•
Rating:
About 3 years after the release of their last great endeavor "Scenes From A Memory", Dream Theater returns with a new album comprising 2 CDs, namely the little appreciated "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". As soon as I heard about its release, I immediately rushed to listen to it, hoping I would be facing a new masterpiece like the previous album. Instead, I was a bit disappointed with the listening experience; however, it cannot be said that this is an unlistenable album. In fact, I found some tracks rather interesting.
The first CD, containing 5 songs, begins with a long rustle that ties back to the ending of "Finally Free" in Metropolis Pt.2. From here, the situation evolves slowly, starting with bell chimes overlaid with a harmonious guitar arpeggio that creates a very intriguing atmosphere. Suddenly, devastating 7-string guitar chords invade this atmosphere, transforming this melodious introduction into an aggressive and energetic song: this is "The Glass Prison". The next track is "Blind Faith", a calm and relaxing piece, yet also lively, especially when Petrucci kicks in with his phenomenal licks. "Misunderstood" is a very particular track with a fantastic chorus that stays in your head for days and days thanks to the warm voice of Labrie. The following song is "The Great Debate", which talks about the events during the fall of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. In my opinion, the track is the least engaging of the album, and sometimes I even find it difficult to listen to it in full. And here is the last piece of the CD, the wonderful "Disappear". It starts with a sequence of piano chords from the great Jordan Rudess that gives you chills on the spine from the very first listen. From here, a melodic and harmonious verse is born, made inimitable again by the singer's sweet voice. Thus ends the first CD of "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence".
The second disc contains a single 42-minute song divided into 8 acts. Act I: "Overture" is a typical instrumental introduction of the D.T., gathering all the emphasis of this endless track, although occasionally featuring interludes where it's hard to believe they really invented them. The CD comes alive in the second act, "About To Crash", a catchy and very pleasant track to listen to. The atmosphere the band creates in the third and fourth act is completely different; these 2 parts called "War Inside My Head" and "The Test That Stumped Them All" are much more captivating and energetic and showcase the famous technical expertise of D.T. that no one can match. Act V: "Goodnight Kiss", a restful piece with very melodic chords and very calming vocal lines, connects to Act VI, the splendid "Solitary Shell", an acoustic song to listen to and relisten to, ending with really impressive breaks reminiscent of progressive from past years. An intriguing guitar riff opens Act VII, "About To Crash (reprise)". This sequel to Act II obviously draws inspiration from the same theme. At this point, the band concludes the work with a "Grand Finale" unique in its style, rich in very theatrical choirs that let the listener breathe a sigh of relief.
In conclusion, I believe this is an album worthy of being purchased, but it's also true that only after many listens can its beauty be grasped.
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Blind Faith (10:21)
Hear me, speaking
Asking why I even bother
Tell me, how you
Live from day to day
Take your time and look around
Is this utopia you've found
Sick of all of this
The suffering and we just carry on
Isn't it time we care and lose the hate
Understand our fears
But we do all that we can
Justify the means to an end
Sorry you must excuse me
I've painted my own Mona Lisa
She's fixed everything
Now I'm spoiled beyond my wildest dreams
Blind faith we have in you
Invisible
Which direction do we choose
Predictable
Take the streets, the beaten path
Our system works for whom I ask
Yeah I have it all
The bigger house
An iron fence to keep you out
When did we all let you down
So come Messiah show us how how
Our human spirit drowns
Don't think you hear me now
No sign of you around
What is it you hope to see
Blind faith we have in you
Invisible
Which direction do we choose
Predictable
Give us something we can use
Desirable
Cause you've done all you can do
Regrettable
And still life pushes on
With or without you
We've got to carry on
Our will, will guide us to
A place where we belong
Know there lies the truth
I am the believer who gives purpose on to you
I don't think we let you down
So come Messiah show us how how
Throw us a pure lifeline
I hope that you hear me
Too proud to be around
There's more to us than we see now
Blind faith we have in you
Invisible
Which direction do we choose
Predictable
Self ignorance, abuse
Desirable
Cause you've done all you can do
Incredible
03 Misunderstood (09:32)
Waiting
In the calm of desolation
Wanting to break
From this circle of confusion
Sleeping
In the depths of isolation
Trying to wake
From this daydream of illusion
How can I feel abandoned even when the world surrounds me
How can I bite the hand that feeds the strangers all around me
How can I know so many
Never really knowing anyone
If I seem superhuman
I have been
Misunderstood
It challenges the essence of my soul
And leaves me in a state of disconnection
As I navigate the maze of self control
Playing a lion being led to a cage
I turn from a thief to a beggar
From a god to God save me
How can I feel abandoned even when the world surrounds me
How can I bite the hand that feeds the strangers all around me
How can I know so many
Never really knowing anyone
If I seem superhuman
I have been
Misunderstood
Playing a lion being led to a cage
I turn from surreal to seclusion
From love to disdain
From belief to delusion
From a thief to a beggar
From a god to God save me
How can I feel abandoned even when the world surrounds me
How can I bite the hand that feeds the strangers all around me
How can I know so many
Never really knowing anyone
If I seem superhuman
I have been
Misunderstood
04 The Great Debate (13:45)
What if someone said
Promise lies ahead
Hopes are high in certain scientific circles
Life won't have to end
You could walk again
What if someone said
Problems lie ahead
They've uncovered something highly controversial
The right to life is strong
Can't you see it's wrong
Human kind has reached a turning point
Poised for conflict at ground zero
Ready for a war
Do we look to our unearthly guide
Or to white coat heroes
Searching for a cure
Turn to the light
Don't be frightened of the shadows it creates
Turn to the light
Turning away would be a terrible mistake
Anarchistic moral vision
Industries of death
Facing violent opposition
Unmolested breaths
Ethic inquisitions breed
Antagonistic views
Right wing sound bite premonitions
In a labyrinth of rules
Are you justified
Are you justified
Are you justified
Justified in taking
Life to save life
Life to save life
Taking life to save life
This embryonic clay
Wrapped in fierce debate
Would be thrown away
Or otherwise discarded
Some of us believe
It may hold the key
To treatment of disease
And secrets highly guarded
Are you justified
Are you justified
Are you justified
Justified in taking
Life to save life
Life to save life
Life to save life
Human kind has reached a turning point
Poised for conflict at ground zero
Ready for a war
Do we look to our unearthly guide
Or to white coat heroes
Searching for a cure
Turn to the light
Don't be frightened of the shadows it creates
Turn to the light
Turning away would be a terrible mistake
We're reaching
But have we gone too far
Harvesting existence
Only to destroy
Carelessly together
We are sliding
Someone else's future
Four days frozen still
Someone else's fate
We are deciding
Miracle potential
Sanctity of life
Faced against each other
We're divided
Should we push the boundaries
Or should we condemn
Moral guilt and science
Have collided
Turn to the light
We defy our own mortality these days
Turn to the light
Pay attention to the questions we have raised
05 Disappear (06:45)
Why, tell me the reasons why
Try, still I don't understand
Will I ever feel this again
Blue sky, I'll meet you in the end
Free them, free the memories of you
Free me, and rest 'til I'm with you
A day like today
My whole world has been changed
Nothing you say
Will help ease my pain
Turn, I'll turn this slowly round
Burn, burn to feel alive again
She, she'd want me to move on
See me, this place I still belong
Give chase, to find more than I have found
And face, this time now on my own
Days disappear
And my world keeps changing
I feel you here
And it keeps me sane
So I'm moving on
I'll never forget
As you lay there and watched me
Accepting the end
I knew you were scared
You were strong, I was trying
I gave you my hand
I said it's okay letting go time to leave here
And I'll carry on
The best that I can without you here beside me
Let him come take you home
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Coelum
"'The Glass Prison' is powerful and fast and leads the listening to the beautiful 'Blind Faith,' which then gives way to the calmer 'Misunderstood.'"
"The album is 'too much,' and this time the quantity somewhat annoys the quality."
By Dreamtheater
"Only after many hearings can you appreciate the beauty of this double effort."
"The final track is worth the price of the CD — beautiful, truly fascinating with a melancholic atmosphere."
By splinter
"Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence marks a serious turning point in Dream Theater’s music."
"An album worthy of the best Dream Theater, almost on par with Images And Words, Awake, and Scenes From A Memory."
By mauro60
A stroke of genius!: a wonderful album, one of their best that contains all these forms.
"The Great Debate" is a phantasmagoric kaleidoscope of times, rhythms, original notes but with a classic aftertaste.
