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It's needless to say, but all bands, at some point in their career, become commercialized. And it's equally needless to say that this happens even to the legendary Dream Theater. It happens with "Falling Into Infinity", their fourth studio album, released in 1997.
An album that left a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans. Many, when they found themselves in the shop buying the record, expected another masterpiece on par with "Images And Words" and "Awake" but were disappointed when they inserted it into the CD player.
Previously, DT delighted us with complex riffs, complicated structures, and lightning-fast changes in style and speed. This album is quite different: in fact, the album features a less aggressive sound and especially simpler and more catchy structures. The tracks seem to adhere more to the song form of verse-chorus-bridge, and the creativity of the musicians diminishes somewhat, but there are still more complex tracks where their timeless abilities shine... Perhaps an attempt to win over the broader public? No! If you believe that this attempt at commercialization was their inspiration, you are very wrong; their intention was to create another album in their own way... but then the record label forced the five to modify some songs and discard others.
But I have to say that this is still a good album, and even though it is not at the level of its two predecessors, it nonetheless has every right and merit to be part of the Dream Theater discography.
Very experimental and innovative is no. 1 "New Millennium": almost oriental sounds, excellent keyboard loops that prevail over the guitar, a great rhythm, marked by John Myung's chapman stick, his new acquisition, and also a good dose of virtuosity. A track where melody prevails.
"You Not Me" (You Or Me originally) is a decidedly pop-rock song characterized by an excellent rhythmic guitar by Petrucci and a good melodic line from Derek Sherinian's keyboards (his only album with Dream Theater), as well as from Myung's bass in the verses.
"Peruvian Skies", on the other hand, is a song with two faces: calm, psychedelic, and Pink Floyd-ian in the first minutes, aggressive in Metallica style in the second half. And to think that when hearing it initially, many believed they were facing a ballad.
And that very ballad is found on track no. 4 with "Hollow Years": a sweet and soothing song, perfect for the more romantic; an acoustic guitar that today immediately reminds one of Gigi D'Alessio; if you love Gigi, you have to hear this song.
More lively is no. 5 "Burning My Soul", a song also with a quite simple and catchy structure. Worth appreciating in this track are the well-crafted intro with bass and keyboard and a keyboard solo right after the second chorus.
An absolute masterpiece is the instrumental "Hell’s Kitchen": dreamy guitars and a good dose of virtuosity marked by excellent guitar solos and a beautiful guitar-keyboard unison before the finale.
And from the fading of "Hell's Kitchen" emerges "Lines In The Sand", one of the gems of the album, a track that detractors surely cannot disdain. 12 minutes, splendid intro performed with keyboards, first five minutes lively, then another four slow and psychedelic minutes with a long and splendid solo by Petrucci, then lively again after the 9-minute mark where bass and keyboard duet perfectly before the final riff. Truly a gem.
And here is another ballad, the sad "Take Away My Pain", dedicated to Petrucci’s deceased father, to whom they once prayed to stay alive with "Another Day" (condolences, of course). Melancholic guitars and keyboards that create a dark atmosphere. Petrucci, however, doesn’t miss out on a solo.
And immediately we are also moved with "Just Let Me Breathe", characterized by frantic guitars, a funky rhythm, and excellent keyboard riffs in the instrumental parts.
And it’s time to delight ourselves with another ballad, "Anna Lee", supported by a piano seemingly inspired by Elton John.
But here we are, ready to conclude with the real highlight of this highly-contested album, "Trial Of Tears": 13 minutes for an experimental, dreamy, and not very aggressive track; atmospheric beginning almost in fantasy style with super-inspired keyboards, very efficient percussion and nice Petrucci melodies; then we move into a more rhythmic section characterized by the excellent bassline created by Myung but always with impeccable melodic sensitivity; and then we transition to one of the most beautiful instrumental sections ever created by Dream Theater: a beautiful solo by Petrucci for technique and melody, followed immediately by a splendid solo by Sherinian on the keyboards; to finish, riffs with acoustic guitar preparing for the finale, a bit stronger and more rhythmic compared to the rest of the track; the song then ends more or less how it started.
Come on, this album isn’t that bad; if you don't like it, it means you are too traditionalist and not open to innovations. I hope this review serves as an invitation to reassess this album.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 New Millennium (08:20)
A single star behind me
A red sky burns ahead
A lonely light below me
Awake among the dead
An overwhelming feeling
Leaves me numb and strange
A sense of new beginning
I sense a wind of change
Out with the old useless
People so cold ruthless
Welcome in a new millennium
How many times must I
Live out this nightmare I
Can't wait until a new millennium
I've got this feeling
The tide is turning now baby
Funny feeling
Everything's gonna be alright now
Living out a constant deja vu
Keep your head up
Please be patient we will get to you
Keep your head up
Just have some faith and you can see it through
Keep your head up
But faith don't pay the rent that's overdue
Keep your head up
All that's glittering is turning blue
Keep your head up
What they want from me ain't gotta clue
Keep your head up
Swallow pride before it swallows you
Keep your head up
Don't dare bite the hand that's starving you
Keep your head up
How can you keep your head
And not go insane
When the only light at the end
Of the tunnel is another train
Lies ten feet tall
Have broken my fall
Welcome you all new millennium
It's well overdue
And I can't wait to
Welcome in a new millennium
I've got this feeling
The tide is turning now baby
Funny feeling
Everything's gonna be alright now
03 Peruvian Skies (06:43)
There, there it is
I swear he's gonna murder that poor kid
Wait, I hear it again
Don't turn on the lights until we
Hear the way it ends
Under peruvian skies
Vanessa regretfully waits
The story unfolds in her eyes
Where midnight hysteria's
No big surprise
Battered and bruised
Always confusing
The love that she's losing for hate
Poor Vanessa
Poor, poor Vanessa
Hey, I hope you know
I'm taking all of this time with me when I go
Shame, you're not to blame
I'm the monster you created
In your daddy's name
Under peruvian skies
Vanessa regretfully waits
The story unfolds in her eyes
Where midnight hysteria's
No big surprise
Battered and bruised
Always confusing
The love that she's losing for hate
Poor Vanessa
Poor Vanessa
Terror by night
Liar by day
Telling her secrets
Won't take them away
Under peruvian skies
Vanessa regretfully waits
The story unfolds in her eyes
Where midnight hysteria's
No big surprise
Battered and bruised
Always confusing
The love that she's losing for hate
Poor Vanessa
04 Hollow Years (05:53)
He's just the kind of man
You hear about
Who leaves his family
For an easy out
They never saw the signs
He never said a word
He couldn't take another day
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
She's not the kind of girl
You hear about
She'll never want another
She'll never be without
She'll give you all the signs
She'll tell you everything
Then turn around and walk away
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
Carry me to the shoreline
Bury me in the sand
Walk me across the water
And maybe you'll understand
Once the stone
You're crawling under
Is lifted off your shoulders
Once the cloud that's raining
Over your head disappears
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
Once the stone
You're crawling under...
The noise that you'll hear
Is the crashing down of hollow years
05 Burning My Soul (05:29)
A thorn in my side, a chip on my shoulder
A lump in my throat, the size of a boulder
The chill up my spine, can't get any colder
And you wonder why I can't smile
A knot in my gut, an ape on my back
In the heat of the moment
I'm knocked off the track
You drop the ball, I pick up the slack
And you ask me why my hair's gray
Twisting, turning
Losing all sense of yearning
Living and learning
The pressure keeps on burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
I say it's green and then you tell me it's red
Keep your thoughts and ideas
Locked inside of your head
We've got someone
Who can think for you instead
And he sounds just like the last one
Twisting, turning
Losing all sense of yearning
Living and learning
The pressure keeps on burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Responsible thinkers
Throw caution to the wind
But I find myself
Speaking from within
I can't live my life
Walking on eggshells
To stay on your good side
Using your words
Controlling my life
Can't you see it's my words
That gives you your life
So I hurt your feelings
Well I'm really sorry
But I don't give a shit, no...
Twisting, turning
Losing all sense of yearning
Living and learning
The pressure keeps on burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul
Burning my soul, yeah
07 Lines in the Sand (12:05)
Sometimes, for a moment of bliss
And the passion, we're craving
There's a message we miss
Sometimes when the spirits left alone
We must believe in something
To find if we've grown
Tragic reflex, shattered calm
Static progress, senses gone
Numb awareness, final psalm
Swept away with the tide
Through the holes in my hands
Crown of thorns
At my side drawing lines in the sand
Sometimes, if you're perfectly still
You can hear the virgin weeping
For the savior of your will
Sometimes, your castles in the air
And the fantasies you're seeking
Are the crosses you bear
Sacred conflict, blessed prize
Weeping crosses, stainless eyes
Desperate addict, faith disguised
Swept away with the tide
Through the holes in my hands
Crown of thorns
At my side drawing lines in the sand
We fabricate our demons
Invite them into our homes
Have supper with the aliens
And fight the war alone
We conjure up our skeletons
Enlist the den of theives
Frightened from our closets
Then sewn upon our sleeves
In the stream of consciousness
There is a river crying
Living comes much easier
Once we admit
We're dying
Sometimes, in the wreckage of our wake
There's a bitterness we harbor
And hate for hatred's sake
Sometime we dig an early grave
And crucify our instincts
For the hope we couldn't save
Sometimes a view from sinless eyes
Centers our perspective
And pacifies our cries
Sometimes the anguish we survive
And the mysteries we nurture
Are the fabrics of our lives
Swept away with the tide
Through the holes in my hands
Crown of thorns
At my side drawing lines in the sand
08 Take Away My Pain (06:03)
I was sitting on the edge of his bed
Staring at the headlines on the paper
He said, "look at poor gene kelly
I guess he won't be singing in the rain."
You can take away my heroes
Can you take away my pain
Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don't let it rain
Don't stumble on my pride
Take away my pain
I'm not frightened any more
Just stay with me tonight
I'm tired of this fight
Soon I'll be knocking at your door
She was standing by the edge of his bed
Staring at the message on their faces
He said, "what else can you do babe?
I guess I won't be coming home again."
They just took away all my promises
Make them take away my pain
Take away my pain
Leave the cold outside
Please don't let it rain
Don't stumble on my pride
Take away my pain
I'm not frightened any more
Just stay with me tonight
I'm tired of this fight
Soon I'll be knocking at your door
His final scene
The actor bows
And all those years
Are gone somehow
The crowd applauds
The curtain fails
I was standing by the edge of the water
I noticed my reflection in the waves
Then I saw you looking back at me
And I knew that for a moment
You were calling out my name
You took away my hero
Will you take away my pain
Take away my pain
Let the cold inside
It's time to let it rain
There's nothing left to hide
Take away my pain
I'm not frightened any more
I'm learning to survive
Without you in my life
Til you come knocking at my door...
09 Just Let Me Breathe (05:28)
Open your eyes
And turn off your mind
Step right up folks and you will find
Agrowing trend
An epidemic
Spread with zen
And hypodermics
Just close your mind
You can find all you need with your eyes
The big machines take care of
You until you kill yourself
And then the sales go through the roof
Calculated, formulated
Feed my head with simple thoughts
And let me breathe instead of being taught
All bottled up and tearing at the seams
I'm bored
Just let me breathe
A daily dose of eMpTyV
Will flush your mind right down the drain
Shannon Hoon and Kurt Cobain,
Make yourself a household name
Just close your mind
You can find all you need with your eyes
The big machines take care of you
Until you kill yourself
And then the sales go through the roof
Calculated, formulated
Feed my head with simple thoughts
And let me breathe instead of being taught
All bottled up and tearing at the seams
I'm bored
Just let me breathe
Strike up your best angst ridden posture
Manufactured anger
Let's not forget my legacy
All my heroes have failed me
Now they're dead and buried
Just close your mind
You can find all you need with your eyes
The big machines will take care of you
Until the fashion fades
And the checks go through
my bank roll's red and my face is blue
And still they'll turn their backs on you for
Someone new
Feed my head
With some real thoughts
And let me think instead
Of being taught
I'll say things
You won't believe
Just stand back
Just let me breathe...
10 Anna Lee (05:52)
Helpless child
They invite your hands to fill their needs
Will you be the same
Shameless smile
To steal from you the innocence that bleeds
Will they feel your pain
Trying to believe
The scars unseen
The tears wash clean
You don't wanna breathe the air you breathe
You don't know how you'll live a life alone
She keeps holding on
Holding on to you
Let her breathe the air
Don't wanna be alone
Where do you belong
Anna Lee
Behind those eyes
The vivid scene, a lucid dream within
Questioned secrets are revealed
And every time
You can't deny the lines that trace your skin
Wounds that never heal
Trying to believe
The scars unseen
The tears wash clean
You don't wanna breathe the air you breathe
You don't know how you'll live a life alone
She keeps holding on
Holding on to you
Let her breathe the air
Don't wanna be alone
Where do you belong
Anna Lee
And now she's calling out a name
Can't keep on hiding all her pain
You feel the rain move in
As you begin
To turn and answer the call
Trying to believe
The scars unseen
The tears wash clean
You don't wanna breathe the air you breathe
You don't know how you'll live a life alone
She keeps holding on
Holding on to you
Let her breathe the air
Don't wanna be alone
Where do you belong
Anna Lee
11 Trial of Tears (13:05)
Under the sun, there is nothing to hide
Under the moon, the stranger waits inside
People disappear
The music fades away
Splashing through the rain
I'll dream with them one day
It's raining, raining,
On the streets of New York city
It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven
I may have wasted all those years
They're not worth their time in tears
I may have spent too long in darkness
In the warmth of my fears
Take a look at yourself
Not at anyone else
And tell me what you see
I know the air is cold
I know the streets are cruel
But I'll enjoy the ride today
It's raining, raining,
On the streets of New York city
It's raining, raining, raining deep in heaven
Raining deep in heaven
I may have wasted all those years
They're not worth their time in tears
I may have spent too long in darkness
In the warmth of my fears
As i walk through all my myths
Rising and sinking like the waves
With my thoughts wrapped around me
Through a trial of tears
Hidden by disguise, stumbling in a world
Feeling uninspired, he gets into his car
Not within his eyes to see, open up, open up
Not much better than the man you hate
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Other reviews
By MetallAro
The main mistake, in my opinion, lies in the stupid as well as useless futuristic-technological effects, the work of Sherinian, who as a keyboardist in D.T. doesn’t quite fit!
‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is a truly beautiful and indisputable instrumental masterpiece, it’s definitely the best track on the album.
By petrucci
Despite many people underestimating this record, it must be said that it always reveals new and interesting surprises.
'Hell’s Kitchen' makes Falling Into Infinity unique and unrivaled, and stands out as one of Dream Theater’s best instrumental songs.
By STIPE
"Falling Into Infinity is a sunny album, direct but very deep."
"Hell's Kitchen is a fantastic instrumental piece that alone is worth all the good things said about the album."
By Dreamtheater
"Falling Into Infinity is the most criticized yet one of the best-selling works in their history."
"Hell's Kitchen brings back some excellent music, certainly the best thing on the album and among the most beautiful instrumentals made by the American quintet."
By Federico95
"Trial Of Tears" reaches incredibly high peaks of emotion, leaving you with a feeling of emptiness.
"You Not Me" is, without exaggeration, one of the worst pieces ever written by Dream Theater.
