Dream Theater
A Dramatic Turn Of Events

And finally, after a long wait, the new Dream Theater album is here in my hands.

I admit that every time, reviewing their new work without being biased is very difficult.

The five gentlemen in question musically mean a lot to me, for various personal and musical reasons, and when I read about Mike's departure, I was really, deeply saddened, even when the reasons for his departure were publicly explained...

But two years after the last “Black clouds…”, here they are returning with a new and highly anticipated album.

Let's start with the album cover, beautiful and full of meaning, the dark clouds of the previous album seem to open and disperse and the plane travels steadily, but some unexpected issue can always arise and is worthily represented by the juggler on the rope that is about to break… maybe also a hint of uncertainty about their future???

Let’s make one thing clear, this album will go down in history as the first without the flamboyant drummer, because there are new ideas but nothing that screams miracle, unfortunately.

Analyzing one of their albums is always an arduous task considering the amount of input they provide, perhaps too many, and there is always the risk of forgetting something....

The final score that will come out of this review is nothing more than the average of the individual scores given to the songs, because giving a definitive one is practically impossible...

ON THE BACKS OF ANGELS 7.5

The lead single of the new album encapsulates excellently what is expected from this album, namely melody, technique, aggressiveness. Great work by all 4 musicians, finally each one has his own space and we can distinctly hear all the instruments.

BUILD ME UP, BREAK ME DOWN 5

It sounds more like a piece from LaBrie's latest solo album than Dream Theater, maybe some ideas that were left over were used to create this track. The electronic intro and Petrucci's aggressive riff are nice but honestly, in the end, it doesn't leave a good impression. It could be defined as the worst Dream Theater song of their entire career.

LOST NOT FORGOTTEN 8

Magnificent, epic keyboard and guitar intro, remarkable stunt-like section at the 2-minute mark, really a great, very articulate, and complex song. Instrumental section noteworthy. A good recovery after the previous track.

THIS IS THE LIFE 6

Nice slow piece, nothing special, too dull and lacking the right atmosphere, it always feels like something is missing to make it complete.....

We move on.

BRIDGES TO THE SKY 7.5

Great intro with shaman's hypnotic chant, followed by a mega aggressive bone-crushing riff, instrumental section always very substantial, feels familiar though it takes on a good value in the whole.

OUTCRY 7

Another song with electronic intro, easy to listen to even in the instrumental part, nice bass interludes.

FAR FROM HEAVEN 8

A nice slow piece, there’s nothing else to say, keyboards and voice, all surrounded by beautiful orchestrations. It has a good atmosphere.

BREAKING ALL ILLUSION 8

Here is the song that amazed me most on this album, from the intro it reminds me of the great classic Learning To Live also in its structure. Nice initial riff by Petrucci, then a moment of calm and the singing part comes in, truly an exciting instrumental part, very melodic.

BENEATH THE SURFACE 10

The perfect slow track, voice, acoustic guitar, never intrusive keyboards, light bass groove, and gentle percussion. No solos with a thousand notes, a beautiful dreamy melody. I fell in love with this song from the very first listen, chills for all the 5-minute duration. To be listened to in the car with the volume turned way up!!!!!!

I haven't spoken of anybody in particular, because I also want to give my personal opinion on the individual musicians.

Mike Mangini – The new drummer did not participate at all in the writing of the songs, he simply executed, perhaps due to directions from above, the drum parts programmed by Petrucci. He lacks personality, and there is no personal touch from him, too cold. A note on the sound of the drums, too compressed, and the cymbals have a horrible amateur-level sound, I hope it was intentional. Maybe he plays a bit too much at being Portnoy.

Jordan Rudess – Every time he reminds us that he knows how to play keyboards, instead of sometimes serving the band, he goes off on his own, but his ego and talent are immense, there’s nothing to reproach him for.

John Myung – A man an enigma as defined by James in an interview, he is a cold and precise robot, finally enjoys a little more freedom and sometimes goes his own way with his solos. Great news.

John Petrucci – Plays endless notes, his scales never end, he intoxicates you with notes but it’s always a pleasure to listen to him.

James LaBrie – He is the sore point of the whole album, gone are those times when he hit monstrous high notes during the Images & Words tour and even during the Octavarium tour where his voice was in great shape; now he is more comfortable on lower tones. Never incisive on aggressive tracks, while he proves monstrous on the slow ones. I don't think he will recover, and maybe it’s time to hang up the DT microphone and make room for some more powerful and incisive voice.

In short, concluding this long review (because there is a lot of meat on the fire), finally, the melody returns to reign supreme, there is that sense of freedom throughout the album, and honestly, it gives me hope for the future.

RATING 7.5