LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT 3

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Never in my life had I prayed more for another LTE album than now. As a Dream Theater lifer, the post-Mike Portnoy era has evolved from a technical progressive style to a more straightforward, singles-generating heavy metal outfit, and as such, a lot of the magic from the old days has been lost. Sure, songs like "Enemy Inside" and "Untethered Angel" sound great on my gaming metal playlist when I'm playing Apex Legends, but they're a far cry from the cerebral approach of "Metropolis" and "Six Degrees" fame. Even on "Train of Thought", generally a very dark album, the band would throw in a dash of spice and magic such as Jordan Rudess' player piano antics in "Endless Sacrifice".

Now of course times change. Is there any need to make 10-15 minute long blockbuster virtuoistic pieces anymore? Probably not. At this rate in the band's storied career, there's nothing for the band to prove, so they're moving towards a catchier, straightforward metal approach, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there's a lack of the humor, the magic, the "Joie de vivre" that made DT music so memorable, and the first two LTE albums emerged because of the commercial-ness of "Falling Into Infinity", long considered one of the weakest albums in the band's long and illustrious career. Think about it, if you're forced into making boring posters for a conglomerate, wouldn't all that pent up creativity lead you to creating some Jackson Pollock-esque pieces out of a sheer need to finally express yourself after all that time?

Well, maybe not Pollock, but I think you get the point. And it's the same reason why this long awaited third album has released at this point.

"Hypersonic" opens like "Paradigm Shift and "Acid Rain" did on the first two albums. It's the opening blockbuster, the "kick down the front door and punch the first person you see in the face" kind of track, a gangbuster of virtuosity one expects from these seasoned and skilled veterans. Then they branch out into diverse pieces similar to previous albums. "Beating the Odds" is a very cheery track. It may not have a hook like "Acid Rain" or "Kindred Spirits" but it's still an overall pleasant track, while "Liquid Evolution" is this album's version of the interlude, a very ethereal and atmospheric track led by Tony Levin's domineering bass and peppered with Rudess' signature flourishes.

"The Passage of Time" is signature DT. There are sections in between that I can picture James LaBrie belting out something very philosophical or emotional in a catchy and pronounced fashion. There are even a couple riff snippets that seem to homage part 2 of "In the Presence of Enemies" off 2007's "Systematic Chaos", arguably the band's darkest album to date (yet still one of my favorites). This song is followed by "Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey", continuing a trend of always having a Levin/Portnoy showcase on every album (including the John Petrucci-less Liquid Trio Experiment).

Then the band shakes things up with a surprisingly wonderful rendition of Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue". Of course, being classically trained and having heard and played the original, some of Rudess' synth sound choices are a bit cheesy and dated, but it's still such a lively and energetic piece and I think it's a refreshing take on a staple of American music. The band then goes from the ridiculous to the sublime guitar and piano ballad "Shades of Hope", finishing up with an amazing and dark Middle Eastern-tinged epic "Key to the Imagination".

The Deluxe edition comes with 5 extra tracks which are basically jam sessions (who can say no to hearing these guys jam out?). "Blink of an Eye" has classic DT vibes, while "Solid Resolution Theory" and "View from the Mountaintop" feel a bit blusey and Deep Purple-ish, while "Your Beard is Good" and "Ya Mon" feel like instrumental Dream Theater demos cut from previous albums glued together to make a mash up.

All in all, this is exactly what fans of older Dream Theater albums and instrumentals have been waiting for. Portnoy's playing just feels so much more lively and refreshing (no offense to Mike Mangini, it feels like The Beatles with Pete Best), and there's so much going on. It's a very happy record, it's a record that you can listen 10 times in a row and still hear something new on the 10th listen.

If I have a criticism, I agree with some people that there isn't really an "it" song. "Acid Rain" was the "it" song on LTE2, "Paradigm Shift" on LTE1. "Hypersonic" is great, but it lacks a chorus or catchy groove that makes the song constantly replay-able. Most of the album basically a jam session, and while I love that (self proclaimed Phish fan here), I understand how that can turn people off with who don't have the attention span to listen to a straight hour jam session (me included). Nonetheless, this is an art style that simple can't be reproduced with other musicians.

LTE was responsible for bringing Rudess into Dream Theater after the departure of Derek Sherinian. Post-Portnoy DT has a cold and clinical feel with Mangini on the drums. There's something to be said when chemistry between musicians allows them to click. What results is an anomaly, something that simply can't be reproduced no matter how you change, tweak or tinker with the formula, like a good bottle of single malt Scotch whisky. LTE3 is that classic Dream Theater sound in all of its unadulterated and spazmodic glory.

So maybe for LTE4 , maybe get Labrie to sing a few lines as a guest singer? Maybe?

All the way back in 1997, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, and Tony Levin, joined forces to create Liquid Tension Experiment. They released their debut in 1998, following it with the next just a year later, which led to Petrucci and Portnoy inviting Rudess to join Dream Theater, and the band was no more. I don't think anyone ever expected LTE to get back together in their original line-up, especially after Portnoy left Dream Theater, but he always kept in touch with Petrucci and Rudess, and during the pandemic they took the opportunity to all self-quarantine, have tests, and then met up secretly in the studio. According to Mike Portnoy, things fell into place almost immediately. "There was one moment, I got here to the studio, and I was standing in the room with Jordan and John, and I was like 'wait a second, this is the first time the three of us have been in a room together in like over 10 years. It was surreal and then 10 minutes later we're jammin' and it felt like we hadn't missed a step at all. It felt like it was exactly where we left off."

The eight songs on the album are a mix of four fully composed tracks, two duets, one on-the-fly jam and one cover, "Rhapsody in Blue", which they had performed at LTE shows back in 2008. To be honest, that is probably my least favourite number on here, just because there have been so many wonderful jazz classic takes on this, and while clever is not something I would reach for. As for the rest of the album? It's a blast from beginning to end, with four musicians having fun. None of these guys have anything to prove, they are all known as master musicians who have sold silly amounts of units and have played all around the world on the biggest stages. Petrucci and Rudess combine together on the delicate "Shades of Hope", and incredibly this was recorded in just one take, with guitar and piano combining in a composition of beauty and majesty.

This album is full of passages where the listener sits back and is blown away by the restraint, but it is safe to say that opener "Hypersonic" does not show a great deal of that, as here we have the prog version of Jack Torrance bursting through a bathroom door with an ax ? all that is missing is someone shouting, "Here's Johnny!" as their intent is clear from the outset. None of these guys are as young as they used to be (who is?), and Tony Levin is actually 75 years young, yet he is blasting along with the rest of them, as four musicians combine in a manner which is simply incredible. Ask any Dream Theater fan which is their finest album, and there is a very good chance that they will point to 'Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory', and three of those guys are back here combining with the master of bass/stick to create something that is very special indeed.

They are back with their first album in more than 20 years, and apparently they have signed a two-album deal with Inside Out so let's hope it isn't another 20 years until the next one!

With the 2020 COVID lockdowns shutting down touring, many musicians were left at a loose end - and with their other projects on hold as a result, the members of Liquid Tension Experiment finally had a chance to make that third album at long last. Something of a thaw had come between Mike Portnoy and the Dream Theater camp after the initial shock of his departure from the band - he'd done drums on John Petrucci's solo album a little earlier - but even so, it was still something of a surprise to hear that the quartet were still interested in working together, having largely let the project lie fallow for decades.

The album finds them picking up where they left off, continuing to present more focused, composed songs (for those who must have improv, a bonus disc on some editions comes with an hour of jams), and with production values which really help tease out the nuances of the material. Sounding more like the bizarre offspring of prog metal and Mahavishnu Orchestra-style jazz fusion than ever, and with a little humour splashed here and there, this might in fact be their best album yet - with nothing to prove, they can just get out there and see where the music takes them.