A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS

First off I will say that I have never rated and doubtfully will ever rate a DT release, aside from the first one, with less than five stars. The reason for that is that I love hearing a band that knows exactly what they're doing, doing it well. I've watched live concerts on DVD from various bands that can bring a tear to the eye with a brilliant melody accompanied with brilliant lyrics however there is only one band that has left me sitting there open mouthed wondering how in hell they just played a certain piece as a band in a cohesive manner.

That total musician mastery of each member's seperate individual instruments is why I will always love the band. Hard jazz rock fusion, hard core metal riffing, rock jamming, gentle balladeering - whatever - they fuse it all together when they're called upon to do so. John Petrucci is probably the best and most skilled lead guitarist that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing and the thing is that he does it all so easily without having to pull stressed faces on stage like he was constipated or in the throes of orgasm. Some guitarists on stage pull faces which almost show that they're more suprised at the sound that they're producing than the audience is - with Petrucci you get none of that. You get the sense that there's very little he can't do with his instrument. I would say that he is probably part of the main reason that DT are my favorite musical act. Myung and Rudess are no slouches either - they do what they do incredibly well. James LaBrie is the perfect vocalist for the bands music - there was a time when he had a severe problem with his vocal chords but that seems to be past now. Mike Mangini is a bit of a vacant space for me right now as I don't know too much about him or his capabilities behind the drum kit. I do believe that if it hasn't already come that the day will come when Portnoy really rues leaving the band behind him. For me he was a core band member and I'm only really glad that the band could and did elect to continue without him.

I don't see a point in doing a track by track review of this album as there isn't a track on here which didn't impress me. The four epic (plus 10 minute) tracks are brilliantly put together and very well executed. The shortest track "Far from Heaven" is one of those magical emotional tracks that the band does so well - a cigarette lighter or cell-phone camera light moment that eases the pressure on the listener from the harder, rockier, more technical moments that fill the rest of the music for a while. The band understand ambiance and they use it perfectly throughout their music. It is a fact that the human brain can only concentrate on something for so long and they use lighter tracks and sections as a break to enable a listener to absorb more fully the rest of the music which is technical and sometimes quite heavy.

Any hesitation that I may have felt regarding a new drummer was quickly dispelled through this album as Mangini was more than up to the task of being a part of the band here. I am interested to hear how he will influence the next album.

A very solid five stars from me for a rollercoaster of an album that, as Dream Theater usually do, put me solidly in musical heaven for 77 minutes. Most importantly with DT they have never shocked me or their fan base by doing a total turnaround in the music that the fans love so well after the release of a good many albums thus far - they have remained loyal to their fans without the need to excite a money hunt from the huge base of casual listeners to what is essentially radio friendly commercial garbage.