SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

Great stuff!! Complexity is there along with the lyrical excellence. I will say things are bit hard to get into because there is just so much stuff to digest - demons, vampires, politics, soberness, etc. The thing that really brought this home for me was the DVD. Once you see that I think you will be hooked. It really gets at what these guys do and what the thought process is. The one minus on the DVD is the lack of John Myung vocal commentary and seeing his working process, but that is the mystic of Mr. Myung. Never seen but always heard. Splurge on the Special Edition DVD set. It is very enlightening and can probably be used as an educational tool for those who play guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, sing, and want to record some music.

This is an album worth buying because it is very different than previous efforts. I think that is Dream Theater. They aren't heavy metal bashers, they aren't ballad writers, etc. They are musicians who play instruments very well. They like to experiment and be creative, while trying to satisfy fan outcry. I like it when they buck the fan system and do what they want. I have every studio album from Images and Words, and I will say this one shows a great maturity in many ways. The sound and production are amazing. The vocal dynamics are some of James' best. Myung doesn't freak out as much but I like the "simplicity" of this bass and the sounds he gets. He's like the Miles Davis of prog bass playing - the notes he doesn't play are equally as important as the notes he does play (I think a fan said that about him, so I won't take the credit for that). Petrucci does what he does, makes guitar playing look easy. If anyone's 17 year old kid's garage band can do what he and Dream Theater do then they need to get a contract going. Mike is amazing as usual, and to see his work ethic is sick. I think he needs to be committed sometimes with all the stuff he does. Oh, and there's Jordan...ummmm...Amazing!!!! This guys fingers don't stop, and he can play anything. I can't believe that he scores out all of his music. You see that on the DVD, and it is amazing how easily he translates everything. His knowledge of the technical matters is astounding. He really can program all that stuff and use them to their fullest potential. Bottomline is these guys are musicians first. They are the sum total of an equation that keeps playing out - music. They have the gift and they are using. Anyone who says they aren't jelled needs to go back and listen the disc, then go see them live. They are very jelled. And not to knock the fans out there but sometimes with musicians of this caliber we may not understand everything they do, as they perceive it. It could be that you just don't understand what is happening and that your mind is closed to what you are hearing. Be humble in the face of what you hearing.

Great effort by the boys and I hope the next album is an Elton John album where they just ballad out and go orchestral. Anyway, enjoy this album because it is something different than what's out there, and because these guys really understand what they are doing. Besides how many bands with this following write about vampires and biblical beasts from revelations, and then throw out political jarbs on top of all that? The diversity is there. Seek and you shall find.

Peace Ya'll