FALLING INTO INFINITY

Dream Theater were faced with the impossible task of following up their incredible "Images and Words" and "Awake" albums along with the loss of their brilliant keyboardist, Kevin Moore. After introducing Derek Sherinian to the band with 1995's "A Change of Season", Dream Theater were ready to follow up with their 4th proper studio album.

Dream Theater decided to take a new direction here by experimenting more with lyrics and softer pieces, mainly directed by Sherinians keyboards. I think this payed off well for the band because "Images and Words" was the defining Dream Theater sound, "Awake" experimented with their heavier metal roots and now "Falling Into Infinity" lets them experiment with their more emotional side. That doesn't mean to say that this album isn't classic Dream Theater, as it still has many of the influences that made the previous albums so good.

Classic Dream Theater it is here, as the band play brilliantly as always and the new keyboardist plays well. He may not be Kevin Moore but he is still brilliant. Petrucci's solos are beyond incredible and his guitar does well in battling alongside the rest of the band. I think that LaBrie gets to shine here as he gets to prove himself better by stretching his voice to fit all these different kinds of emotions in the songs.

"New Millenium" kicks off this album with its strange intro and is a solid song. Nothing too amazing but it does the job and sets the scene for another Dream Theater masterpiece. "You Not Me" kicks ass with its immense opening riff and shows off how the band have evolved. "Peruvian Skies" is a great track. Everything here is good yet somehow i'm not sure if it will make the list of Dream Theaters best songs. Still it's good stuff. "Hollow Years" shows off the emotional side very well and the lyrics are some of their best work ever. This track is very listenable and very moving. "Burning My Soul" and "Hells Kitchen" are good songs which again show different ranges of emotion and are played equally well.

"Lines in the Sand" is truely amazing. One of the longer songs, this has some of Petrucci's best guitar work and each note on the guitar is emotional yet sometimes rocking and sometimes mellow. This is the albums centrepiece and a jolly good song. "Take Away My Pain" starts off well with some impressive new drum techniques from Mike Portnoy who is always incredible in everything he plays. LaBries voice is again incredible and inspiring.

"Just Let Me Breathe" also shows a change in the usual sound, experimenting with new techniques but once the song gets going it sounds like old skool Dream Theater from "Awake". This song gives the album good balance as this is one of the more anger based pieces. The solos and riffs on here are bloody incredible and LaBrie just seems to fit in perfectly with anything the rest of the band play.

Sherinian shines with his excellent piano based song, "Anna Lee" is very mellow and Sherenian dominates over Petrucci and Portnoy on most of this song, proving that he is a worthy musician and band member. The "Holding on" part of this song is very touching and LaBrie continues to perform some of the most excellent vocals of his career. The album closes with a brilliant suite, "Trail of Tears" is just Dream Theater doing what they do best.

Falling Into Infinity isn't their most loved album but i think it was very wise to try new things to avoid repetition and show off that they are brilliant songwriters and musicians. This album should be in every Dream Theater collection. I would recomend this as a good place to start out if you are checking out the band or trying to introduce them to a friend as it has more variety than most of their other albums. Dream Theater never fail to impress. It is a shame that hardly anyone knows them in Britain and you cant find their cd's anywhere because they are one of music's greatest bands and deserve to be recognised across the globe. Falling Into Infinity is very underrated as it is a truely incredible piece from start to finish.