FALLING INTO INFINITY

Falling into infinity must have represented one hell of a disappointment to the DT fans who bought it when it first came out. A band that had been going from strength to strength takes a real step backwards; somewhat like Pain of Salvation post-remedy lane.

Firstly, we have New millennium, which is a good enough opener, in fact, probably DT's best opener at the time; a brightly constructed mid length song, which feels longer than it is. Expect awesome stick playing by Myung, who really excels on this album. Then, You not me, which is effective enough as a proggy pop song, but is not really anything more, and not anything you would listen to on its own. Peruvian skies, however, is by far the best short length song on the album, moving from slow paced soft rock to mid paced Metallicaisms so effortlessly that you cannot help but be impressed. A real gem, that deserves more attention from the band. However, this great song is followed up by Hollow years and Burning my soul, which represent a real nadir in DT's writing. They are horrible, and the less said about them the better.

Things pick up, however, with Hell's kitchen, which, although not in the normal vien of DT instrumentals, is still something after the horrorshow that precedes it. Expect beautiful tone from Petrucci, and an underrated performance from Portnoy. This flows into Lines in the sand, and although at its length we might be forgiven for expecting more, this is still good enough that all DT fans should hear it, and is the best piece on the album. Just don't expect The glass prison or anything. After encouraging us, however, things go back to a depressing state of mediocrity. The next three songs can largely be ignored by all but the most commited fans, and Trail of tears is, while good, not as good as anything on Six degrees or ToT.

Overall, then, this album is just a big disappointment.