DREAM THEATER : BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS
Roadrunner
I can genuinely say I have followed Dream Theater since their early days, being one of the original crowd who saw them at both the Marquee club in London, and also at JB’s in Dudley during their first ever UK tour. I have followed them with great interest (but NOT blinded fanaticism – unlike some) to this very day. I do buy each new album as they come, and see them as often as I can once they hit the UK, but somewhere… somewhere their glistening magic lost its hold over me. Funnily enough, I’m not sure it wasn’t keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess who (for me anyway) took them to rather too clinical yet conversely proggy vistas… Am I therefore the only one who misses Kevin Moore or Derek Sherinian? Yes (looks suitably sheepish), it does seem that… (I guess)… maybe I truly am. Hey-ho… the last of the independents me!
So, I’m only mildly interested in this brand new studio magnum opus then? Er… that would be a “no”! I actually think it’s rather splendid. I wish I knew why I find it more interesting than the last couple of studio outings? I’ve only had it a day so far, so maybe more listens will loosen my tongue a little? Well, for a start this is a long and extremely eclectic six song recording, it genuinely does cover a myriad of sounds, styles, and yes, genres too! In places it is VERY metal, in others distinctly retro-prog, and then again can shape shift from jazzy inflections through to heartfelt arena rock/power ballad heart on sleeve emotion. What’s most frustrating is how effortlessly and organically they fuse all the ingredients so seamlessly effortlessly. Gits!
As ever, most songs are absolute sprawling epics, four of the six are between ten to TWENTY minutes in length, and only ONE is actually UNDER eight minutes! You could get something like 30-32 Ramones songs or 50-55 early Napalm Death songs for the same duration as the six numbers found here! Totally irrelevant information I know – but good metal pub-quiz stuff anyway! (Oh you sad anorak! – distressed Ed). The central Petrucci/Portnoy axis is still as vital and monstrous as ever, Jon is still arguably (well to many fans actually) the best guitarist in the world, and Portnoy is surely Neil Peart’s natural successor. Mike truly is like (as Del Boy once said) like “Squiddley-Diddley” behind his immense kit. John Myung is alongside Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, and Norman Watt Roy, simply nearly in a league of his own, I have no idea how many strings his current bass has, but his playing is dazzling in its liquid fluidity and driving ‘bottom end’.
Which of course leaves that voice – James laBrie, who breathes his mellifluous magic atop the rich musical tapestry underneath. He has become so important to this band, I know he is no lyricist, but it is genuinely impossible to imagine anyone else singing for DT, its something about his strangely husky tone, or something I can’t put my (metaphorical) finger on, but he is amazing whichever way you choose to look at it. In summation, yes its convoluted, yes its very pretentious, yes it’s totally sonically hedonistic, BUT… you cannot overlook or underestimate the sheer overall quality (in every way) of this majestic release. This truly is a remarkable and major release: put simply – DT have done it YET AGAIN! Who said punk killed prog?
83/100
SATANIC MUTTLEY
(Shame they can’t spell theatre after all these years – Bitchy Ed)
