Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings Review

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 06.26.2009

The progressive rockers are back with a new album featuring six songs clocking in at over an hour. Is it overkill or have they truly released an epic?

In 2007, Dream Theater finally escaped from their contract with Elektra Records, a label that didn’t seem to care about the band and never promoted them. Once they left the label and hooked up with Roadrunner Records, they reached the highest ranking on the Billboard charts in their career and shot their first music video since the mid nineties. This gave them the push to set out to work on Black Clouds & Silver Linings and the album that resulted might be their masterpiece.



James LaBrie - Vocals
John Petrucci - guitar and backing vocals
Jordan Rudess - keyboards, Continuum
John Myung - bass
Mike Portnoy - drums, backing vocals

1. A Nightmare to Remember


2. A Rite of Passage


3. Wither


4. The Shattered Fortress


5. The Best of Times


6. Count of Tuscany

The first song on the album is “A Nightmare to Remember”, a 16 minute epic that begins with the rumble of thunder before progressively growing in intensity. It reminds be strongly of an Iron Maiden epic at the start but then morphs into a more contemporary metal song very similar to Megadeth. This is something that I noticed clearly with the album as Dream Theater changes their styles up to three or four times in a single song. During the first three minutes of the song I swore I was listening to Dave Mustane. James LaBrie sings about a nightmare night that began at a wedding where “The perfect irony/A flawless new beginning/Eclipsed by tragedy”. A car wreck is heard over the music and we find out his family was involved in an accident. At the five minute mark, we get the first signature change as the music slows and the story moves to the hospital. This section of the song is reminiscent of Rush and is night and day from the first five minutes of the song. The song itself was written by John Petrucci about an accident he was involved in with his family as a child. The time change comes when the character is drifting and confused and works very well to convey fear and uncertainty - “I asked about the others ‘Is everyone okay?’/He told me not to worry, as he turned and looked away/Hopelessly drifting, bathing in beautiful agony/I am endlessly falling lost in the wonderful misery”. The next change comes at the nine minute mark when the story switches to the future as he looks back on the incident. The guitar solo here is sick by John Petrucci and is perfect for this type of epic song. Ten minutes into the song and you can’t even tell because things are changed up perfectly. Then the song hits its one downfall, the growling vocal styling by Mike Portnoy. Now, I don’t so much mind the angry growls but this is the part of the song where he explains that no one died. It makes no since to sing it in this style - “By the grace of God above everyone survived, HUAHH”. Luckily it ends quickly and the song returns to the riffs that came ten minutes before, albeit with some strange curveballs thrown in and we get the conclusion to the song. It is the first song on the album, it is exhaustive, and it is a perfect epic way to start a Dream Theater album.

It is also not the longest song on the album.

We are given a rest with the second song, a slim, trim eight minute song called “A Rite of Passage.” This is also the first single, although it was edited down to five minutes for radio play. This is the bands message song, preaching their political agenda. It is also more a straight ahead rock song then “A Nightmare to Remember.” It is a much more polished more song but also remains a little less memorable than the epic that preceded it. I am not sure where they cut the three minutes from for radio play but I am afraid it is the five minute mark where another amazing guitar solo kicks in. There are a lot of good musicians out there, but damn if Petrucci and Rudess don’t just tear it up on this album. If there is not an amazing guitar solo on the radio version you are missing out on what helps this song rise up. These guitar solos are inspired and like nothing I have ever heard before.

The next track is the shortest on the album, a five minute song called “Wither”. After the amazing guitar work on display up to now, this is an unwelcome break as they perform a ballad that even includes a string section and piano and is most unlike their old material. I’m not a big fan of this song as it really leaves me wanting. I like ballads but never really cared for the so-called Power Ballads. It was just okay.

The next song is “The Shattered Fortress”. Dream Theater has been placing songs over their last few albums that will one day be performed live as one giant concept album. This song is the final piece of that puzzle. Together, the songs are known as both the “Twelve Step Suite” and the “Alcoholics Anonymous Suite”. The other four songs in this set are “The Glass Prison”, “This Dying Soul”, “The Root of all Evil”, and “Repentance”. Each song in this set references the previous songs and tells the story of Portnoy’s work through the AA program. An example of the connection is the title of this song was referenced in “The Glass Prison” - “A shattered glass prison wall behind me” and “A long lost fortress”. Also this song ends with the intro to “The Glass Prison”, meaning it ends exactly how it begins completing the full circle. That’s all great, but how does it sound?

The song starts hard and powerful and begins with Portney growling various words while LaBrie responds to them. The lyrics are great and even if you have not heard the previous four songs, with the knowledge I have given you, you should understand the point. Just as with “A Nightmare to Remember”, this song never feels as long as it is (12:49) thanks to a change in timing and styles throughout. It also, once again, provides some killer guitar work. I keep coming back to that but, with my musical tastes, I place the guitar above all else and this album delivers in spades. The solo at the six minute mark of this song is a blitzkrieg of awesomeness. At about the seven minute mark we get spoken words that remind me of Queensryche, a very good thing. Dream Theater reminds me of so many other bands on this album, taking great points and melding them into one giant melting pot of amazing music.

“The Best of Times” is the fifth song and clocks in at 13:08 and is the best song on the album. The lyrics are touching and beautiful, written by Portnoy as a tribute to his father who died last year. It begins with a soft piano and some strings before a soft acoustic guitar starts in. After about three minutes of this beautiful intro, the guitar kicks in, bringing memories of Rush’s “Spirit of Radio”. I am always a sucker for a story about a boy and his dad and this one really gets to me - “I’ll always remember/Those were the best of times/A lifetime together, I’ll never forget”. While the song is about losing your father, who was also your closest friend, it is played in a triumphant joyful way that emphasizes how the memories are still bright and the love has never been forgot. “Those were the best of times/I’ll muss these days/Your spirit led my life each day/Thank you for the inspiration/Thank you for the smiles/All the unconditional life/That carried me for miles/It carried me for miles/But most of all thank you for my life”. This song is amazing and even if every other song on the album sucked, it would be worth it for just this one.

The album ends with a 19 minute epic “Count of Tuscany”. It is most like an Iron Maiden epic, a progressive rock song telling the story of a chance meeting with the Count of Tuscany. It starts with a melodic, soft guitar melody that starts to kick into a more heavy sound at about the two minute mark, very similar to Yes’ sound. Then it quickly changes style again less than a minute later. I counted at least five signature changes in the first four minutes before the lyrics even began. The song is reminiscent of their classic “A Change of Seasons” and this is the type of music I expected when I bought the album. Once again, I don’t like the random growl that comes out of nowhere and it happens once again in this song, but that is a minor gripe as it is not prevalent enough to prevent enjoyment. It reminds me a bit of the old Dangerous Toys song “Scared” in both the lyrics and the riffs and rhymes. It is a sprawling epic and is one of the only songs on the album that actually feels as long as it is, although I really like the slow guitar solo at about the twelve minute mark that seems to transition the song into its final stretch, in what almost feels like a different song. It is a great end to a great album.

The 411: Dream Theater has created their masterpiece. The only song on the album that let me down was “Wither” and that was also the shortest song. This is not an easy album to get through as four of the songs account for one hour of running time, but it is well worth it. “The Best of Times” is the best song on the album and a song that ranks at the top of my current list of favorites. This album kicks ass and deserves a listen by anyone who likes progressive metal or just downright good music. There is also a special edition you can buy with six cover songs on a separate disc.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]