Dream Theater
A Dramatic Turn Of Events

Sometimes certain events, which in this case we might describe as "dramatic",  have the power to breathe new life into creativity, thought, and emotions, often allowing one to turn the page and start anew, perhaps beginning from the certainties of a past that's not necessarily too distant and never entirely consigned to the attic of memories. It's not always easy to pick oneself up and take control of one's destiny after nearly hitting the bottom of an apparently entombed inspiration, unless one has solid foundations and deeply rooted convictions based on their experience and an undeniable artistic creed. And when everything seems akin to a nearly flat encephalogram, here's the jolt, the spark, the turbulence that defibrillates the dormant peripherals of the soul and creates a positive and regenerating reaction.

It is in this context that we cannot ignore the vicissitudes that have played out over the past year within one of the most followed, loved, and debated bands in the entire global prog/metal scene. A flag has either departed or been forcibly lowered: the departure of drummer Mike Portnoy, a founder and leading figure of Dream Theater, has sparked a whirlwind of considerations, suppositions, and concerns that have divided fans into two distinct and opposing factions and created a true earthquake in the Theater community.

The undeniable fact is that this "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" is the first album the American band has released without good old Portnoy behind the drums and percussion in 26 years! It's difficult and implausible to imagine him sporting a different jersey than that of the theater of dreams, almost destabilizing not to see him anymore in the typical lineup, as he has now necessarily been replaced by the talented and experienced Mike Mangini (formerly of Extreme, Annihilator, Steve Vai...) after a documented series of auditions.

But chaos, after all, always stirs something... for better or for worse.

It will not only be the characters and performers who are judged but also the production and art that they manage to unleash and spread with the notes and emotions they aim to convey.

The eleventh studio work of Dream Theater is like a clear sky after a long winter of shadows and highlights, a light diffused at the end of the tunnel of mediocrity and recent often anonymous and detached production.

"A Dramatic Turn Of Events" is once again technicality in the service of melody, it is assault and surrealism, wonder and dynamism, reflection and abandonment. It is a journey back in time with projection into the present and near future. It is power and amazement, vibrancy and transcendence, melancholy and sentiment. It does not live on easy assimilations but on an intensive crescendo that track after track and listen after listen projects the imagination towards welcoming and familiar destinations.

A graphically new and questionable art-work hides a band that is still and always mature, confident in its technical and compositional means, which has learned that the show must go on to shake off the label of a group potentially on the cusp of sunset.

From the first notes of "On The Back Of Angels", a song we sampled in advance with an intro echoing Pull Me Under, one soon notices a more substantial and laborious presence of Jordan Rudess's orchestral keyboards, whose tastes remain debatable. The vocal lines are somewhat ambiguous, although the bridge and chorus provide airiness and impact to the entire track. The second track, "Build Me Up Break Me Down", is the most controversial, feeling somewhat detached from the whole and subsequent unfolding of the work. The references to the sounds of "Static Impulse" and "Elements Of Persuasion", LaBrie's latest solo discographic efforts, are quite evident: electronics first and during, filtered voice, and raw riffs dominate the entire track, although the fresh breeze given by the chorus adds some points to a piece that would otherwise feel rather detached, despite being a reasonable presence in a full-length of 9 tracks. Fading through dark atmospheres and proceeding at a gallop, literally, one moves towards "Lost Not Forgotten". "I'm not immortal, I'm just a man".... here begins a ride of complex and growing sensations that from track to track will propose to us the Dream Theater, technical and progressive of the old days, carefree and engaging at times, sublime and orchestral most of the time. Now the sweet and dreamy notes of a piano, with jovial and positive sounds, supplant the galloping for only a few moments, which will soon transform into music and potent aggressiveness, where the relentless march of all instruments, characterized by continuous rhythm changes and unmistakably trademarked interludes, offers sounds reminiscent of the early moments of Under A Glass Moon and the more typically metallic and dark context of Train Of Thought.

Ample breathing space with "This Is The Life", track number 4, which breaks the rhythm and offers a first ballad in the Wither style with delightful and harmonic tones, appreciable and engaging vocal lines, and a Petrucci finally sensitive, sentimental, and never excessive.

WUOOAAHHHRR....WUOOAAHHHRR....WUOOAAHHHRR.... a voice from beyond (a shaman?) and the ensuing Gregorian chant open the doors to the bold "Bridges In The Sky": powerful riffs, once again captivating and never vain interludes where guitar and keyboard chase and challenge each other to a duel, pleasantly invasive choruses. All this makes this fifth track aggressive and fluid, ferrying us hand-in-hand to the pinnacle of the work, at the apex of the musical expressiveness that Dream Theater has had the foresight to once again deliver to their most ardent supporters...

...and "Outcry" is the first proof of that: suggestive, orchestral, epic at times, crazy in the instrumental part, persuasive in the singing thanks to a more inspired and engaging LaBrie who moves even in the subsequent slow, "Far From Heaven", where, in symbiosis with the delicacy of Rudess's notes once again seated at the piano, emotion and heavenly reflections are articulated, extracted from the depths of the notes.

The presence of John Myung's bass in the pieces analyzed so far is finally proactive and influential compared to the latest publications, and when one of the tracks included in this full-length was written by the quiet long-haired Asian-eyed musician, the curiosity of many has grown exponentially. The piece in question is "Breaking All Illusions", the penultimate beguiling track of a work in progress that is increasingly inspiring and involving. Finding the words to comment on a compositional masterpiece of this caliber is not easy: it is When Dream And Day Unite, it is Images & Words, it is Scenes From A Memory... it is damnably Dream Theater, it is the response to the public's demands, it is blood that returns to flow in the veins. Lively and positive, enlightening and sensitive, progressive and determined...and when Petrucci discovers that even after Lines In The Sand, his guitar strings can still reach for the sky with a note, a shiver can come to stimulate the most sensitive keys of the soul and reveal the capacity that music has to dream and reach those high emotional levels hidden beneath the surface. Thus, the acoustic "Beneath The Surface" embraces and cradles the listener, leading them to the conclusion of an essential and well-cultivated album that journeys between lane changes and enveloping ballads like a wool blanket in the dead of winter; a progression that takes one's breath away and demands another listen and then another.

Finally, an exclamation point.

Each Dream Theater release has for years now carried the connotations of exhausting and hopeful anticipation that, especially in the Roadrunner era, but even before from the post-Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence,has been amplified due to a rather disappointing and exasperating sequence of releases tangled between studio albums (unoriginal and sometimes derivative), live albums, and even an unnecessary "the best of"...but the call of the American proggers is always strong, and this time the guys have hit the mark.

"A Dramatic Turn Of Events" may not be a masterpiece, it may not contain anything innovative, but the songwriting is worthy of noble achievements and the sounds are tremendously rich and refreshing. The ballads are heartfelt and touching, and the longer tracks are progressive and tenacious, although they share a central, entirely instrumental part that makes the architecture quite similar.

The story remains open: Dream Theater wanted to send a strong and decisive signal to the fans who love them as much as they are ready to criticize them. They wanted to emphasize that, with or without Portnoy, they are still one of the most fascinating realities in the world, still capable of captivating and involving, and that the word end has been prematurely used against them.

Petrucci is inspired again, Myung is present and alive. Rudess is also perhaps too experimental with the sound, but when he touches the piano, he unites and brings everyone into agreement. The new addition, Mike Mangini, is also up to the challenging task assigned to him, although, in all honesty, in some parts he lacks the drive of his predecessor. LaBrie could and should give more, but perhaps he has lost certain tones in his cords...the years pass, true, but his timbre remains unbeatable and indispensable.

The joy of enjoying a work of this caliber invites one to set aside any criticisms and hide subtle and vague doubts, at least for the moment.

Because when the notes come to provide strong and deep sensations, even if only for brief moments, it means that the arrow shot has hit the target.

There will be no memory of gossip and unfortunate events, they don't matter...

...after a bit of renovation, the theater reopens: raise the curtain... music and emotions take the stage.

And this is what will truly remain.