BLACK UTOPIA

Wow, how utterly dissapointing this was for me. Here I was expecting to get some good keyboard-charged Fusion music froma n undeniably great ex-DT member, and instead I get this. I mean, seriousely, there is nothing progressive about this. It's just a bunch of guitar wankers with some input from Sherinian, but really, this is a guitar album, and I am very dissapointed by what I heard. Not only are the keyboards nearly non-existant, but there is absolutely no soul whatsoever to this music. Can it even be called music, is my question? Yes, there are some moments on the record that got me bopping my head, I'll admit, but at the end of the day, what it progressive about this? It sure isn't true Jazz/Fusion. It's just Sherinian hiring a bunch of crappy guitar 'legends' to play every single note known to man as fast as possible while he backs them up. Sorry, but that isn't my idea of good or original music.

Such a shame, as I really enjoyed Derek's work while he was with Dream Theater. Ah well, you can't win 'em all, I suppose. This album may grow on me over time, but one thing is for certain: it will never be a 'progressive' record in my eyes. Too much thrashing and not enough heart. This is straightforward metal trying to be something more, and it fails. Sorry, Derek fans, but this just isn't my cup of tea. I'll be lucky if I listen to this thing once every five years. Sadly, another dust-collector on my shelf. This one's only for the most dedicated of fans.