DISTANCE OVER TIME

I think I've been following Dream Theater for 17+ Years now. I know every single song by them, and each of them have grown enough for me to like them all (maybe except for some in The Astonishing). And I can safely say two things:

Number One: This is their best album with Mangini

Number Two: This is the most confident they've sound since Octavarium.

I'm gonna do a review track by track now.

1. Untethered Angel (8/10): Although I really can't say this is in my favorites, I definitely think this is an amazing opener. It sets up a very strong start for the album, and the song is, in itself, strong in many aspects such as vocals, instrumentation and good song structure that flows very well.

2. Paralyzed (7/10): The accesible, pop-ish track that you find in every single Dream Theater album. Didn't like it at first, but it has grown in me and it has a wonderful chorus and guitar solo. Probably the second worst from the album, but still pretty good.

3. Fall Into The Light (9/10): Bringing the big guns! One of my favorites, and a top ~20 track by them. Very dynamic, entertaining, beautiful and balanced. It features amazing drum work from Mangini and Petrucci's guitar solo in this track is very heart-warming. The best single.

4. Barstool Warrior (10/10): Ok this track is wonderful. Beautiful is the best way to describe it, as it features wonderful melodies and a cute message behind it. Amazing drum work (once again), great piano work from Jordan around the middle of the song, where the song shifts into a more redemption-ish feel. Very dynamic as well!

5. Room 137 (6/10): Probably the worst track from the album, but it's still enjoyable. One notable fact about it is that it's the first Dream Theater song with lyrics by Mangini. Main riff sounds a lot like the one in "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson.

6. S2N (8/10): Stands for Signal To Noise. No idea what that means though! The track features prominent bass from Myung, as well as a very fast paced feel. The song features Owen Wilson saying "wow!" for no reason at all. Finally the song ends with a "repeated riff & keyboard solo" type of structure that can be found in The Dark Eternal Night as well. Good song.

7. At Wit's End (9/10): Longest track from the album, clocking at ~9:30 minutes (Although I personally think it's an 8-Minute track since its end is some sort of "Secret Track"). Just like the rest of the album: Dynamic, Heavy, Soulful and Beautiful. It's meant to be the epic from the album, so expect cheesy lyrics near the end of the song. The song fades out with yet another great solo from Petrucci.

8. Out Of Reach (8/10): The ballad-type song of the album. However this one has an interesting structure: Despite being just four minutes long, the entire song is a build up for the climax near minute 3:00. This is my biggest problem with this album: It ends way too quickly! If the song ended around 5~6 minutes I think it would be one of their best ballads. Still a great break from all the heavy tracks experienced before, nonetheless.

9. Pale Blue Dot (11/10): Godly. Maybe I like this song as much as I do because of its eerie feel... aaaand because I absolutely love to hear Dream Theater members wank with their instruments. The most complex track of the album (mostly because of its instrumental section), Pale Blue Dot is a track that definitely uses its eight minutes of run-time well (unlike At Wit's End, which kinda dragged on for a bit too much). Love this track a lot, and I would dare to say it's their best song with Mangini (yep, even better than Breaking All Illusions and Illumination Theory!).

10. Viper King (8/10): Since this is a bonus track, you're not meant to listen it when doing full listens. It has a Van Halen type of groove, and it's very fun to listen to. Fun chorus. Fun keyboard solo. Fun guitar solo. And all this shows that they really were having a lot of fun recording this album.

I can safely say it's their best with Mangini, and definitely in the better half of their discography. I hope they keep sounding this confident in future releases.

4.5 stars, rounded to 5.

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