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Rating:
I AM a fan(atic) of Dream Theater, but I can recognize when a work is well done or not. "Systematic Chaos" doesn't disappoint expectations, but it's not a masterpiece, there's no doubt about it. Whoever considers it as such doesn't know this band. I respect all opinions but with a limit. Defending EVERY work of your idols blindly is a sign of narrow-mindedness. Having said that, I'll proceed to share my personal opinion on this work.
"Systematic Chaos" opens with the first part of the suite "In The Presence Of Enemies": a fully progressive instrumental start where the central melody of the track is presented. It begins well with a good pace. Even the final parts sung by La Brie flow quickly and without problems. Let's say the start is promising.
Unfortunately, it doesn't continue that way. With "Forsaken" the lowest point of the entire work is reached, it's a cheap pop rock song (!!!!) fit for MTV. Even the lyrics don't work, too sappy and simple ("..Look in my eyes and take my hand.." what?!?) a track of incredible simplicity and stupidity. It's unlistenable, there is not even an instrumental part, it cannot be defined as a ballad. Disconcerting. The following "Constant Motion" at least has a sound more familiar to prog metal, but still remains at low levels with predictable riffs. It's more "muscular" music and less cognitive, let's say. With "The Dark Eternal Night" mediocrity is touched again: a confusing start without Labrie, then the voice filters used must absolutely be deleted because they are horrendous. Everything already heard in the chorus. In the middle, it returns to the instrumental but it's just a repetition of guitar and keyboard riffs that leave me puzzled... difficult yes, but sincerely useless. I think these last three tracks are the worst written by Dream Theater in recent years. I'm no one to say this, but they are really unlistenable and I say it with all the respect I have for them.
Finally, a change. In "Repentance" the melody's resurgence from "Train of Thought" is evident with a considerably slowed-down rhythm: I was sincerely very puzzled by their choice to re-propose the sound of "This Dying Soul" but in the end, I had to change my mind. Intriguing and melancholic, a bit dark but not fully sad. It's definitely the best track on the album. The initial part finally sees Petrucci not as the protagonist, with Myung and Rudess taking the lead with delicate sounds accompanied by Labrie's voice. The second part is almost entirely instrumental except for the background voices (I'd say enough with them, we find them on every CD) and the beautiful background choir that makes the atmosphere darker. Excellent. The only off-note is the break with "Prophets of War": it moves from melancholy to keyboard speed. It doesn't fit for me. However, as said, the following track has a strong vein of Progressive given by Rudess, perhaps a bit too repetitive in sound, but it remains incisive and rapid from the start. The calm "The Ministry of Lost Souls" follows. It's sweet and delicate with an opening made with classical guitar, it has a familiar sound, it reminds me a bit of the theme of "Octavarium", especially in some riffs by Petrucci. In the middle, it changes with a purely Progressive instrumental part, perhaps a bit too detached from the central melody. In some ways, it's a prelude to the suite similar to what was done in the previous CD by "Sacrificed Sons": a calm prog with bursts of metal.
And now the second part of the suite. The start of "In The Presence Of Enemies" is incredibly similar to "Octavarium" with distorted and "distant" sounds. Labrie's voice comes in almost immediately, while Petrucci is initially a bit absent, then joins in the chorus, which I find too simple and predictable. However, the song proceeds well enough without hitches (with a few sounds reminiscent of Six Degrees it seems to me...) until the instrumental part where it gets lost once again in riffs, scales, virtuosity, and solos that are nauseating, misplaced, and boring. Thankfully, it resumes breathing in the finale where a very well-composed melody (already heard in the first part and similar to Razor's Edge... is it a coincidence??) accompanied by Labrie, closes the work more than sufficiently.
Eh, unfortunately, it's not the best. This band has proven itself for many years always or almost always surprising us, but HALF missteps happen to everyone. It leaves us empty-handed. A somewhat shaky and raw suite (I miss the orchestral parts of Octavarium...) accompanied by some horrible tracks (from 2 to 4) doesn't make for good work. I've heard many times that Dream Theater is an innovative band, but not this time. Let's say the novelties are in the inclusion of choirs and the division of the suite, but nothing else, on the contrary: I don't know, maybe I'm crazy or not hearing well, but in this work, I've heard many riffs and sounds similar to other works (Six Degrees, Train of Thought and especially Octavarium). The rating can't be high, but not too low either: 2 and a half out of trust.
And finally a small thought:
Being able to criticize, I believe, is very constructive and therefore, comparing different ideas allows us to grow. And you might say, "and with this?"... and with this I KNOW there are 10 more reviews of the same CD, but I just want to give my opinion on a band I've known for years. Can I?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Forsaken (05:35)
For a while
I thought I fell asleep
Lying motionless inside a dream
Then rising suddenly
I felt a chilling breath upon me
She softly whispered in my ear
Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Give yourself up to me
I waited painfully
For night to fall again
Trying to silence the fear within me
Out of an ivory mist
I felt a stinging kiss
And saw a crimson stain on her lips
I have to know your name
Where have I seen your face before?
My dear one don't you be afraid
Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Give yourself up to me
Take me far away
Close your eyes
And hold your breath
To the ends of the earth
Forsaken
I have come for you tonight
Awaken
Look in my eyes and take my hand
Forsaken
Fly away with me tonight
Awaken
Renew my life
Now you are mine
Give yourself up to me
03 Constant Motion (06:55)
Tunnel vision at blinding speed
Controlling my thoughts, obsessing me
Void of any uncertainty
Throughout my very soul
Lost illusions of mind control
Resisting all hope of letting go
Racing impulse of dark desire
Drives me through the night
I try to shut it down
It leaves me in the dust
No matter what I've found
I can never get enough
Frantic actions of insanity
Impulsive laced profanity
Long for elusive serenity
Way out of my control
Traveling through both space and time
Out of body
Out of mind
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion
Spinning round and round it goes
I can't let up
I can't let go
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering
Focus here, focus there
Cannot see the light
Falling down through the night
Sprawling everywhere
Searching left, searching right
Panic setting in
I can no longer fight
When will this end?
Accelerate, dislocate
Set to crash and burn
Haven't got time to waste
Not planning to return
Aggravate, Agitate
When will I ever learn?
There's no way out of here
Nowhere to turn
Obsessive yearning
Compulsive burning
Still never learning
Insane random thoughts
of neat disorder
Scattered wasteland surrounding me
Tattered memories of what used to be
Apocalyptic mind debris
Until we meet again
Traveling through both space and time
Out of body
Out of mind
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion
Spinning round and round it goes
I can't let up
I cant' let go
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering
Traveling through both space and time
Out of body
Out of mind
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion
Spinning round and round it goes
I can't let up
I can't let go
Can't stop this flame from burning
Can't stop the wheels from turning
Traveling through both space and time
You get yours
And I got mine
Out of control
My wheels in constant motion
Spinning round and round it goes
I can't let up
I can't let go
Can't stop this flame from burning
Forever more
Into the night
Blistering
04 The Dark Eternal Night (08:53)
No one dared to
Speak of the terrible danger
The hideous ancient warnings
Forged in the void of night
He is risen up
Out of the blackness
Chaos
The last of the prophets
Sinister
A sickening monstrous sight
Through the stifling heat
Underneath the pale green moon
I burned with a thirst
To seek things not yet seen
Climbing endless stairs
Leading to the choking room
Eager to explore
His most shocking mysteries
Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Black forces
Rage in the vortex
Fighting
Waves of destruction
Swallowing
The echo of the universe
I am the last
Born of the blood of the pharaohs
The ultimate god of a rotting creation
Sent to unleash this curse
Restless crowds draw near
Nameless hooded forms appear
Amidst fallen ruins
Grotesque creatures battle
Shadowed on a screen
Yellow evil faces leer
Vacant monuments
Corpses of dead worlds left behind
Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night
Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night
05 Repentance (10:43)
Hello Mirror, so glad to see you my friend
It's been a while...
Staring at the empty page before me
All the years of wreckage running through my head
Patterns of my life I thought adorned me
Revealing hurtful shame and deep lament
Overwhelming sorrow now absorbs me
As the pen begins to trace my darkest past
Signs throughout my life
that should have warned me
Of all the wrongs I've done for which I must repent
I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than I haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
And sometimes you've got to be strong
When you think it's too late
Staring at the finished page before me
All the damage now so clear and evident
Thinking about the dreaded task in store for me
A pit of fear at the thought of my amends
Hoping that the step will help restore me
To face my past and ask for forgiveness
Cleaning up my dirty side of this unswept street
Could this be the beginning of the end?
I once thought it better to regret
Things that I have done than haven't
Sometimes you've got to be wrong
And learn the hard way
And just when you're through hanging on
You're saved.
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Other reviews
By Dolly_Quinn
This album is terrible and represents all those things that are fundamentally wrong with the prog-metal genre.
Systematic Chaos is one of the least valid works ever made in metal.
By paloz
Has no one noticed yet that the band does nothing but slightly modify songs already written in the past?
The DT want to be megalomaniacs, they want to act like they play endless suites...to amaze the drooling followers who would follow them to the world’s end.
By High Voltage
"Systematic Chaos is certainly the album that comes closest to what Dream Theater is today."
"The Ministry Of Lost Souls could be defined as one of the best tracks on the album—almost 15 minutes of pure progressive and pure Dream Theater compositions."
By MarkTwin
A truly brilliant start, that rapid and engaging prog note by note captivates immediately.
With this album, it seems they want to prove that they still want to amaze and experiment, and in my opinion, they have succeeded almost exemplary.
By lux
Today I consider the Theater of Dreams the ultimate embodiment of mediocrity and complete artistic nothingness made Rock.
What awaits you after inserting the disc into the player is, therefore, an Anti-Art endurance test.
