This is the fourth album from the progressive metal titans, and it just so happens to be my favourite. It has the right balance between crunch, melody, and instrumental interplay with great production from Kevin Shirley. Think of this as their Dark Side Of The Moon, or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, as it’s when the band became of age and anything was possible for them after this album. I know there were a lot of tensions within the band, and certain members were reliant on certain liquids and substances to get them through the day. There were also rumours that La Brie maybe not be around for long. This was also the only album to feature Derek Sherinian, which was a crime as I think he was a lot more inventive and off the wall compared to Jordan Rudess, who is an amazing classically trained keyboard whizz, but he’s not very spur of the moment which I love.
There are some absolute epic tracks on this record and New Millennium is one of them and it opens up the record. There is a great middle section with a heavy riff and groove that will melt your face. There were three singles that were released from the record: Burning My Soul, You Not Me (which has Desmond Child as a co-writer), and Hollow Years which was the one that had most success, but was not what the band was all about and give a somewhat false impression to those that had not heard them before. Lines In The Sand is one of the most iconic songs the band have ever recorded and is still a live staple today. Petrucci’s solo is incredible with so much feel and passion it sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. The intro to the song Hells Kitchen is what Sherinian is all about with the creative and inventive side of his playing. Now we get to see him and Portnoy in Sons Of Apollo doing the harder edged stuff which DT seem to have forgotten how to play.
Burning My Soul is another classic DT monster track with a super heavy main riff, killer instrumentation, and keys from DS. Just Let Me Breathe again is a killer track with the right balance between melody and heavy. The album closes with Trail Of Tears, a huge track that is in 3 parts and gives the listener the full on Dream Theater experience. I know the record company wanted hits from the band, and in my opinion they delivered a near perfect album. It’s just that Atlantic did not know how to market them as Pull Me Under would become a heavy weight round their necks. As I said, I love this album and would definitely recommend it to anyone.
10/10 from The Grooveman.
