OCTAVARIUM

When I first got into Dream Theater, I thought this (along with all of their stuff) was amazing. The technical skill is obviously on display as ever, however, this album in particular struggles from a lack of inspiration on the songwriting front. It's like Dream Theater on cruise control or painting by numbers. It's more varied than Train Of Thought, but in my opinion, lacks the great riffs, solos and the structuring of Train Of Thought.

None of this applies to the title track of course, which is easy the best song Dream Theater have ever done in particular. The closest they ever came or ever will come to doing a true prog epic in the vain of Supper's Ready or Close To The Edge. Starting off with a soothing keyboard/steel lap guitar opening, reminiscent of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, it takes off from there through a variety of sections, all put together perfectly. No forced or awkward transitions, no solos to just link one piece to the next, you can tell that the band put a LOT of effort into this song. It also features my favourite Rudess keyboard solo and my favourite Petrucci guitar solo. Mike Portnoy's performance on this track is also fantastic, with a lot of subtle grooves and creative fills. Again, the best they've done.