Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos Review [2]
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 06.13.2007
Dream Theater has returned with one of their most anticipated album in years. Some have even called the album the sequel to the classic Awake. Is the album worthy of that title or does it fail to live up to its high expectations?
Introduction:
Hey everybody. Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. I have a few reviews coming up this week, but I decided to have only one trivia question this week and that is for Dream Theater. Before I give that question, I had one I asked about Ozzy Osbourne in my last review. That question was:
What are Ozzy’s highest and lowest selling albums?
The answer to this question is Blizzard of Ozz and Down to Earth. Some people said Ozzmosis, which did not do that great, but I believe Down to Earth did worse. The people who got this right were Andrew Strom and Tanner Pruitt. Ok, now here’s this week’s question, which is Dream Theater-related.
How many Dream Theater songs (off of studio albums) are over ten minutes long? (Include song titles as well)
The Band:
James LaBrie-Vocals
John Petrucci-All Guitars, Vocals
John Myung-Bass Guitar
Mike Portnoy-Drums, Vocals
Jordan Rudess-Keyboards, Continuum
The Review:
Dream Theater is a band that is widely disputed in the metal community. On one side, there are people who see Dream Theater as brilliant musicians who revolutionized progressive music and help to put it on the map. On the other side, there are people who only see Dream Theater as a band that is self-indulgent, have long jams that go nowhere in the middle of songs, and are basic “music wankery.”
Their last album, Octavarium, was a solid album for Dream Theater. The problem was that some of the material did not sound original. “Never Enough” could have been mistaken for a Muse song and “I Walk Beside You” could have been a B-side on a U2 album. However, songs like “The Root of All Evil” and the epic title track helped to make Octavarium stand out in Dream Theater’s catalog.
Their new album, Systematic Chaos is getting a lot of publicity, as some people are calling it the successor to Awake, Dream Theater’s best album. With some of the hardest, and softest, songs Dream Theater has ever done, is this album a worthy follow up to Octavarium and is it possibly as great as Awake is?
For the sake of this review, I am going to review the first and last tracks, which are “In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1 and 2”, last as one whole track. So, with these conditions, the first song to talk about is “Forsaken.” To start the song, LaBrie sings behind a Rudess piano piece and a consistent bass line until the chorus, where the guitar and drums come storming in. Of special notice are LaBrie’s vocals, as he hits some very impressive notes. The song sounds like something Dream Theater could release as a single, with a catchy chorus and a running length of about five and a half minutes. Even though “Forsaken” could be Dream Theater’s next single, the song still has standout moments that show the band’s technical chops. Petrucci gets in a great solo and the song closes out with some high notes from LaBrie and the beautiful piano piece by Rudess.
“Constant Motion” begins the section of the album I would like to call the “Heavy As F**k” section. The band wears their Metallica influence on their sleeves in this song, especially with the bass line about 50 seconds in, which has a “Disposable Heroes” feel to it. Mike Portnoy gets more exposure on the vocals in this song, even having his own sections to sing by himself. His singing, while not as good as LaBrie’s, makes the track sound angrier. All of a sudden, about halfway in, the song becomes a Liquid Tension Experiment song, with a lengthy jam. This jam includes another brilliant Petrucci solo and Rudess pulling a few tricks out of his hat with the keyboard. Not the best song on the album, but a catchy track with a great jam section included.
“The Dark Eternal Night” is the heaviest song Dream Theater has done in almost eight years. Not since “The Glass Prison” has a song by Dream Theater just felt so heavy without having to be fast or full of crazy riffs. Petrucci starts off the track with a riff straight out of Pantera’s playbook. The band jams around for about a minute and a half. For the next nine minutes, the band goes all over the place; even including a jam section halfway through with a weird keyboard section that sounds it came out of a carnival, but still keeps the song heavy as hell. Just to prove the song heaviness, half of the vocals are distorted to get the evilness across. Of course, since the song is about vampires and beasts, I wasn’t expecting a happy tune. Portnoy has more of an influence on the vocals again and he does a better job in this song than “Constant Motion.” I can’t mention a Dream Theater song that is over seven minutes long without mentioning Petrucci’s playing. He lets out this solo that is just out of this world. Probably one of the best solos he has done so far on the album. Overall, this is the heaviest song on the album and one of my personal favorites.
“Repentance” ends the heavy section of the album. This song is part 8 and 9 of what Mike Portnoy calls “The Alcoholics Anonymous Saga,” which is based on the twelve step program of AA. Portnoy is a recovering alcoholic and this is a way for him to express his emotions in dealing with this deadly disease. Lyrics like “Overwhelming sorrow now absorbs me as the pen beings to trace my darkest past” and “All the years of wreckage running through my head” really help to express Portnoy’s shame and regret at what he did while on alcohol. Unlike the past parts of the saga, this is a ballad. The track is very slow paced. It actually has an Opeth feel to it, especially the sound of the Damnation album. The track ends with a spoken section with special guests all over the place. Some of the guest voices include Chris Jericho, Mikael Akerfeldt, Steve Vai, Steve Wilson, and Corey Taylor. A very peaceful and light track that really helps to lead the AA saga near the finish line. The only problem is that the track goes on a bit too long, especially near the end. It will be interesting to see what Mike Portnoy does to finish the saga up, most likely on the next album.
Dream Theater fans, remember “Never Enough” from the Octavarium album? Remember how it really sounded like Muse a lot? Well, Dream Theater does it again with another Muse-influenced song in “Prophets of War.” Unlike “Never Enough,” the whole track doesn’t sound like Muse, just the beginning part and a few sections here and there. This track, unlike the other tracks on the album, takes a look at a current topic in our society. Taking a more skeptical view of the Iraq war, the song is a solid song. “Are we profiting from war? It’s time to make a change” is just one of many lyrics that seem to be anti-war. The song reminds me of “Forsaken” in that it is a track that could be released as a single with its Muse influences and short length. This song is special because Dream Theater let fans actually come into the studio and sing the chorus of the song. It is a great testament to Dream Theater’s treatment of their fans, even after twenty years. Portnoy also gets another chance for vocals, doing about half of the vocals on the song.
“Ministry of Lost Souls” is the second longest song on the album, clocking in at a shade under 15 minutes. Starting with a slow riff and keyboard section, the song starts off at a snail pace. The band stops and acoustic guitars come out to lead the melody for a few minutes. The lyrics are interesting in this track as it is the first track on the album to be about lost love. The full band comes in and continues the snail pace. About halfway in, the heaviness comes in. A riff comes out of nowhere and the track goes from a snail pace to a cheetah pace. Jordan Rudess pulls out one of his classic cheesy-yet-awesome keyboard solos and continues with another two solos that are classic Dream Theater. John Petrucci gets in on the fun as well and pulls out his best solo since “The Dark Eternal Night.” The band continues the jam, including a keyboard/guitar duel solo, for most of the track before LaBrie comes in to finish the song. Overall, the song started off slow, but picked up and really surprised me with its beautiful ending and fast riffs halfway through.
Now its time to talk about the epic track of the album, which is split into two parts. Put together, “In the Presence of Enemies” is 25:38, which is the second longest song Dream Theater has ever done (the second disk of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence counts as one song and is over 42 minutes long).
The first part of “In the Presence of Enemies” is nine minutes long and starts the album off with a bang. The track is split into two section, the first being a five minute instrumental. All of the members of the band are able to show off their chops with some great sections. Highlights include a Rudess solo that jumps all over the place and Petrucci’s fast riffing about two minutes in that leads to an emotionally played solo. The second section of the song brings vocals into the mix. Most noticeable is that the band sounds like they have some newfound energy, maybe because of the new record label, but it really makes each song sound more powerful. The second part is an upbeat track that explains the plot of “In the Presence of Enemies,” which involves a preacher and an evil dark master. The track ends with a Petrucci solo and the sound of the wind blowing, which leads into the second half of “In the Presence of Enemies.”
The second part of the epic “In the Presence of Enemies” is 16:38 with four different sections. The first section starts off very slow with just a bass and piano, like in “Forsaken.” LaBrie is at his most emotional here, emphasizing every word and really trying to get a dark and depressed mood across. The drums don’t come in until about three minutes in and then the track continues the dark/evil mood, especially in the chorus. “Dark master within I will fight for you,” LaBrie growls as the song gets darker and darker.
The second section gets very heavy and fast. All of a sudden, the song becomes a head banger. Petrucci pulls out an almost Iron Maiden sounding riff and Myung is able to keep up with it. The song continues this frantic pace, which leads into the third section, another instrumental. While it doesn’t do anything new or original, the band still pulls out a great instrumental that shows the band can jam with the best. Petrucci and Rudess trade off solos and even get in another unison solo before the track gets to the final section of the epic. The final section of the epic can be compared to “Octavarium,” as it sounds similar at first to the end of that track. However, it is able to get its own identity and really ends the album on a high note, like “Octavarium” was able to do.
James LaBrie has been sounding better and better as he has gotten older. He hits high notes like it was the early 1990’s again and is able to sound angry or emotional when needed. He really sounds on the top of his game and sounds perfect in the mix.
John Petrucci shows that he is one of the best guitarists in progressive metal today with a brilliant performance. Not only does he pull some of the fastest riffs he’s ever performed, but he also has some emotional solos. John Myung shines in this album and is able to stand out in many sections of the album. These sections include “In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1” and “Constant Motion.” He is also heard clearly in the mix, which is nice to hear after the fact that he was only heard alright on the last album.
Mike Portnoy pulls drum fills out of his ass like it was just another day at the office. He puts in another great performance and put most drummers to shame. His vocals are also greatly improved, but still not up to par against James LaBrie. Jordan Rudess has a great presence on the album, enhancing the music with his keyboard solos and piano playing. While he doesn’t go too crazy, like in Scenes From A Memory, his playing still stands out in most of the tracks.
The production also has to get a special mention. It might be because of the new record label, but it sounds like Dream Theater was given more money to make the best sounding record possible. Seriously, this is the best that Dream Theater has sounded in a long time. Everything is clear and listenable in the mix, especially the bass guitar, which has a tendency to get lost in the mix sometimes.
This album is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it delivers for the most part. Is the album a classic? Maybe, but only time will tell. It is definitely one of their best albums in years and really shows the band renewed and full of energy. The only low point of the album is how other bands still have a too much of an influence on their sound (Muse on “Prophets of War”). Systematic Chaos is still one of Dream Theater’s best albums and is definitely recommended for fans of Dream Theater and progressive metal as well.
The 411: Another great album in a long line of great albums from Dream Theater. While it is not as good as Images and Words or Awake, it is still one of the best modern albums they have done. Here is hoping that they continue to use this newfound energy to their advantage in the studio in the near future.
