Dream Theater
Black Clouds & Silver Linings

A child looking through a door at a blue sky with clouds, four planets noticeable in the foreground, an elephant placed on books frightened by a small mouse, an eye drawn by the elephant on a blackboard, a glass amphora that has shattered, and the Dream Theater symbol on the floor. Each symbol recalls what will be narrated in the sonic journey. A journey inside the vast world of the band.

According to many, Dream Theater is too technical, cold, playing without feeling. In my opinion, they are a super group that has written indelible pages in the history of music. They invented progressive metal. For dozens of bands, they are the point of reference and will continue to be so in the future.

After historic albums like Images and Words, Metropolis II: Scenes From a Memory, A Change Of Seasons, Octavarium, Falling Into Infinity, one might think that after twenty years the group has nothing left to say. In these albums, they have narrated stories of various characters, the parable of life. And here, all those who consider them washed up, out of inspiration, must reconsider greatly.

Let's talk about Black Clouds & Silver Linings. It was released on June 23, 2009. The album title comes from the English proverb "Every cloud has a silver lining", which in Italian can be translated as "Non tutto il mal vien per nuocere".

Each song narrates a negative experience lived by the band members, but perfectly in tune with the album title, they try to extract the positive side from every track.

The work opens with "A Nightmare To Remember", a story experienced by John Petrucci, recounting a car accident. With special sound effects, they reproduce the sounds of the car during the accident, the crash, the braking. A classic Dream Theater track with time changes, acoustic parts, and varied rhythms. "A Rite Of Passage" is a truly unique song that talks about Freemasonry and secret societies. Here the band manages to perfectly recreate an aura of mystery. The instrumental part is not lacking, which then introduces the final verse with a truly splendid central theme with an inspired LaBrie.

"Wither" has as its main theme writer’s block, a ballad to be passed down to posterity with Jordan Rudess' keyboards in the foreground, played with great feeling. Beautiful is the phrase that encourages letting go, being guided by words, by inspiration. "The Shattered Fortress" closes the famous 12-step suite. The main theme is alcoholism, a rather heartfelt subject for Mike Portnoy. Inside the track, there is a part that had already been played in Octavarium. A worthy closure of a path started long ago. And here we arrive at the two masterpieces of the album. The Best Of Times is a song dedicated to Mike Portnoy's father, who died during the album's production. It was his father who gave the band the name Dream Theater. A splendid song with a violin intro that then flows into an electric guitar crescendo with a vibrant John Petrucci. The lyrics are direct, and the whole song aims to be a thank you to the father, who accompanied him through life. Thanks for the time spent together, for the advice, for the smiles, in short, for all the moments shared together. The title encompasses all the meaning that the song wants to convey: the best times.

"The Count Of Tuscany" is the second masterpiece of the album. The song was written by John Petrucci reflecting on an event that happened to him in the summer of 2004, when the group was on tour in Italy. During one of his free days, Petrucci visited a castle in the Tuscan countryside, where he met a count, and due to his eerie tales, began to fear that he would never be able to leave that place. The whole story is narrated in a sublime suite. There is an instrumental start with the band members expressing themselves at their best, the sound truly apt for what is intended to be told in the song. After the intro and a central verse, there is a part where the keyboards strive to reproduce the sounds of the Tuscan countryside. And then an acoustic guitar introduces us to the most intense moment of the whole album. James LaBrie sings if this is the end, recounting Petrucci's fear in front of that frightening count. Eventually, everything becomes more relaxed as the count begs him to go and tell his story and his world. An electrifying finale with a great Petrucci solo that reconnects to the initial part of the track. It all ends with the sound of the nature of the Tuscan countryside.

With Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Dream Theater has reached their definitive artistic maturity. After this work, no one can say they are cold. This is an album played from the heart. Inside the booklet, each track is accompanied by various drawings representing what is being narrated. In particular, on the back of the cover, there is a lighthouse and a night landscape with waves crashing on the cliff.

Once I read in a review: you either love Dream Theater or hate them, those who hate them don’t know what they’re missing. It's absolutely true, this phrase succinctly says what they have been and what they hopefully will continue to be.

Dream Theater. Black Clouds & Silver Linings, this is where the history of Music passes through.

PS: news from a few days ago: Mike Portnoy has left Dream Theater, and now reflecting on it, that lighthouse on the back cover is as if it represents the band's arrival on that shore and the end of the cycle. A cycle that has accompanied entire generations, that has made those who truly love Music dream, that has moved them. Now I don’t even want to know who will replace him, and I hope they won’t replace him with who they said, otherwise they will truly sink to the depths. I don’t even want to name him. Rock and music, in general, have accustomed us to major departures (Bill Berry from R.E.M., Peter Gabriel from Genesis), but here we are talking about Mike Portnoy. In my opinion, it's as if the sky has lost its deep blue, such a musician cannot be replaced.