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Rating: We were all waiting for a reunion of Liquid Tension Experiment. Some simply because more than twenty years had passed since the last work, some because the project had lasted too short, some because they were dissatisfied with the recent productions of the derived group (Dream Theater); among these, we find further branches, such as those who can no longer stand James LaBrie's voice or those who miss Mike Portnoy's sincere and passionate drumming.
The Liquid Tension Experiment was a brief moment at the end of the '90s, born from the meeting between the two supporting pillars of Dream Theater, John Petrucci (guitarist) and Mike Portnoy (drummer), keyboardist Jordan Rudess (at the time not yet in Dream Theater), and the experienced master bassist and stick player Tony Levin (known for participating in the King Crimson reunion in the '80s as well as a highly sought-after session musician). Two grand instrumental albums appreciated by critics and fans, then Rudess's steady entry into Dream Theater (the project was the matchmaker...) and the end of the project, except for a brief return with concerts in 2008.
Last year, we already saw Portnoy reconciling artistically with Petrucci by lending his sticks to the guitarist's solo album. Some dreamed of his return to Dream Theater, but this was categorically denied; however, it was the prelude to the great return of Liquid Tension Experiment, where Portnoy also reunites with another ex-companion, Rudess. Essentially, the quartet's formation is the same but with the curious difference that while Rudess was not a Dream Theater member back in the day, now it is Portnoy who isn't.
We knew the project as a kind of Dream Theater without vocals, where virtuosity emerged with more vigor and imagination, with less metal and more fusion, and with more space for experimentation and improvisation. How do we find them in this third album? Well, there's no doubt it's them, explosive, sophisticated, and refined as always; those who loved the first two albums will have no problems appreciating this one. This time, however, it is worth mentioning that they behaved a bit more like Dream Theater, and this might sometimes reveal a lack of originality. The album is indeed harsher compared to the previous ones; if the first two had few metal elements, this one has a few more, Petrucci uses a heavy hand with his guitar in several tracks, though metal certainly does not become the main genre of the album. On the contrary, the fusion vein fades significantly, the smooth and elegant touch seems to give more space to a more rocky setting. Emblematic of this twist are "Hypersonic," "The Passage of Time," and "Key to the Imagination." The first is based on a vigorous speed metal where Petrucci hammers up and down the strings, and the rapid scales of notes entwine accordingly. The second has a rough and brash touch, which is quite unusual for the supergroup and seems to be related to the more commercial Dream Theater of the late 2000s, the "Systematic Chaos" period. In the third one, we have a sharper Petrucci, the one who wants to push the extremes but in the end doesn't really do so, partly because Rudess reins him in with significant relaxed jazz-flavored openings and even with Arabian sounds, sealing the most stylistically varied track of the lot. In the first and third tracks mentioned, the substantial difference (the one that allows us to avoid calling it "just any instrumental by Dream Theater") is made by Tony Levin, who in my opinion gives his best when focusing on the use of the Chapman Stick; he has that something that John Myung in Dream Theater perhaps lacks, the groove, the way he hammers the strings cannot certainly leave one indifferent. "Beating the Odds" also has something theatrical in it, but with a more hard rock matrix touch; it's a neutral, fluid, and smooth track, where robust sound, virtuosity, and melodic openings follow each other very naturally.
Dream Theater 2.0? Well, half the album is indeed a bit too Dream Theater and less Liquid Tension Experiment, but there's room for moments of experimentation and originality. "Liquid Evolution" is an extremely relaxing fusion episode with an oriental and meditative flavor, where all four musicians handle their instruments with absolute delicacy, a piece almost suitable for a yoga session or an ethnic venue, having roughly the same ingredients that "Osmosis" had in the first album, it seems like its successful twin. There's a good dose of madness, however, in "Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey," a crazy duet between Portnoy and Levin, simply Levin having fun making noise with an electric bass, and Portnoy accompanying him with initially sterile then powerful and precise hits. The other duet is between Rudess and Petrucci in "Shades of Hope," a melodic ballad where Rudess gently runs his fingers over the piano and Petrucci literally "sings" long, pathos-filled notes, once again delivering a hearty slap to those who continue to define him as a soulless guitarist; here, too, there's a sense of déjà-vu, it's a bit too similar to "State of Grace" from the first album, but it's always a pleasure for the ears.
Then there's the reinterpretation of the famous "Rhapsody in Blue," the jazz piano and orchestra composition by George Gershwin from 1924. Those who know me well are aware of my general reluctance toward the inclusion of covers in an album of originals, but that doesn't mean I won't listen with interest anyway; here the quartet does quite an ingenious job transforming the composition into an energetic rock opera while keeping its jazz and classical nature intact.
The discussion could have ended here, but Liquid Tension Experiment raised the stakes. To the 8 tracks and 61 minutes of the regular edition, a bonus disc is added, which cannot certainly be considered as such nor ignored. And here, the discourse of IQ of “The Road of Bones” returns, you can't offer another 55 minutes of unpublished material and make people believe it is a bonus. Also because this second disc fully brings out an important element of the quartet, improvisation. 5 tracks of total and pure improvisation, where metal is completely inhibited and the fusion vein takes a clear footing; it's certainly not suitable for the faint-hearted and for those lacking patience; I admit that even I sometimes lost attention during the listening, acknowledging that it tends to become a bit monotonous, but here we admire the four instrumentalists laying themselves bare more than ever. I don't exclude that the choice to present it as a bonus disc is precisely due to its difficult digestibility because the band is not new to this: the first album also contained an adventurous 28-minute improvisation, but they playfully warned the listener of its excessive pomposity, inviting them to stop the player early if they did not have enough guts. But a true listener is not intimidated by the numbers, the durations, the pompousness, they simply let themselves be carried away, it’s the lack of transportation, dedication, and immersion that makes it difficult for many to listen, in music as in daily conversations.
Pompous or not, Liquid Tension Experiment have resurrected and are more alive than ever.
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