Dream Theater Systematic Chaos
Roadrunner Records 1686-179922 June 5, 2007
By Jason Jordan
This year marks the Roadrunner debut of two, gigantic (Gigantour?) bands in Megadeth and Dream Theater. Interestingly enough, though its highly disputable, Dream Theater have either been on or off since 1994 the year they unleashed Awake. So according to that claim: Falling into Infinity (1997; off), Scenes from a Memory (1999; on), Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002; off), Train of Thought (2003; on), Octavarium (2005; off), and now Systematic Chaos, which is more like an in-between than an outright triumph or failure.
At 79 minutes total, Systematic Chaos is a long one, and theres a lot to like and a lot to dislike. Arguably, Dream Theater always offer a couple tracks that shouldve been left on the cutting room floor, even if they include redeeming instrumental qualities. Here those are the lackluster Forsaken and the 15-minute The Ministry of Lost Souls, which, speaking of the latter, has a dull first half. The others, however, are all keepers in various degrees. Two-part bookend In the Presence of Enemies which makes for 26 minutes when combined features stunning musicianship as weve come to expect from the long-running unit, and generally, theyre at their finest when theyre playing fast and heavy. The bass lines in Part II are especially badass. Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night are two examples of hard, succinct DT, recalling riff-happy moments from Train of Thought and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Its apparent in Constant Motion that, once again, Petrucci and Portnoy have no business contributing vocals because they are both mediocre, even for background vocalists. The gang shouts dont fit in too well, either, nor do the vocal effects used intermittently during The Dark Eternal Night. Still, both have catchy choruses and riveting instrumental portions upon which to feast. No surprise there.
The 11-minute Repentance is actually a continuation of the series that began with The Glass Prison (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) for parts I-III, continued with This Dying Soul (Train of Thought) for parts IV and V, continued again with The Root of All Evil (Octavarium) for parts VI and VII, and concludes (?) with Repentance for parts VIII (Regret) and IX (Restitution). Theres quite an Opeth vibe due to the mellotron, and coincidentally, in Ayreon fashion, Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth, ex-Bloodbath) contributes guest spoken vocals as well as Jon Anderson (Yes), David Ellefson (F5, ex-Megadeth), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation), Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Neal Morse (ex-Spocks Beard), Joe Satriani, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Steve Vai, and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). Prophets of War is a 6-minute commentary on Iraq, mirroring sentiments found in Megadeths United Abominations, but also seems to value function over form.
In the end, Systematic Chaos will please loyal Dream Theater fanatics obviously though causal aficionados should look into prior efforts long before this one. Sure, it has its satisfying moments, but others like Train of Thought, Scenes from a Memory, Awake, Images & Words, et cetera best this easily. Now, lets hope the follow-up breaks the on/off track record, because if it doesnt, its gonna kinda suck.
Official Dream Theater Website
Official Roadrunner Records Website
Roadrunner Records 1686-179922 June 5, 2007
By Jason Jordan
This year marks the Roadrunner debut of two, gigantic (Gigantour?) bands in Megadeth and Dream Theater. Interestingly enough, though its highly disputable, Dream Theater have either been on or off since 1994 the year they unleashed Awake. So according to that claim: Falling into Infinity (1997; off), Scenes from a Memory (1999; on), Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002; off), Train of Thought (2003; on), Octavarium (2005; off), and now Systematic Chaos, which is more like an in-between than an outright triumph or failure.
At 79 minutes total, Systematic Chaos is a long one, and theres a lot to like and a lot to dislike. Arguably, Dream Theater always offer a couple tracks that shouldve been left on the cutting room floor, even if they include redeeming instrumental qualities. Here those are the lackluster Forsaken and the 15-minute The Ministry of Lost Souls, which, speaking of the latter, has a dull first half. The others, however, are all keepers in various degrees. Two-part bookend In the Presence of Enemies which makes for 26 minutes when combined features stunning musicianship as weve come to expect from the long-running unit, and generally, theyre at their finest when theyre playing fast and heavy. The bass lines in Part II are especially badass. Constant Motion and The Dark Eternal Night are two examples of hard, succinct DT, recalling riff-happy moments from Train of Thought and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Its apparent in Constant Motion that, once again, Petrucci and Portnoy have no business contributing vocals because they are both mediocre, even for background vocalists. The gang shouts dont fit in too well, either, nor do the vocal effects used intermittently during The Dark Eternal Night. Still, both have catchy choruses and riveting instrumental portions upon which to feast. No surprise there.
The 11-minute Repentance is actually a continuation of the series that began with The Glass Prison (Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence) for parts I-III, continued with This Dying Soul (Train of Thought) for parts IV and V, continued again with The Root of All Evil (Octavarium) for parts VI and VII, and concludes (?) with Repentance for parts VIII (Regret) and IX (Restitution). Theres quite an Opeth vibe due to the mellotron, and coincidentally, in Ayreon fashion, Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth, ex-Bloodbath) contributes guest spoken vocals as well as Jon Anderson (Yes), David Ellefson (F5, ex-Megadeth), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation), Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Neal Morse (ex-Spocks Beard), Joe Satriani, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Steve Vai, and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree). Prophets of War is a 6-minute commentary on Iraq, mirroring sentiments found in Megadeths United Abominations, but also seems to value function over form.
In the end, Systematic Chaos will please loyal Dream Theater fanatics obviously though causal aficionados should look into prior efforts long before this one. Sure, it has its satisfying moments, but others like Train of Thought, Scenes from a Memory, Awake, Images & Words, et cetera best this easily. Now, lets hope the follow-up breaks the on/off track record, because if it doesnt, its gonna kinda suck.
Official Dream Theater Website
Official Roadrunner Records Website
