SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

Ahhhh, a new DT album! Like a breath of fresh air. Or, maybe not? On my first listen, I just sort of sat there and waited, thinking to myself "Some thing's wrong here." It took me a couple of listens before I could start pulling apart the good from bad, but what was good was very good, and what was bad wasn't exactly terrible, but not the Dream Theater I've grown to love. Let me just start out with this: This isn't their best work, nor is it their worst. I feel compelled to say this because everyone's been completely in one spectrum or another, when really it's neither of them.

In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1- (9/10) The cd opens with an excellent instrumental piece, which is somewhat unexpected seeing as most of DT's albums start right off with lyrics (with the small exception of New Millennium), but this was done excellently. About five minutes into it, Labrie comes in the lyrics, and every thing's great. Sounds good, great concept, good instrument balance; every thing was there to put this as one of the top albums.....

Forsaken- (5/10) ....then I listened to this. I was shocked to hear the pure mediocrity of this track. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but this really isn't DT. Almost sort of reminded me of Nightwish, if I do say so myself.

Constant Motion- (6/10) Hmmm, the title track? I'm still not completely sold on this one. Yes, sounds like DT, but the riffs are ones I've heard from every other metal band out there. It's alright, but not the intense, punch you in the face with creativity from DT.

The Dark Eternal Night- (8/10) I don't see everyone else's problem with this song. It was one of the better songs off the album. This is what I expect to hear from DT. Have I heard something similar from other metal songs, yes but where would music be if we didn't copy one another once in a while. The heavy intro, off meter riffs, excellent creative middle instrumentals,and decent (decent, not great) lyrics all worked well to make a good track. The instrumental middle had numerous riffs and style changes working perfectly with each other . Great song, very good instrumentally; lyrically, it's o.k. Classic DT.

Repentance- (10/10) Unbelievable! I can't believe that they had it in them to write something like this. This was the stand out track of the album by far. They mellowed down big time for this one, and it worked out perfectly. The famous voices apologizing concept was very intelligent, and the mood was set perfectly to set up the lyrics. Yes, some of the riffs are the same from "This Dying Soul", but this is a continuing series of songs; there should be something in each of the songs to remind people of this. It's length was perfect, along with everything else about this song. It's already one of my DT favorites.

Prophets of War- (3/10) Are you kidding? We go from absolute amazement to this? This was not a good song at all. The beginning just kept reminding me of techno. Even when Petrucci comes in, they're playing eight note root to fifth stuff that you hear daily in pop music. Not cutting it for me.

The Ministry of Lost Souls- (6/10) O.k., now that I've recovered, this one's alright. It reminds me of Six Degrees with the electronic orchestra beginning (which isn't really a bad thing). I'd put it in the league of "The Great Debate" or "Voices"; not bad songs, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. Very nice chord work by Petrucci in this one though.

In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 2- (9/10) Very good continuation of part one. Every thing's done well in this one except for the intro lyric of "Welcome tired pilgrim". It might just be the way Labrie sang it, but to me it sounded very cheesy. Still, all in all an excellent song. A great instrumental section towards the end which kind of reminds me of "Dance of Eternity."

O.k., final verdict- It was a good album. It had it's ups for downs, but theres more positive than negative. Not the best album of the summer, but it will do. If you're looking for better, check out Symphony X's "Paradise Lost" (absolutely intense by the way) or after almost five years of waiting, Planet X's new studio album "Quantum"

Systematic Chaos gets a 7/10, a 3.5 by prog archives scale, rounded off to three which is "good but non-essential".