Dream Theater
Systematic Chaos

After two years from the controversial “Octavarium” and with a new record label (Roadrunner Records, which includes among its artists several successful metal bands), Dream Theater are back on the scene with a new album that, as always, has been highly anticipated by all fans.

There is undoubtedly a huge change in style compared to “Octavarium” which, apart from the 24-minute final suite, did not manage to convince much; a mix in my opinion between the brilliance of “Scenes From a Memory”, the hardness of “Train of Thought”, and some elements of “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” make this CD quite interesting, although in the end, it cannot and should not necessarily coincide this new album with past works.

I will now analyze all the tracks that make up the album one by one.

In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 1: 8

A truly brilliant start, that rapid and engaging prog note by note captivates immediately;

the singing is awaited for a few minutes (during which one is easily taken by the instrumental part), a great riff by Petrucci and grand inserts by a splendidly Rudess; the arrival of LaBrie's vocal part is well inserted and equally well sung, while the final part with a crescendo of rhythm does not let the listener's attention drop. “Surprising”

Forsaken: 7+

Piano intro immediately followed by a semi-distorted riff and the return of Rudess's keyboard for this piece, with a particularly sweet LaBrie that recalls the style of Evanescence and similar bands; few prog elements in the melody which remains pleasant and accompanied by still very precise singing. Noteworthy is Petrucci's solo after the middle that also puts his signature on this track. “Enjoyable”

Constant Motion: 8-

The first particularly "hard" song of the CD, sound reminiscent of Metallica with the addition of typical DT progressive elements. LaBrie's voice also adapted to the style of the song, with the help of Portnoy in second voice; very heavy riffs by Petrucci accompanied by Rudess's keyboard, albeit not too influential; from 4 minutes onwards, the band's prog spirit is found and the solo Petrucci we know, followed by a splendid Rudess solo; the drum part masterfully managed by Portnoy is also very good. “Lively”

The Dark Eternal Night: 8+

Undoubtedly strange piece, even harder than the previous one for certain features, with a frightening vocal start, LaBrie and Portnoy's voices greatly distorted. Fast and hard at the same time, this track is perhaps the heaviest ever produced by the band, one could define it as a sort of Heavy\Trash Progressive! During the refrain, however, LaBrie makes good use of his vocal cords, always with the accompaniment of Portnoy (who uses his voice in this album more than in previous ones).

In my opinion, in this track, influences from “The Glass Prison” can be recognized, but perhaps even more from “The Dance Of Eternity”, albeit with a particularly harder style. Note the frightening instrumental part from shortly before 6 minutes onwards, where the technical ability (particularly of Portnoy) is fully exploited. Overall, once this track is “digested”, it turns out to be full of energy and at the same time very technical. “Impressive”

Repentance: 7.5

Fourth part of the saga on alcoholism written by Portnoy: this time it is a slow song, reminiscent of Pink Floyd's style. The first bars pick up the theme of “This Dying Soul” from ToT, both musically and lyrically; I think the song is well placed within the album as it serves to “give some breathing room” to the listener after the previous two; the track is articulated on intriguing although not lively atmospheres, always good the accompaniment of drums and guitar (nice solo in the middle of the song), and in particular LaBrie's voice which gives a certain charm to the whole. Before 6 minutes, there is the typical use of spoken parts already tried in various previous works, followed by LaBrie's vocal accompaniments without text and another spoken section. “Soothing”

Prophets Of War: 7.5

Another peculiar track of the album, starting in a Muse style and with a LaBrie using the high part of his vocal range; after the first minute, Petrucci's riff is added and once again a distorted Portnoy voice accompanies LaBrie's singing. All in all a light and linear melody, which is surprisingly decorated with the audience's voice chanting some key words in unison (we will therefore let you imagine this piece live!). Unprecedented from minute 4 onwards, the singing of Portnoy almost resembling a rap in a very low tone; subsequently again LaBrie and the audience. “Engaging”

The Ministry Of Lost Souls: 9-

This song is generally structured in two parts, the first slower and heart-wrenching while the second more pressing and technically excellent.

Epic start thanks to Rudess's keyboard notes accompanied by the others, but after a splendid acoustic guitar section, LaBrie's singing begins: his interpretation is majestic, almost moving, in my opinion on par with “The Spirit Carries On”. The melody continues to engage more and more as the minutes go by in a crescendo, also thanks to the accompaniment of the drums and keyboard until minute 7, where suddenly the song takes on a different complexion: the progressive sound rises majestically with a spine-chilling riff by Petrucci interrupting that dreamy atmosphere of a few seconds before, excellent also Rudess's solos and great accompaniment by Myung's bass. From minute 11 the theme of the first part is resumed and the singing returns in a now livelier atmosphere, the track ends fading the melody in a very soft way. “Sublime”

In The Presence Of Enemies Pt. 2: 9

The beginning takes up the grim atmosphere (the sound of the wind) with which Part One left us, the first keyboard notes evoke a feeling of unease until the arrival of LaBrie's voice, always very intense. After two and a half minutes, Myung's bass adds significant depth to the keyboard accompaniment, subsequently, at 3.20 the song ignites (as usual thanks to Petrucci's guitar) and LaBrie's voice suddenly becomes “aggressive” for a few measures alternating with the more classic sweet timbre. After minute 6 another sudden change, the (also here sudden) entrance of the audience's chorus almost exalts the imposing accompaniment of Petrucci and Myung to LaBrie's most exciting vocal part. Really remarkable (and in my opinion never boring) the evolutions in pure progressive style of Portnoy and company in these minutes of the song, definitely worthy of competing with the best pieces from “Scenes from a Memory”. After the long instrumental part, LaBrie's vocals return for the last two minutes, accompanied by a solemn sound thanks in particular to Rudess's keyboard. The end of the song (and the album) is still governed by Portnoy's drums. This track, with the previous one, competes in my opinion for the title of the best of the CD. “Epic”

CONCLUSIONS:

Who knows, maybe Dream Theater may have seemed finished with “Octavarium”, but 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. Overall rating: 8.5