Dream Theater new album review.

[Wyvern]

Finally "Octavarium" leaked for me to review it. With the impeding coming of the release (June 7th) I was desperate to know if it will worth to spend the money.
"Train Of Thought" was such a dissapointment, such a bad collection of dirty songs influenced by mallcore and cheap Metallica, that the few moments that could be recorded on tape gave me a bad taste up to this day.
Convinced that DT decided to go the way of the dodo (moreover after LaBrie's last solo album also a great dissapointment of modernisms), I was having very low expectations for this new one, so finaly I heard it.

‘The Root Of All Evil’: still has a bit of that modern sound they used in TOT but less palpable. The riff is mean and the music is very metal, owing to the heavier moments of “Awake” mostly. La Brie vocals are as ever and I notice a heavier prominence of Myung’s bass, especially during Petrucci’s solo.



‘The Answer Lies Within’: a sensible ballad has great feeling and the soft instrumentation is joint by great tender vocals. In the tradition of ‘Anna Lee’, ‘The Silent Man’ and even ‘Misunderstood’, this one had grabbed me for sure.



‘These Walls’: starts soft and progress to heaviness, even if the guitar sound still has a certain modern vibe the whole approach again reminds more of “Awake” material. I found the instruments more equilibrated as a whole. The song is basically slow/mid-tempo all through the end, and frankly after the horrible tunes of TOT is pretty refreshing hear the band going back to basics, but refusing to sound outdated.

(The edit version is 3 minutes shorter.)



‘I Walk Beside You’: the shortest of the album 4:29, starts coupled to the end of the previous one using a tic-tac sound as bridge. Is a melodic tune that reminds me of some of Mullmuzzler material. The song don’t rely on complex signatures or strange time changes, is just effective modern progressive rock. You can find some comparisons with tunes in FIT and SDOIT.



‘Panic Attack’: this is a heavy tune which starts something like ‘Acid Rain’ from LTE, after three softer songs DT goes back to punch in the wavelength of ‘Lie’, ‘Burning My Soul’, ‘As I Am’ and even a bit of ‘Strange Déja Vu’. Undoubtedly the most progressive metal tune so far in the album and a clear example of what a good band should do when composing/mixing an album.

(The edit version is 3:20 minutes shorter.)



‘Never Enough’: also comes out of the previous one and starts again with a heavy riff, with a neat mix of keys, guitar and percussion that you expect from neo-progressive metal. A clear return to the stuff they were doing in “Metropolis pt2 SFAM”, in other words they understood what they were missing in the last two albums.



‘Sacrificed Sons’: the second longest song also is intertwined with the previous ones through some voice samplers (I foresee a difficult tape recording of this one), the samplers give space to piano, bass and percussion while LaBrie’s vocals mesmerize with almost a female softness. The music has a kind of chilling atmosphere too (that I love), and the first important change hits at ~ 4:15. The tempo goes faster and definitively progressive in all attitude, the instrumental section shows the quality of these guys once again. At 7:54 the vocals return but the tempo is different from the beginning, great feeling drives the song towards the end, in what I believe it is an evolved version of ‘Learning To Live’.



‘Octavarium’: for the grand finale, the title song is also the longest (23:59), so I expect something in the tradition of ‘A Change Of Seasons’.

Starts with a great Pink Floyd or Camel vibe, and is pure classic progressive rock. By 5:19 acoustic guitar and soft melodic vocals take over, until 8:09 when the song raises tempo reminding me at the same time Genesis and Yes by moments. Again at ~12:20 the instrumental section goes for some ELP/Yes mood. Is clear now that the guys got the hint that TOT was an ass-suck Crapallica bad ride, and found their way home to 70’s progressive rock. You are not going to believe this song, for those waiting for mean metal forget it, this is about real cult to the basics. I’m not afraid to say that it may be one of the best songs DT composed in their career.



Bottom line is the best album since SFAM, is a great album for a band to redeem after an ugly stain.

Score: 8.5/10

 

[Kenneth R.]

interesting review, though i have not heard anytihng about it leaking

 

[wdiv]

Dream Theater = one of the most overrated bands ever IMO.

I love prog metal, but DT just bores the hell outta me. Can't stand LaBrie's vocals and their music just feels emotionless to me.
Just a point of view... not trying to flame. It wouldn't even be an issue to me, if not for the fact that they are seen as the epitomy of Progressive Metal.

 

[sixxswine]

Dream Theater = one of the most overrated bands ever IMO.

I feel the same way...
I thought Train of Thought was so-so, I will wait on this one until I hear some of the material off it. How many so-so records can you own?!

 

[Wheezer]

"Train Of Thought" was such a dissapointment, such a bad collection of dirty songs influenced by mallcore and cheap Metallica, that the few moments that could be recorded on tape gave me a bad taste up to this day.

TOT is the only one of theirs that I play with any regularity. I guess my ears are wired a little differently. It seems that it's a pretty polarizing release for them. The hard core DT fans didn't care for it a whole lot. Casual DT fans embraced it.

Bottom line is the best album since SFAM, is a great album for a band to redeem after an ugly stain

Score: 8.5/10

Cool review. Thanks! I'll definitely be giving this one a few spins when it comes out.

 

[Hawk]

Thanks for the review Wyv! And I agree with what you said, word for word!

 

[SickBoy]

Geez Wyv, you sure have nothing better to do than write reviews here

Bottom line is the best album since SFAM, is a great album for a band to redeem after an ugly stain.

I sure hope that it's like that. TOT really made me puke, it was a really lame attempt at grabbing mallcore youth's attention...
It should be downloaded at home already, I'm soon off the work, can't wait to give it a listen. :Spin:

EDIT:
sounds good so far. Wyv, did you notice that at the ending of "The Answer Lies Within" there is a slight bent up pitch on the ringing piano note, very similar to that at the end of Pink Floyd's "Great Gig In The Sky"?

 

[Wyvern]

Geez Wyv, you sure have nothing better to do than write reviews here



I sure hope that it's like that. TOT really made me puke, it was a really lame attempt at grabbing mallcore youth's attention...
It should be downloaded at home already, I'm soon off the work, can't wait to give it a listen. :Spin:

EDIT:
sounds good so far. Wyv, did you notice that at the ending of "The Answer Lies Within" there is a slight bent up pitch on the ringing piano note, very similar to that at the end of Pink Floyd's "Great Gig In The Sky"?

Glad some does share my view, I thought I was posting on the wrong forum when I started reading the post

I believe is our duty to keep the forum alive, since I'm not in a place where lots of stuff happens at least I can contribute writing reviews (even if in the end everybody should make its own mind regarding an album).

No, I didn't notice the similarity. I'll check it again, thanks for pointing it.

TOT is the only one of theirs that I play with any regularity. I guess my ears are wired a little differently. It seems that it's a pretty polarizing release for them. The hard core DT fans didn't care for it a whole lot. Casual DT fans embraced it.

Thanks for pointing it out, I think you nailed the problem. I'm a strong fan of the band, they maybe highly overrated but I like them, I'm not saying they're the best on business but what they do, they do it well. So TOT pissed me a lot for the reasons SickBoy mentioned.

 

[Walter_Langkowski]

Thanks for the review Wyv. I have every album since Images & Words, and I used to be a big fan. But between the "Kitchen sink" new line of progressive approach on the last 3, as well as LaBries increasingly higher and shriller pitched vocal delivery, I have been drifting farther away in my interest level. Ever since I heard Symphony X, I now have a new vocal hero.

And I actually like ToT, as far as their newer material goes. Heavier approach on the musical side of things.

 

[Singerfinger]

Dream theater is one of my alltime favourites. I do admit, that their music is not suitable for evryone. Because normally, unless you´re a musician, you don´t want to hear 10 minutes masturbatory guitar solos and 20 minutes long songs.

For me, dream theater is a music made for musicians. i enjoy the guitar masturbation, keyboard wanking and stuff. If you are used to normal radio playlist format music, then dream theater might be a little bit too demanding music for you..

I also have to admit that Train of thought was a little bit of disappointment for me, it just did not have the same vibe that was in six degrees of inner turbulence. But, usually it goes like this: even the not-so-good Dream Theater albums are better than the usual stuff that the so-called modern metal bands do. But this is just my opinion, you are well allowed to disagree with me. it is just a matter of taste, said dog while licking his own balls..

I´m going to buy octavarium ASAP.

 

[sixxswine]

Did you read where tbey shut down their message board due to leaks of the new record?!

 

[Break Zero]

Did you read where tbey shut down their message board due to leaks of the new record?!

Haha yeah, read that just now.

I liked TOT, but the only songs that stood out as true DT classics were "This Dying Soul" and "Vacant"/"Steam Of Conciousness" (They have to be played together for full effect), with the former being among their heaviest, and the latter being my personal favorite instrument they ever composed.

In conclusion, Its all about Awake for me

 

[SavaRon]

Well first let me say I love DT. They are my second favorite band behind Savatage. I also think they kind of lost something with the last couple records. I like them but I don't find myself listening to them as much as the others. I think it's just to many long songs. I love longer songs but they need to break it up a bit and this album looks like they did that. Every review seems to be very positive on it. Can't wait to pick this up next week. I think Portnoy is flipping out because of the leaks. Mp.com is down and so is the DT message board. I understand they don't want it out there, but this day in age it's innevitable. They did a good job of containing it, seeing as it just leaked last week. Their fans will buy it anyway so I don't see the big deal myself. I wouldn't be surprised if on the next album they don't give a release date until the day before it's out!

 

[Wyvern]

"Vacant"/"Steam Of Conciousness"

Those are the two that made me kept the album

 

[Break Zero]

Those are the two that made me kept the album

I don't know why, but that is one of the very few songs that make my hairs stand and listen in such awe. Such an amazing composititon

 

[carnut]

I just had a first listen and I'm not very impressed by the new album...Maybe I'm in a "heavy" mood these months, but the album again is too soft for me. I liked ToT much more it seems ...Too much slow songs, and I really don't like songs like "I walk beside you"...it sounds just like any cheap alternative MTV rockband... okay, only one song you say, but this kinda stuff can ruin an entire album for me.I would like to have heard much more songs like "panic attack".
Maybe I need some more listening to get into the album, but I'm afraid I concider this to be the worst DT

 

[Wyvern]

I just had a first listen and I'm not very impressed by the new album...Maybe I'm in a "heavy" mood these months, but the album again is too soft for me. I liked ToT much more it seems ...Too much slow songs, and I really don't like songs like "I walk beside you"...it sounds just like any cheap alternative MTV rockband... okay, only one song you say, but this kinda stuff can ruin an entire album for me.I would like to have heard much more songs like "panic attack".
Maybe I need some more listening to get into the album, but I'm afraid I concider this to be the worst DT

This time we dissent 180 degrees. To me TOT is their worst, the slow songs in the new one are exactly what I like. Not that DT can't compose heavy songs, because they can, but I don't like when they sound like cheap Mallcorica.
I feel much more the spirit of "Awake" in this one than in the previous three albums.

 

[carnut]

This time we dissent 180 degrees. To me TOT is their worst, the slow songs in the new one are exactly what I like. Not that DT can't compose heavy songs, because they can, but I don't like when they sound like cheap Mallcorica.
I feel much more the spirit of "Awake" in this one than in the previous three albums.

Hehe, we can't agree all the time you know....I'm right any way
I'll give it another spin when I'm more in the mood for softer metal ... But I'm not sure I'm gonna change my opinion bout this CD ...I'll let ya know anyway !!

 

[Wyvern]

Hehe, we can't agree all the time you know....I'm right any way

Famous last words! :Spin:

Trust me on one thing, don't overspin an album. Lately I had discovered that first impressions work better for me now. So I spined "Octavarium" and like it, I spined "Room V" and didn't (and both are full of soft songs).

The point is we are fans of rock/metal, we are not psychotic consumers. If an album/band doesn't do for you, just skip it. We play allegiance to no one, but ourselves (and our wallet ).

 

[Bryant]

I qualify as a "casual" DT fan. I think that I&W is about the best thing since sliced bread but they never came close to that afterward as far as I am concerned. You never know though. I do at least "check out" their stuff and I wasn't crazy about TOT, but I'll see what I think about this new one...


Bryant