New Release from Dream Theater

[kexodusc]

I've had a few days with this now. This is a much stronger album than Systematic Chaos. For the first time in several DT albums I enjoy every song. A lot. Behind the metal is terrific songrwiting and some catchy melodies that you can tap your feet to - I've found myself humming or air drumming to them.

They've found a very good balance between turning the metal up and maintaining that great ability to tell a story and convey a dynamic range of emotions in the music. Jordan Rudess is something else.

Haven't spent much time with the 2 other discs - but like MasterCylinder I think it's Portnoy and Petrucci's gig and they like Labrie. I don't mind him here, long gone is the over the top opera stuff - go back and listen to Awake or Images and listen to the last 3 or 4 albums - if any criticism should fall it's that there's more Dave Mustaine than Sebastian Bach in the vocals. Not for everyone, but personally I'm glad they don't have a typical metal singer that would make them sound like every other metal band, or the typical whiny British Radiohead knock-off vocalist some other groups have. Vocals are always a problem in this genre to me. So I give it a pass more often than not.