Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

[AlexTheDictator]

This album just came out today. I am a HUGE Dream Theater fan and I've been looking forward to the follow-up to Systematic Chaos (their best album since Scenes From A Memory IMO).

I've only listened to the album twice so far so my opinions on it aren't fully formed. Here are my first thoughts:

A Nightmare to Remember - great opener, very riffy and very heavy; I'm not a fan of death metal at all and Portnoy does decent amount of wicked fast double bass and that one-handed crazy ride/snare work that hear a lot in that genre - I'm not crazy about it; Portnoy also needs to stop singing verses sometimes because his part in this song is terrible; these complaints are pretty minor for a 16-minute song

A Rite of Passage - good song, keeps the momentum from the first track going; the chorus has an epic, melodic feel to it which is good; Rudess has an awesome keyboard solo in it, I love when he gets weird

Wither - not much to say about this one; it's sort of like how Vacant was for Train of Thought; quiet, slow track

The Shattered Fortress - continuation of Portnoy's epic; I think this one borrows far too many melodies and rhythms from previous parts of the epic, but at least it doesn't take too much work to be familiar with the song because of it

The Best of Times - this is the stand-out track for me; very dynamic and great musicianship; really tasteful playing from Petrucci; not surprised if this one ends up being my favorite on the album

The Count of Tuscany - the grand 19-minute track; the instrumental section in the beginning is phenomenal (vocals don't come in until almost 4:30), lots of time signature changes and changes in rhythm/feel; this whole track is really the prog-goodness you expect out of DT

[Braen]

Been waiting for this too. Love Dream Theater. I wish they would do another concept album like Scenes From a Memory.

[Vorph]

I wish they'd do another album like Awake.

[Braen]

Originally Posted by Vorph

I wish they'd do another album like Awake.

I miss Kevin Moore as well...

[AlexTheDictator]

Originally Posted by Vorph

I wish they'd do another album like Awake.

I'd say Awake is my favorite DT album, but overall I think Rudess was a good move for the band. You can't deny the dude's talent and it's nice that Petrucci and Rudess can do crazy dual-leads (e.g. In the Name of God).

[Needless]

Ive only listened to A nightmare to Remember, and The Best of Times so far, Pretty sick so far though, gonna have to wait until after work to get the album.

Certainly beats the poop out of their last album

[agoz_rz]

It's better than Systematic Chaos, by a hair. I like Wither, I like the Shattered Fortress, and I like the opening to The Best of Times. Meanwhile, Portnoy's vocals ruined the songs they were on.

[Occido]

Went and got the 3cd Special Edition of this album and I have to say it's a damn good album. Though, I enjoy the instrumentals much more.

[Goltana_R-Zek]

Originally Posted by Braen

Been waiting for this too. Love Dream Theater. I wish they would do another concept album like Scenes From a Memory.

QFT, love that album. Thanks for the reminder of this release, checking it out

[Daerath]

Originally Posted by Goltana_R-Zek

QFT, love that album. Thanks for the reminder of this release, checking it out

Thanks for the reminder! Going to pick this up today.

[AlexTheDictator]

Originally Posted by agoz_rz

Meanwhile, Portnoy's vocals ruined the songs they were on.

This is my biggest gripe on this album. I've already given it five or six listens and Portnoy's vocals on A Nightmare to Remember always make me do the hand on the forehead. Other than that, I like it more than Systematic Chaos. It doesn't blow the album out of the water by any means, but I like how DT is starting to stray away from the Petrucci solos then Rudess solos then Petrucci solos then Rudess solos formula. A lot of the instrumental sections of songs are starting to sound like heavier versions of I&W and Awake, which is awesome.

[Astennu]

I was pleasently surprised by this record. I'm about the most jaded DT fan there is and I really like this. I especially enjoy The Count of Tuscany, though the lyrics are a bit odd (I believe intentionally so though). No DT record will ever top Awake or Images and Words, but this one is surprisingly good.

[Vorph]

Heavier than I&W or Awake? You're on the crack, sir. I'll give you that there are moments where Petrucci and Portnoy (drums, not his godawful vocals) almost make me forget that this is a new album, but that's about it.

One thing I really liked was the intro to A Nightmare to Remember. At first I thought I'd downloaded a fake release (there's always a few with every DT album) because it sounded like the opener to a symphonic black metal album. Once I realized it actually was DT, it was pretty cool sounding. Course, it didn't last more than a couple minutes... can't say I really like the rest of that song much.

[darkseid]

Here's my short review: I like this album.

[AlexTheDictator]

Originally Posted by Vorph

Heavier than I&W or Awake? You're on the crack, sir. I'll give you that there are moments where Petrucci and Portnoy (drums, not his godawful vocals) almost make me forget that this is a new album, but that's about it.

Portnoy's drum style since Train of Thought has been so much heavier. There's a lot of double-bass and way more dirty riffs from Petrucci. I&W is a pretty pussy album (Surrounded, Another Day and Wait for Sleep make up almost half the album) compared to most of DT's newer stuff. I don't understand how there could possibly be any argument here. DT's sound has gotten far heavier since Rudess joined the band. I don't think I&W DT could ever have a song like Honor Thy Father. More progressive doesn't necessarily mean more heavy.