordan Rudess at the lead. As aformentioned Jordan Rudess is leading the band in this song... and as before and later, John Myung is giving an awesome bass performance. The vocals are okay, as is the lyrics noting too special. A very nice JP solo at the 4:45 mark, but it gets little face value, and the song does get a little repeatative after a while... but the Rudess and Myung owning masks the minor grievances I have with this track.. Track Score: 7.5/10 "What the hell is that?"  That my friend is some cool Myung bass distortion, that's what! This was the one song that really surprised me on Octavarium. A very solid album but the one I like least is Never Enough. The title track is by far the best on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilCastro Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 QUOTE (The Owl @ Jun 19 2009, 12:58 AM) ----------------------------Track 8: Octavarium----------------- I. Just Like Him Another one of my favorite DT epics (3rd actually behind "A Change of Seasons", and "6DOIT") The startoff is great, and I am liking that 2 things are very different here than in any other DT epic, first is the inclusion of the Octavarium Orchestra, and the next thing is the opening with Jordan Rudess' new toy... His Contiuum Fingerboard.........and he is using it to an epic errie, and great effect....... a nice and long solo by JR is a great way to begin this masterful Epic........ leading into one of the best full explosions of sound I have ever heard.........EPIC in every sense of the word! The next section of John Petrucci acoustic playing backup to the beautiful solo flute... Then as with ballads before this is an errie yet beautiful JP and JLB duet... with great lyrics, and beautifully sung... which leads us to the next section... II. Medicate (Awakening) This section starts out with some (Once again) Myung ownage, in a great solo intro to this mellower section... The lyrics here are pretty cool.. the singing is very good... as you could say with this JLB written section. Then all hell breaks loose when the singing stops and we are presented with Progasmic Jordan Rudess solo....... WOW.. anything I could write about this solo would be an understatement..... WOW! Mike Portnoy is doing some great owning underneath this epic solo as well..... the best drumming so far of this album...........and the solo finishes bleeding into our next section...... III. Full Circle Here the band is doing a great job, just playing together and jamming and letting the great lyrics and vocals take center stage.. The lyrics by Portnoy are full of references to The Beatles, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Yes, and Genesis.........Then we get into some musical epicocity.......... the uniformity continues, while everyone playing with their upmost powerful chops.........that continues over into the next section.... IV. Intervals The instrumentation continues with a fantastic Guitar/Keyboard solo, playing the near impossible together..... WOW... HOW THE f**k IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!? Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci are owning.... making this the best part of the song........ The lyrics here are great...... revisiting the earlier tracks of this album, with a lyric each... Every by much getting louder and leading to a screaming La Brie....... TRAPPED INSIDE THIS OCTAVARIUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! V. Razor's Edge Here is where it all comes together, in a glorious Epic finale.. The orchestra makes its ultimate impact....... the band is playing epically, the lyrics are phenominal....... and the epic solo by John Petrucci..........powerful, graceful, the solution to "why are we here", and an epic finish to an epic track! Track score: 10/10 Webster needs to put this in the dictionary under "Perfect"   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theworkingman Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Octavarium may be my favorite DT epic ever and Panic Attack is my favorite DT song. In other words, this album f***ing rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 20, 2009 Author Share Posted June 20, 2009 I am going to postpone the "Systematic Chaos" review until tomorrow.  It will be around a few days after the release of the new album until I post the review of it.. and holding off on the SC review to bridge the gap a bit more..  Plus I have to work tonight.......and don't want to have to post it at midnight, as I have been doing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 21, 2009 Author Share Posted June 21, 2009 The last review before the new album Here is  "Systematic Chaos"   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e3/Dream_Theater_-_Systematic_Chaos.jpg     ---------------------Track 1: In the Presence of Enemies pt.1 ----------------------- We are starting this album off with a bang...a pure explosion of sound.. and there is some really great stuff from both Petrucci and Rudess here... if fact all the members of DT come out swinging with all their chops right here at the beginning, and leads right into a beautiful JP solo. The whole into section takes up the whole first half of the song.. (well quarter if you count that part 2 comes later).. When the JLB comes in the band starts playing uniformly.... and the musical quality stays the same, the JP lyrics are great, and the story that is being told through this is awesome.....great start to the album (espicially with that ending solo), but the review of this song is not quite over... I will finish this review in part 2..... Continued in part 2...........  ----------------------Track 2: Forsaken---------------------------------- Great eerie piano intro, into stepping the band right in with another loud and heavy burst of sound... Here we get a shining JLB section.... What a great vocal performance to some really great JP lyrics... and speaking of Petrucci.......his guitar work in this songs is really great... the solo is fantastic. This song, much like "I walk beside you" from the previous album works well at a short length as it is... very good.. Track Score: 9/10 ---------------------------Track 3: Constant Motion--------------------------- This album is showing that it is going to be heavier than it's predecessor, it most certaintly is, and this song turns it up considerably. The lyrics this time by Mike Portnoy are really great and fit the mood of the song, and indeed of the album. The nuMetal vocals make a return, but they are no where near as bad as they were in "Honor Thy Father"........ and detract a little. Mike Portnoy is doing a fantastic job on the drums.. playing his ass off........ There are a couple of great solos, very technical and well played.. the solo section could have lasted a bit longer, before returning back into the last choral section, which is getting a bit repatative...... but oh, well. Track Score 8/10 -------------------------Track 4: The Dark Eternal Night---------------------- Track at first seems to be going out for a full, almost death metal feel, and it is indeed the heaviest track on the album.. But during sections of this song they throw in some great sizable chunks of some prog goodiness, in the form of some great Jordan Rudess solos, and keyboard heavy sections.. and he brought his Contiuum from Octavarium as well. The lyrics are great, the singing during the verses are a bit annoying...but that is when JLB is not singing.. This is a great and technical metal song... I would have like to have seen the middle section stretched out a bit more but still great.........and you might need to consult an ear doctor after finishing this track......if Mike Portnoy's double bass has anything to say about it..... Track Score: 7.5/10 -------------------------Track 5: Repentance------------------------------- This is a neat little track......... the penultimate installment of Mike Pornoy's 12 step saga......the lyrics are really good, as all the 12 step saga. There is a really great solo from JP halfway through the song, but that is really the only musical highlight, (though I am loving the mellotron) as the rest of the song is built on the lryics and the addition of Mike Pornoy's friends such as Chris Jerico, Steven Wilson, Mike Akerfeldt, Neil Morse, Joe Satraini... all makeing amends for aspects in their lives....etc.. cool.. I guess...... and it fits this stage in the song.... Unfortunatly this song doesn't work well as a stand alone piece.... This song feels like a section of a song that is arbutarily thrown by itself onto an album (which it kind of was). This song will make much more of an impact, and will fell much more "right" when It is listened to with the whole of the 12 step suite, but by itself... it dosen't work well.... does that make sense? Track Score: 7.5/10 ----------------------------Track 6: Prophets Of War----------------------- James LaBire can write just as good lyrics as any of the other members... even if he writes the most opinionated lyrics... the lyrics are very good... and he delivers a good vocal preformance... Musically there is alot of really great stuff I am liking, however I feel at a short length some ideas could have been broadened more, what is there is very very good, but I seem to be missing what is not there...... I would have loved to see at least 1 solo....this could have been a great song if they had added an extra 3 minutes....but okay..... Track Score: 7.5/10 ---------------------------Track 7: Ministry of Lost Souls-------------------- WOW! This is the highlight of this album.. a well orchrestrated, well written (lyrics once again by John Petrucci) musical epic... One that I think is just as good as "In The Presence of Enemies". JLB gives a great vocal preformance... and the guitar work by JP matches the greatness of what he has ever done. What Strike me the strongest is the uniformity that persists between all the members of the band...which for DT epics happens rarely for songs of this length..onto which certain members are placed ahead of eachother... There are some great solos in here, by all members it seems.... The song ends as epically as it started (another great JP solo), and transitioning into the last part of the album.. Track Score 9.5/10 -----------------------------Track 8: In the presence of enemies pt.2-------------- (continued from part 1)............... This picks up right where part 1 left off, and so will I.. The lyrics and singing take center stage right at the beginning. The main melody comes in early eeriely on the JR piano... Musically this is very good, but it doesn't match the first part of the song, there are some good solos, but still not as good as the first half.. The lyrics take center stage, and are sung brilliantly by JLB. I do however like the variation in this second half.. And the transitions between the more metal chanting sections, and the more prog sections are done without a hitch. The solo sections are great, heavy and prog oreinted at the same time= Epic...no complaints here. Overall the whole of the In The presence of enemies is another great epic, I really think it should have been left as a whole, but for good reasons it was split (Portnoy did not want to open with a 25 minute track, nor did he want to close the album with one, as they had done so on Octavarium), so they went with the "Shine ON you Crazy Diamond" route and split it... Though the best way to listen to this is in one whole piece....and a live version of such is done on the "Chaos in Motion" DVD . In the Presence of Enemies is far from my favorite DT epic, but it is great nonetheless.  Track Score (Parts 1 and 2)= 9.5/10    ----------------------Overall Analysis----------------------------- There are not many complaints about this album outside the issues I had with the individual songs.. It is heavier than the previous album, but in ways more technical.. I like the balancing, and combining of the progressive and metal elements on this album, as with before albums it has been either/or........so props for that..  The maturity, (playing and singing) on this album is at an all time high, when this album came out one reviewer said that, "the four masters of music that use their instruments as if they were their limbs"... and I find that to be very accurate. I do want to add that for an overall album, this is the best sounding James La Brie I have ever heard. The biggest praise I have for this album is that this is the most well written album so far... the lyrics are awesome... Petrucci stepped up when it came to the lyrics... each of the 4 that he wrote told a fictional story that was crafted well to music.. The La Brie, and Portnoy songs were very well written as well..  On a personal level however I feel that musically while the playing was top knotch, there was nothing that reached on a personal level that led to a "holy f**k, my life is changed" moments on this album, as there have been on previous albums. And I did not get into these songs as I have gotten into others, but that is my feel... just mine.. This is a great album, that does take a few listens to fully appreciate... but it is a great and expected album of Dream Theater..  Overall score for Systematic Chaos.... 89/100 (not an average of the song scores) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theworkingman Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Good review but there's no way in hell I'd rate Systematic Chaos better than Train of Thought. I'd also like to add that I hated ToT the first time I heard but it has grown on me a lot whereas Systematic Chaos is kind of the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raygun47 Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I like SC a lot more than most people I run across. I think it's real close to being...at least...as good as Train of Thought, but my friend (another big fan) would say the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 QUOTE (theworkingman @ Jun 21 2009, 05:13 PM) Good review but there's no way in hell I'd rate Systematic Chaos better than Train of Thought. I'd also like to add that I hated ToT the first time I heard but it has grown on me a lot whereas Systematic Chaos is kind of the other way around. Cool, thanks for the feed back.... It'll be a few days after release before I do a review of BC&SL... Unlike most of you... I chose to wait, other than download the leak.. My first listen through will be on Tuesday, and I want to listen to it a couple of times before I post a review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Duio Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 QUOTE (theworkingman @ Jun 21 2009, 06:13 PM) Good review but there's no way in hell I'd rate Systematic Chaos better than Train of Thought. I'd also like to add that I hated ToT the first time I heard but it has grown on me a lot whereas Systematic Chaos is kind of the other way around. ToT is way better than SC, I agree. I try and try to "get into" SC but for the most part, can't. Repentance is way, way too long too. Chop off the last 40 measures and it'd be perfect. Looks like This Dying Soul is going to be the crown jewel of the AA songs, unless The Shattered Fortress can surprise the hell out of me tomorrow when I buy the CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theworkingman Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 The Shattered Fortress contains some of LaBrie's best vocals. Not sure if it's my favorite of the AA series but it's definately up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilCastro Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 QUOTE (theworkingman @ Jun 22 2009, 06:16 PM) The Shattered Fortress contains some of LaBrie's best vocals. Not sure if it's my favorite of the AA series but it's definately up there. James is fantastic on the whole Album IMO Â There were many times that I had my jaw on the floor, he was so damn impressive... like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del_Duio Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 QUOTE (PhilCastro @ Jun 22 2009, 05:25 PM) QUOTE (theworkingman @ Jun 22 2009, 06:16 PM) The Shattered Fortress contains some of LaBrie's best vocals. Not sure if it's my favorite of the AA series but it's definately up there. James is fantastic on the whole Album IMO Â There were many times that I had my jaw on the floor, he was so damn impressive... like this: That's great to hear. Maybe his voice has healed up after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tick Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I have a bit of a complaint Mr. Owl. I notice you have not reviewed A Change Of Seasons. The song is one of the all time epics ! I forgive you, but you should consider reviewing that track. No need to review the cover songs. Now if you will excuse me I'm off to buy a new Dream Theater record ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 QUOTE (tick @ Jun 23 2009, 06:59 AM) I have a bit of a complaint Mr. Owl. I notice you have not reviewed A Change Of Seasons. The song is one of the all time epics ! I forgive you, but you should consider reviewing that track. No need to review the cover songs. Now if you will excuse me I'm off to buy a new Dream Theater record ! I did do a mini review of ACOSÂ Â http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?show...dpost&p=1681874Â Â Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 Okay, Ive given this 3 good listens since tuesday.... and I will be posting my review sometime tomorrow (I do not have much time today)Â Â WOOOOOOOOOOT~! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Okay its time for my FINAL REVIEW!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!! Last but certaintly not least is the newest album "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" and the acronym that shall forever be used "BC&SL" http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/Dream_Theater_-_Black_Clouds_%26_Silver_Linings.jpg   --------------------------Track #1: A Nightmare to Remember------------------------ We've never opened the album with a lightning strike before, but okay. A nice and creepy piano intro by Jordan Rudess leads us into one of the best openings for a Dream Theater album... a heavy and pounding and riff driven section with lyrical accompanyment drive this 16 minute epic for the heaviest track on the album. Portnoy has an affinity for the double bass in this track... but it definatly drives the song, espicially during his growling section later on in the song, and speaking of which it is odd for Dream Theater to go with some growls, but as Portnoy has described it made sense with the music.. but it dose feel a bit weird, kinda outa place...but still not too bothersome (minus the non lyrical ROAR!!!!!!!! leading out of that verse. I will go into more detail in the final analysis section, but James La Brie sounds very mature in this track, as well as the rest of the album, hitting the highs and lows flawlessly. Musically there is much to say about this song, many many highlights. Many great solos, the return once again of Rudess' Contiuum...etc... lets just say the music is flawless and leave it at that, and while this is as aformentioned the heaviest track on the album, the progressive and metal elements are balanced perfectly. I have to complement John Petrucci on some excellent lyrics as well, they are beautiful........and what a way to hype up a song lyrically of what is a song basically about experiencing a car accident.   Track Score: 9/10   -------------------------------Track #2: A Rite of Passage------------------------ This was a perfect song to release as a single, and here's why. As the previous track there is a very nice balance between the prog and the metal elements, there are some very good lyrics. And some great guitar driven melodies and vocal driven choruses. This is a true taster and a small sample of what the whole album is about. Nothing too standout, but that's not what this song was really reaching for IMO...I would not say that the song is too radio friendly (It's not, it's still 8 minutes long, and almost 6 with the radio edit version) but it is the most "radio friendly". But a good song nonetheless. Track Score: 8/10  ------------------------------Track #3: Wither----------------------------------   Ahhh........... as usual, and a well expected and received Dream Theater ballad. La Brie sounds great here.... The lyrics are a bit "emo" for a song about writer's block, and there are better John Petrucci ballads. But the lyrics are not bad at all, just a bit played up. Musically Dream Theater has never played this uniformly... the cohesiveness is spot on. The final solo is a bit short, but beautiful.. Wither is far from the best Dream Theater ballad, but still very good. La Brie steals this song... period.  Track Score: 8/10 --------------------------------Track #4: The Shattered Fortress--------------------------------- We have finally reached it... the finale of Mike Portnoy's "12 Step- Suite" that began with "The Glass Prison" back on "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". I have mentioned this before, but this song is already been getting alot of flack for sounding like all the previous sections of the suite tied together to create this song.... and I think such a statement is an oversimplification of what this song is really is. Yes this revisits on the previous movements of the 12 step suite heavily, but in a good way.. It is not a mere "repasting" of musical themes. It rewrites them to fit cohesively into what amounts to a "grand finale" to the 12 step suite. I will admit that as a standalone track it dosen't work as well as other movements of the suite, and as with the previous movement from Systematic Chaos, (Repentance) "The Shattered Fortress" fits in better with the rest of the suite, than a track on this album... It basically is like putting an overture, or a grand finale on an album by itslef.. not logical, but it does not effect the music in any way.. IMO The music is great, and I like the returning musical themes, there are some great solos. Lyrically it is spot on and a great lyrical finish to the suite. Vocally it is not the best on the album, probably my least favorite sung on this album, but a minor detraction. The Shattered Fortress is not my favorite movement of the 12 step suite (That woud be "The Root of All Evil"), but I love the ending of this the Combo "The Root of All Evil"/"The Glass Prison" outro is a great finish to this multi-album epic. Track Score: 8.5/10   ------------------------------Track#5: The Best of Times---------------------------- While not my personal favorite song on this album, this is pretty much tied with TCOT for the best song on this album.. The intro is beautiful, Jordan Rudess is flexing is classically trained abilites here.. The Violinist is a great addition to the beginning here. This is very remnicient of "Anna Lee" and "Hollow Years".........the acoustic guitar addition to the piano is just as sweet and awesome as this track has been so far............ Then things start to hear up, into another great section and increase of volume. And AM I hearing a clear nod to "The Spirit of Radio"......... I THINK I AM!!!!! props.... The lyrics by Portnoy are very emotional... and very great.. and almost tearful (espicially during the last few verses) as this is a tribute to his father who passed away during the recording of this album. The last 3 minutes of this track are my favorite of the album, one of the best Petrucci solos ever to grace a DT release, and is right up there with the solos from "Razor's Edge" and "The Spirit Carries On" A truly great track.  Track Score: 9.5/10  --------------------------------Track #6: The Count of Tuscany---------------------------- As the custom with Dream Theater epics, here lies the 20 minute range track into which we will pour on some crazy solos, blow your mind with sections of epicness, followed by some ass kicking singing. Multi-sectional phrasing, time changes, progressive epicness.... and this is where the chops of the members are on full display, including the voice of La Brie.... And this Dream Theater epic is no different.............Its all there. Trust ME, so I am not going to waste your time talking about each solo, as I have done in the past...I could prattle on forever about every aspect about what I love about the standard Dream Theater epic.. so lets assume I did, and that I loved it all as I have loved all other DT epics, which I do, and have.  I do want to hit a few things that make this different from any other DT epic... First is the lyrics.... the true thing that makes a DT epic different from any other.. The lyrics are the "strangest" Petrucci has ever written... that doesn't make them bad at all.... but the lyrics about being frightened by an eccentric Count in Italy, and his brother.....are very odd indeed. But as odd as the lyrics are they fit the music. The last thing I want to hit on is my only real complaint about this track, but its minor.. and that would be the lack of "orginizaton" on this track.. This is one of the few, if not only (that I can remember, I don't have the other epics in front of me) DT epic that has not been broken down into smaller sub-sections. (As in epics like Octavarium, and A Change of Seasons are broken into smaller sections like "Full Circle", and "THe Crimson Sunset") And at times the song feels a bit chaotic,and there are one or two minor stylistic changes that do not make seemless transitions, but that is a very minor detraction. Overall the song is as epic as anything DT has put out... It is not my favorite DT epic, but as good as any DT epic that preceeded it.. and my favorite track on the album, and probably the best.    Track Score: 9.5/10 --------------------------------FINAL ANALYSIS--------------------------------- First let me say that this album blows it's predecessor out of the Water. (And I like systematic chaos very much), that much is clear. And while it took me a few listens to get into and appreciate "Systematic Chaos". I loved "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" from the first listen. Since "Scenes from A memory" Dream Theater has been following a pattern of releasing a more melodic progressive heavy album, then followed by a more metal driven album, the repeat. I think BC&SL breaks that pattern that DT has been following.. BC&SL is honestly the most balanced album DT has ever released, and there is no reason why this should not please both sides of the DT fandom.. The lyrics on this were very good, not as good as the lyrics on "Systematic Chaos" (Which is as I still think the best album from a lyrical standpoint DT has released), but very enjoyable and better than the lyrics on other DT albums.. I would have liked to have seen one La Brie song, but I can wait for the next album.  And Speaking of La Brie.... WOW! I think he has finally acheived the best vocal balance he has ever reached.. The maturity in his voice and ability to sing should offer no complaints even to the most fervent hater of JLB. He definatly worked his pipes on this album.. Other than the few minor grievances I listed in my song reviews, I have no major issues with this album.. BC&SL is an epic release, and a smattering of 6 tracks that are sure to become staples..... I loved this album FINAL SCORE FOR "BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS" : 90/100 (not an average of the song scores) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 I will do a full recap of the scores and a sumup of all the discography later tonight... That was fun...  My next review will be up in a couple of years... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilCastro Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Very Nicely done Owl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Here is the rankings in order of all my album reviews Here is how I ranked them: 1st(t): Scenes from A Memory:...............................95/100 1st(t): Octavarium...................................................95/100 3rd: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.................93/100 4th(t): Images and Words....................................... 90/100 4th(t): Awake:...........................................................90/100 4th(t): Black Clouds & Silver Linings:.......................90/100 7th: Systematic Chaos..........................................89/100 8th: Train of Thought............................................85/100 9th: Falling Into Infinity:......................................75/100 10th: When Dream and Day Unite:.........................72/100   A Change of Seasons....... 45/50   TOTAL COMBINED SCORE FOR THE DISCOGRAPHY:   919/1050   and for shits and giggles... The total combined for all of the song scores..  751.5/910 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Owl Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 And I am going to conclude my official additions to this thread by saying that I NEVER!!!!!! plan on doing album reviews again! The first reason being that for one musical taste is extremely subjective, and as hard as I tried to be as objective as possible in my album reviews, I have to admit that the scores did as it does with any "real" critic, reflect my own tastes. And just because I got something off of one song or album does not mean anyone else will get the same impression or feel..  Secondly, reviewing music takes all the fun out of listening to music... when you review an album, you try to listen to stuff to criticize on... You listen for flaws. And I hate doing that.. I like pointing out what I liked, and I did enjoy sharing some of that in the song reviews, and the overall reviews I did do. But I hated listening for what I didn't like... It makes no sense for a music fan to ever have to do that.  And I hated putting a score on the songs or album, for one my scores are as mentioned above, are of my own opinion, and are a subjective representation of how bad or good I think a song or album is... and your ideas might be completely different. And I think giving a work of art a "score" is kind of bullshit. When I read reviews, I try not to pay attention to the score, but instead pay attention to the substance of the review...I.E the writeups I did on the songs, and on the overall analysis. I hate giving a grade...because once again I have to factor all elements as possible from my subjective view, that I hate doing because It takes the fun out of listening to music...etc   I did enjoy sharing my thoughts with you on these review.... but I am glad as hell I will never have to review another album again... Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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