Dream Theater- Octavarium
Members: James LaBrie(Vocals) John Myung(Bass) John Petrucci(Guitar) Jordan Rudess(Keyboard) Mike Portnoy(Drums)
Label: Atlantic/WEA
This is my first review, and I would apreeciate feedback and suggestions.
1) "THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL" 4.5/5 8:07
This was a good intro for the album. Listen to the drums in the intro, and you will notice a familiar rhythm, used in "This Dying Soul" from the album Train of Thought. There is also a lyrical similarity as well. This is a heavy song, and contains a decent chorus as well. Also, it isn't very repetitive either. It contains a crazy keyboard solo as well. The keyboard solos are really stressed on this album; Petrucci and Portnoy were sort of laid back.
2) "THE ANSWER LIES WITHIN" 2.5/5 5:26
This was a "LaBrie" song, and I normally dislike his vocals. However, he did a very decent job on this song, and on the rest of the album as well. This really isn't my type of song, but I guess it was nice and calm musically. There weren't a whole lot of lyrics, but they okay.
3) "THESE WALLS" 4/5 6:59
This was one of my favorite songs on the album. Great intro and chorus, with a light verse. Portnoy does do a neat little groove on the verse. There is also a little solo from Petrucci, but nothing spectacular. The song is a little repetitive, but this isn't a song you want to overlook.
4) "I WALK BESIDE YOU" 2/5 4:29
This is another calm, light song. It is more focused on the lyrics in my opinion. It gets repetitive, and I don't think it sounds like Dream Theater. I didn't recognize any amazing drum/guitar parts either.
5) "PANIC ATTACK" 3.5/5 7:16
Starts out with a powerful intro. It has a very interesting rhythm, and is a pretty heavy song. The drum parts are pretty well done, with some cool fills. The song is rather repetitive, but this doesn't really bother me, because the main riff is a little catchy in my opinion. It contains guitar and keyboard solos, and they even get going what sounds like a "dual" solo.
6) "NEVER ENOUGH" 2.5/5 6:33
Again, this just doesn't sound like Dream Theater. It is a somewhat heavy song, and I enjoyed the drum beats performed by Portnoy on this one. I thought the chorus was a little weak though. It also contains another keyboard solo. All of the keyboard solos are using a differet effect than used in the past; a new sound for Rudess, and I think they do another "dual" solo. Then there is a little bridge after the solos, and then back to the chorus. It was a cool heavy riff, like Panic Attack, but not the best song on the album.
7) "SACRIFICED SONS" 2/5 10:42
There are a lot of voices in the beginning, and we hear various new reports about terrorist attacks. It is a soft, melodic song, about all the terror in the world, and the lives lost because of it. The lyrics are okay, and they get the message across. It starts to pick up after about four minutes, and we get another keyboard and another guitar solo. Listen to the lyrics, but the song itself is very mediocre. i was a little bored with it myself. It has a long instrumental gap with a few good parts in it, but this one isn't a highlight.
8) "OCTAVRIUM" 3/5 24:00
There is long intro which seems to be a bit overdone. I guess had trouble understanding the lyrics in this entire song. The lyrics seemed very complex to me. There are some cool interesting drum grooves throughout, and I will probably listen to this one evry now and then. Octavrium is basically five songs put together, connected lyrically in some way. You will have to read the lyrics on your own for this one. I give D.T. a lot of credit for putting together another epic like ths. Two stars for the lyrics, and one star for the song itself.
Verdict: If you are a big Dream Theater fan, you will want to have this in your collection. If you are a PROGRESSIVE fan, you might want to skip this one, because it is a little more mainstream. If you a trying to get into D.T., start with something else. Most metal heads should skip this one too.
