It seems that no one has reviewed the last album of the dream theater yet, so I'll give it a try. And it also seems that this site, although fantastic and all, has sensational lapses in style when it allows nonsense like the fact that the anagram of dream is merda to be prominently displayed as a definition of one of the most GRANDIOSE bands ever and everywhere and of every genre.
But look and pass and do not care about them says a guy who is always good to quote.
Let's start then with the essential and the predictable: A View from the Top of the World, the latest album by the Americans Dream Theater, is yet another fantastic album by the band. Perhaps only The Astonishing is a half misstep, but all the rest is for the annals, and I am glad that in reality, I still have a lot to listen to given the band's vast production along with its side projects (Liquid Tension Experiment and various other solo projects by the other members).
However, one thing not to underestimate is that here you have to persist with listening: apart from maybe the two singles, the intense and fully satisfying The Alien and the more catchy of the bunch Invisible Monster, the other tracks are quite challenging to assimilate and require multiple listens to be appreciated in all their nuances, also because they last quite a while: there are Answering the Call, Sleeping Giant, and Awakening the Master, which hover around 10 minutes, and the less long and very proggy Transcending Time, which nevertheless lasts no less than 6 minutes and 25 seconds.
I confess that after more than a week of listening to this album more or less in its entirety (it's over 70 minutes), I still haven't managed to memorize all the parts and keep my attention high for the entire duration of the tracks. I don't yet know if this general lack of memorability of the pieces is a flaw or a merit since I am confident about future listens and the desire to re-listen is still strong.
As for the rest, evaluating the album as a whole, crystal clear production jumps out immediately, perhaps thanks to recording the album in a studio owned by the band, and another thing that immediately stands out is the monumental, indeed colossal, performance by Mike Mangini; beyond everything, this album is a must for every professional drummer, and one can without hesitation declare: DRUMMERS OF THE WORLD UNITE AND PRAISE THE MASTER!
Great work as usual by Petrucci, although I would have liked a bit more of him in a sweet solo version rather than that of a dark and damned chug-chug player; thankfully, the times are uneven and very varied and Rudess's keyboards manage to accompany and soften, otherwise the digestion of the endless TRA-TA-TTA-TA of the guitar could have become indigestible. I really like Rudess, and in my opinion, more space could have been given to his masterful interventions. LaBrie? For me, simply one of the best rock/metal/prog singers ever. No longer the same as he once was, but still appreciable in the mid-tones and nonetheless impactful, and above all, listen to all the various overdubs and choruses, and if you still want to criticize, then I'll mute you, and so be it.
They say Myung is more audible on this album compared to the usual invisibility of his bass, and it might be true, even if one might want to raise the volume in the Petrucci-dominated mix!
The best tracks are the two singles already mentioned and the very long title track where there is something for every ear: from the highly singable and engaging chorus to the more intense and convoluted yet involving parts to the more melodic parts where LaBrie and Petrucci give their best. We will continue to ponder whether the impression that various parts in the other tracks are somewhat disjointed, meaning they seem glued together at the expense of a real organic nature of the piece, is precisely this: an impression, which will fade with continuous listens.
In short, it's a great return to excellent form for the musical icons of our time, and here we are on a good solid 8, actually 8+, always considering that we start from a 10 with honors to Images and Words, Awake, and Metropolis, so an 8+ relative to these incomparable and immeasurable works of art is still a great score!
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