SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

Inarguably one of the most popular progressive bands out there today, Dream Theater have had a generally positive history, albeit rather inconsistent. At this point in their career, the band had a few paths to take. Either they could attempt to reinvent themselves in a way that would broaden their general appeal to increase their fanbase, they could give in to prog fans clamoring for another epic the likes of Metropolis, or they can do whatever they feel like. On Systematic Chaos, they do a little of each and the result reflects their overall career, pretty good although a bit inconsistent. Dream Theater fans are still able to grasp on to hopes that DT will return to its former glory. That is because this album contains two of the bands best-crafted epics of their career, In the Presence of Enemies and The Ministry of Lost Souls. Of course it is typical prog metal fare, but Dream Theater has always been the masters of such. These tracks both contain the grandeur that had so attracted me to the band, I was really impressed upon hearing them. It's no secret that the members of Dream Theater are basically virtuosos, and here each member finds his place to shine. No let downs here, just solid progressive metal that continues to impress in its gargantuan talent and its power in the music.

However, this album doesn't draw solely from when the band's creativity is steered towards progressing the progressive music. Whether it be label pressure or internal decisions or just a shift in taste, it is apparent that Dream Theater are going beyond solely progressive metal to the dangerous territory of.... general metal (shrieks!). This is evidenced by the first half of the album, excluding the aforementioned In the Presence of Enemies. Forsaken is pleasant with its soaring chorus, but it sounds a bit too much like any metal band's epic song with the sweeping melody and the metallic crunch. Constant Motion is where it starts to go downhill. This song is far too generic; an obvious single for a band that hasn't released one in six years. The riff is borderline irritating and it doesn't get much better from there in that song. Next comes The Dark Eternal Night which should be looked at the same way that B-Horror movies should be looked at as a comedy. I truly hope it was a farce. The lyrical content was astoundingly juvenile and...well...for lack of a better term, stupid. The over-metalized riff is the spice of this recipe for disaster. But the icing on the cake is none other than the oh-so-cheesy backing vocals... or rather backing grunts. This song has grown on me because it's just so funny.

The remaining two songs are pleasant. Sure, they are not the most original songs, but one could do far far worse. I fear I may have characterized this album too harshly. It is a good album, deeply flawed, but still enjoyable. There may be a few tracks worth skipping, but the rest is Dream Theater doing what they do best, making music that is heavy, creative, driven, and overall, impressive.

Share this DREAM THEATER review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to moreitsythanyou
• Report this review (#162077)
• Buy DREAM THEATER music online with PA partners
• Show all DREAM THEATER MP3/Stream
• Go to DREAM THEATER page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Systematic Chaos page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for DREAM THEATER related discussions