A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS

This is an album that by all means, I did not have very high expectations for as I worked through the Dream Theater discography. After two of my least favorite Dream Theater albums "Systematic Chaos" and "Black Clouds and Silver Linings," I pretty much had one foot out the door. But man, this album pulled me back in and blew away all my expectations. I think there is a 5 star album within the 77 minute runtime of this LP, but a couple shorter tracks in between the real meat of the album bring it down to a very strong 4 stars for me. This album really just exemplifies everything I want Dream Theater to be doing at this stage in their career and i've found myself just defaulting to this album countless times over the last couple months without it ever getting old. They stop clinging onto some of the dated elements of 2000s metal that brought them success on Train of Thought, but really hindered some of the following albums. On Dramatic Turn of Events they embrace the progressive elements of their sound with brilliantly developed instrumentals as well as one of James Labries strongest vocal performances front to back. I do wish the drums were turned up just a little bit in the mix, but I think Mike Mangini comes in with a fantastic studio debut boasting memorable and tight parts. I'm gonna be honest, I don't miss Portnoy on this album. I want to make note of the cover, my initial impressions were along the lines of: "What is this microsoft word clip-art collage doing on a Dream Theater album?" But after getting familiar with the music, it actually does fit the vibe and tone of the songs, especially Bridges in the Sky.

Kicking things off is "On the Backs of Angels" which is sick. It opens with this very atmospheric and airy acoustic guitar that brings us smoothly into a exciting landing when the whole band explosively comes in. We are guided though these stunning and tasteful instrumental tradeoffs before James Labrie comes in with some sweet and hard hitting vocals. I just think from a structure standpoint this track is super strong and along with the other tracks, I hear something new every time I listen. The chorus just gets me pumped, and I also want to highlight the sections where John Petrucci is playing these chugging downtuned chords while Jordan Rudess plays these fast, subtle and winding keyboard parts underneath him.

Build Me Up Break Me Down is the second track and this is one that i'm just a little mixed on. Truth be told, I like it, but I feel like I have to look over my shoulder while listening to it because I almost feel like there are very light elements of Nu Metal in the mix, primarily in the first minute. There's lots to like here though, the riff is super heavy, the chorus is really catchy and the solo section at 4:20 is pretty darn sweet. If I were to make this 5-star version of this album this would probably be cut, but I got not big gripe with it here.

Lost Not Forgotten is one of the highlights for me. Like On The Backs of Angels, it's really just a great progressive metal song and to me it's the first song on the album that really says: "yeah, we still got it." Opening with a classical piano version of the main intro theme, it properly builds into a sweet pumping passage that just pulls you in with it's crisp double kick and counter melody on the keys underneath the chugging guitars and rhythm section. The instrumental passage starting at 1:54 is just ridiculous, watch the Live at Luna Park version of this song to really see what I mean. This kind of technical virtuosity should just be illegal, for my money. This is another strong and dynamic track with more super solid vocals and memorable lyrics. Even down to the little crazy fills they include between vocal parts on the chorus, there's a great attention to detail and it's stuff like this that makes me love this band. I can't get enough of the groove it kicks into at 4:43 seamlessly progressing the song into a filthy extended solo passage. I have to highlight highlight the super groovy guitar solo eventually pulling everything back together to create one simply (but not simple!) great song.

This is the Life has been a grower for me. It's on the softer side of things perhaps giving the album some breathing room rather than throwing three 10+ minute tracks in a row at you. I think it's a very pleasant and highly melodic song that manages to sound pretty sincere on all fronts. It ends with a pretty good and powerful peak. Would this get the cut on my proposed 5 star version of this album? Well, I would have said no at one point, but now I'm not so sure....

Bridges in the Sky might just be my favorite Dream Theater song. I love me some Glass Prison, Under a Glass Moon, Strange Deja Vu, 6:00, Blind Faith, but I really truly believe this is their greatest achievement. Every single note they play is just so interesting and straight up badass to me. It opens with this atmospheric little section with Mongolian Throat Singing (how else are you supposed to open a prog metal epic?!?!), and straight out the gate it just comes swinging with an absolute headbanger of a riff. The vocals come in and they just sound nasty (in a good way!), of course underneath this is another riff that is just so damn cool. The first time I heard this first 10 seconds of the verse I had to rewind 30 seconds just to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me. The chorus just transcends into orbit instantly boasting memorable vocal melody after memorable vocal melody. On this track however, the chorus actually builds with each successive repeat, as do the verses. So after this first chorus another incredible set of riffs bring us into the second verse with yet again another ungodly groove underneath it. The second chorus brings us even higher into the stratosphere with a new addition to the end of it with "...and tonight the time has come" following this is a absolutely stunning musical rise as James Labrie sings higher and higher while the guitar just flawlessly builds and builds up the fretboard before dropping the listener into a fiery instrumental. The main riff here has this intense middle eastern tinged vibe to it that I just love. It all ties back into the 3rd chorus, and by the time this song ends I'm just at complete peace with the world, because I just can't fathom how this song could possibly be any better.

Outcry is another fantastic and powerful song that really manages to keep the momentum going from the previous track. The little eclectic drum thing it kicks into before the first verse is sweet and it shows the band experimenting in tasteful fashion. Once again we're treated to a showcase of ridiculously interesting instrumentals and song structure. With this track it's really the instrumental in the second half that steals the show kicking off with Jordan Rudess just flexing his technical ability and wide variety of keyboard tones that at this point are very unique to him. At 5:21 JP and JR are playing these super fast lines in unison before JP goes "alright let me take this one" at 5:33, and man, it's absolutely face melting. The entire band is just throwing everything they got at you and its just brooding, menacing, and really full of that creative spark that made me love the band on some of their earlier albums. This all comes to a climax before doing a bit of a 180 releasing you into this very subtle softer piano and drum passage. In the final 2 minutes James Labrie and the rest of the band deliver a truly soaring peak almost reaching the heights of the finale of Bridges in the Sky.

Far From Heaven... this one doesn't make the cut for me. I think this is a very strong vocal performance by James Labrie, but the lyrics just aren't there. And when the only instrument playing for the majority of the song is piano, it's hard not to pay attention to the words. This one feels kinda like they were sitting around and James was like "Cmooonn guyyyyssss.... let me write a song.... pleeeeaaaaseee" and with a collective sigh, everyone else begrudgingly gave him the nod... welp, onto the next thing.

Breaking All Illusions is the last big 10+ minute song and I'm struggling to find the words to describe this track that I haven't already used to describe some of the other goliaths of this album. I find this one to be the most emotional of the songs we get here. I really love the motif first introduced at 0:49 as well as the very light playing in the verse accompanied by some really nice vocals with some tasteful effects thrown on top of them. There's a very uplifting feel to the chorus, that is before we're tossed into a more intense and blazing spin on the first verse. That motif I mentioned before comes back, now with James blissfully singing on top of it. On this track John Petrucci really steals the show with a jaw dropping extended guitar solo while the rest of the band takes a small step back and plays around JP really setting the stage for him to drop an epic solo and he certainly delivers. Everyone comes back together towards the end to deliver one last great classic Dream Theater instrumental before JL steps back in to give this track a fantastic conclusion.

I actually really enjoy Beneath the Surface, even though it falls into the category or "short and soft song," which yields some mixed results on this album (in my opinion). I just really love this acoustic guitar melody and the general cadence to this track. There's almost a nostalgic feel to it, really nice chorus and little synth solo from Rudess. it's just a really beautiful way to bookend the album and I shamelessly love it.

Overall, I love this album. While I don't consider it my favorite Dream Theater album (at the moment, perhaps someday with time), if I had every Dream Theater album laid out in front of me right now this is the one I'm reaching for. There's something special here and I find this album to just get better and better every time I listen to it. Love this album and it's a shame some hardcore fans never gave it a fair shot just because it doesn't have the name "Portnoy" attached to it.

8/10 (But Bridges in the Sky is an 11/10)