Dream Theater
Chaos in Motion 2007-2008

THE REVIEW

It's useless to fiddle with your equalizer, resign yourself to the idea that yes, this DVD sounds like crap!!!

And to think it's an original DVD, not the one circulating on Emule for almost a year now, which sounds practically the same. Anyone expecting direction like that of "The Score" or "Live at Budokan" (like me) will certainly be disappointed; the cameras are shaky, and in some cases, they film the musicians when they aren't doing anything!! It feels like watching concerts from the 70s-80s, but back then, we didn't have the tools we do now. The filming methods and dynamics have changed significantly, and a DVD with these kinds of shots and this lighting (it seems they're using energy-saving bulbs!! It looks foggy!!) is inadmissible nowadays. 

But leaving aside the visual aspect and focusing on the audio, we get the following picture.

·       Petrucci dominates with his guitar, covering everything else. Apart from him, you can't hear anything else. If you like listening only to the guitar, this DVD is for you.

·       Portnoy seems to have a busted bass drum, probably due to a mix severely lacking in bass, while the cymbals, on the contrary, are very well heard.

·       Myung, let's not even go there; with that tinny bass, he can't assert himself even in the intro of "Panik Attack," where his bass merely mumbles the powerful riff, which sounds choked. He too falls victim to the bass deficiency... but we got used to it; this is the third DVD now where the bass is absent! And this is no exception, except for "Take the Time."

·       Rudess is instead very well heard; he's not annoying and creates that atmospheric layer filled with scales we've always been used to. The idea of using a keyboard shaped like a guitar for solos is very good.

·       Labrie delivers a good performance, without excessive style drops.

 As for all the backstage clips, they're very entertaining, but it would have been appropriate to introduce subtitles as was done (sometimes obsessively, see "Forza Tokyo!" from the live at Budokan, to say the least ridiculous) in the other DVDs.

In short, a DVD with highs and lows, perhaps better to listen to than to watch, it's not up to "Score" in terms of direction and mixing. It's a pity though because it has a really good setlist, especially in the final "Schmedley Wilcox".