This review was missing for the great Dream Theater, even though it is the third and final chapter of Liquid Tension Experiment, but without John Petrucci.
"Spontaneous Combustion" was recorded during the jam sessions of the two previous albums while Petrucci's wife was giving birth and has recently been proposed as an extra album for all Dream Theater fans.
It's a completely different work compared to the previous ones: more oriented towards a jazz direction, less aggressive as a progressive metal album due to the total absence of Petrucci's guitar, more experimental and also more improvised. The shortcomings in this album are noticeable, for example: there isn't a real and concrete hit, a bit like "Biaxident", "Acid Rain", "Universal Mind", "Paradigm Shift", and the phenomenal Mike Portnoy lacks excessively in his virtuosic style, perhaps because this time his drums don't set the rhythm for the band but only execute an accompaniment. Jordan Rudess is the only one who stands out in this jam session, and Tony Levin is forced to follow his melodies.
80 minutes for this extra album are a bit too much, the technique is always exceptional but lacks creativity and perhaps little intensity. The potential tracks are in the middle phase of the album: "RPP" is a good mix of drum breaks by Portnoy and "Cappuccino" with excellent piano passages by Rudess that amaze the listener. Without a doubt, the best is "Jazz Odyssey" with almost nine minutes of jazz virtuosity, but it's not enough... this album fails!
Apart from Rudess, the others seem tired, especially Portnoy (totally different in the previous two works). An album to be considered extra and nothing more. Recommended for fans.
Tracklist Samples and Videos
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