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Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity CD (album) cover

FALLING INTO INFINITY

Dream Theater

 

Progressive Metal

3.35 | 1703 ratings

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Easy Livin
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Coerced into diversity

It took Dream Theater three years to release a follow up to the 1994 album "Awake". The band completed a short tour in 1996 and decided to take a few months rest before entering the Avatar studios in New York to work on a new album. The sessions were obviously successful, as the band produced enough material for a double CD collection. Their record label (Elektra) declined to release a double album though, so a significant number of songs were left on the shelf. Most of these would later surface on the "Metropolis part 2" album. Furthermore, the record label were not particularly impressed with the single album they were presented with, and called upon Desmond Child to assist the band in rewriting some of the songs to make them more accessible. Even after all the tinkering, the album still runs to over 78 minutes.

Internally, the band were not immune to problems either. After the release of "Awake", James LaBrie suffered from food poisoning, and ruptured his vocal chords while vomiting. It took a long time for his voice to fully recover, and his vocals on this album are somewhat limited in range as a result. This would also be the first album proper (if we overlook the album length EP "A change of seasons") to feature Derek Sherinian on keyboards in place of Kevin Moore.

After a spirited intro, the 8 minute opener "New millennium" appears to continue the darker mood of "Awake", especially through the slightly off-key vocals. The song is clearly placed up front in an effort to reassure fans that this is to be business as usual. Child actually receives a co-writing credit for "You not me", resulting in a decent, if unremarkable piece of heavy pop.

A feature of this album is the band's willingness to exploit their softer side more fully. Consecutive tracks "Peruvian skies" and "Hollow years" are both essentially of this nature. The former, which is initially reminiscent of an Alice Cooper ballad, includes a fine lead guitar solo by John Petrucci before moving into a more orthodox Dream Theater workout. "Hollow years" on the other hand is a through and through acoustic ballad.

"Burning my soul" returns us to a much heavier mood, although the song remains far more accessible than we might expect with a surprisingly catchy melody. I believe "Hell's Kitchen" takes its name from the area of New York where the recording studio was located. This fine guitar and keyboards instrumental has a lovely lilting feel to it, any attempts at thrashing or racing being kept firmly in check.

At 12 minutes, "Lines in the sand" is not quite the longest track, but it is still of huge proportions by any standard. The song features guest vocals by Doug Pinnick (Kings X) who effectively supports LaBrie. It is a decent enough song for the DT faithful, but for me it tends to drag on somewhat.

"Take away my pain" is another slow power ballad with a strong hook. At first, the song may appear to be a love song, which in a way it is, but it's actually John Petrucci's eulogy to his late father. From here, we are suddenly transported from the most touching track on the album, to the coldest and heaviest. "Just let me breathe" is a rather nondescript, rambling piece of metal, with no real focus. Astonishingly, the song is followed by yet another ballad, "Anna Lee". This time, we have a piano dominated number with a fine vocal performance. Had this been the only ballad on the album, it would have made for an excellent counterpoint to the Dream Theater signature songs, but as it is, it is for me a ballad too many.

The album closes with the 13 minute, three part "Trial of tears". Even here, the mood is largely understated in Dream Theater terms, with laid back guitar improvisation and a less than frantic beat. As a complete piece, the track works well, while offering a fine prog closer for those who feel that in general the album is prog-lite.

It is fair to say that "Falling into infinity" is looked upon with differing emotions both within the band and among fans. Significantly, as a result of the interference by the record company during the recording of this album, Dream Theater decided to produce subsequent albums themselves. That said, "Falling into infinity" is an enjoyable album with some strong songs. It is perhaps the Dream Theater album which is most likely to appeal to those who are generally not that keen on the band.

Easy Livin | 3/5 |

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