Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos Cd Review
Im a huge Dream Theater fan so I was pretty stoked to see they had another album already. Even though I enjoyed Octavarium and Train of Thought I was sick of hearing them. Luckily this newest album is overall a refreshing change. Yes they still have the same trademark sound but most songs seem a little fresher, a little bit heavier, little bit cooler and all the songs flow together perfectly. Probably my favorite album of theirs since Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory.
For those who dont know Dream Theater are the current kings of progressive metal ever since their stellar second album Images and Words back in 1992. Ever since then for the better or worse they have influenced dozens of other bands musically. Some other notable good progressive metal bands are Symphony X and to a lesser degree Falconer and Atx's Meyvn.
The album is lengthy with 8 tracks and clocks in around seventy eight minutes long. This album has it all, including awesome metal riffs(Forsaken,Constant Motion, The Dark Eternal Night) and solos (every song!)courtesy of John Petrucci, and kick ass bass lines from Myung. There are some very cool sound effects, noises and notes played on the keyboard by Rudess. It also has some of the best and varied vocals La Brie has done so far.
Track #5 Repentance is kinda weak but other than that I can find fault with the album. The heavy stuff and the toned down ballads all work perfectly. Several of the songs are out of character from whats usual from the band which is very refreshing. New sounds plus the same ol excellent jam sessions from Dream Theater make this a great album. If you like prog metal at all or looking to get into it then I highly recommend this album. Out of 10 I give it a skullfucktastic 9.3
Heres a video of one of their new heavy songs