SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

Granted that Octavarium was a bit of a letdown for me I still had high expectations on the new release. Although once the first single Constant Motion hit the streets I lowered them drastically! Eventually I still bought the album and the verdict is --- satisfactory. Instrumentally Dream Theater has all the right chops but composition-wise we all know that these guys can do much better that this.

The first part of the album is good considering that neither In the Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1 nor Forsaken pull off anything exceptional. After that the quality drops four compositions and we're at an all-time low once Prophets Of War hit the speakers, but after the three previous tracks this miss isn't all that surprising. Even the instrumental chops suffer tremendously from these completely uninspired performances that are only here to fill out the album with the obligatory 75+ minutes worth of material.

So how can I possibility award this album 3-star rating after all this criticism you might ask? Let's just say that the band completely redeems themselves with the last two performances. The Ministry Of Lost Souls and In the Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2 are easily among Dream Theater's best material ever since Train Of Thought (which I happen to enjoy). John Petrucci is the one responsible for the outlines of these two tracks and he shows once again that he can right some really marvelous compositions if he just puts his mind to it.

Systematic Chaos is definitely full on chaotic moments and some of them could have remained studio outtakes since there is almost 50 minutes of great material here that is being ruined by the remaining filler. Still the longer compositions are among the best Dream Theater have produced. Hopefully it's a sign of the things to come!

***** star songs: The Ministry Of Lost Souls (14:57) In the Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2 (16:38)

**** star songs: In the Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1 (9:00) Forsaken (5:35)

*** star songs: Constant Motion (6:55) The Dark Eternal Night (8:53) Repentance (10:43)

** star songs: Prophets Of War (6:00)

Total Rating: 3,91

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