A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS

If I needed a single example of an album that's really grown on me I would have to choose this one. I had skewed expectations what with the departure of Mike Portnoy. My initial view was that this was just another Dream Theater album with out of this world technical compositions lasting 10 minutes. While this is still fairly true, after a few more listens, and after going through their discography a few more times, I discovered this album is more special than I thought.

The departure of MP represents a new period in DT sound. The past few albums struggled with a sound unlike their earlier albums like Images and awake. The band started moving into a territory more dominated by straight up metal, moving from the beautiful compositions that graced their earlier work. Therefore, this album, aptly named A Dramatic Turn of Events is just that; a change in style, mostly indicative of their roots. There is myriad of reasons for this change, the departure of Portnoy, who definitely had the most metal influence of all the members, is an obvious choice. It could also be that the album is built upon the structure of their classic Image and Words album. Regardless, the result is positive and a welcome.

Musically, their isn't much to be said. It sounds like Dream Theater. The songs are very similar, at least in structure, to that of Images and Words. There is an obvious drop in the metal and heaviness aspects regularly incorporated since Train of Thought, with more emphasis on keyboard and bass (yes, it is actually audible).The standout tracks are On the Backs of Angels, Lost Not Forgotten, Bridges in the Sky, Outcry, and Breaking All Illusions. The technicality is there, the progressive is there, the melody is there. Everything that makes a good DT album is here. The only reason this can not get a perfect score from me is because Images and Words, Awake, Scenes, and Six Degrees, are just THAT good. But this is a great album, a great refresher to remind others and myself of how great this band is.