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Review Summary: Plenty of theater, not enough dream. Dream Theater has been around for a long time, and it is starting to show. Their interestingly self-titled twelfth album, while throwing a few surprises, still sounds like the music they have been making throughout their career.
Thematically, the album centers around typical the Dream Theater fare of dreaming/nightmares, spirituality, mental illness, abuse and enlightenment. The band does a good job of painting pictures with their lyrics, even if cheesy at times. However, it is hard not to feel it was a bit forced. The band combined the various sounds throughout their career, even ones from the 90s, but the songs still lack that mystique and reflection found on earlier albums, a la Image and Words and Awake Instead, each track plays out like scenes of a movie.
In interviews circulating the internet, the band stated this was their intention, and the reasoning for the self-title. Dream Theater wants this album to be a cinematic experience as well as a “starting point” for new fans to get into their music. While this was a good career move, especially now that the band keeps the Grammys in their sights, new/potential fans are better off starting with their earlier albums when the band was still at a creative high.
That is not to say it is a bad album. While the sound and themes are the usual, the band have managed to craft real songs rather than musical tangents of 5-minute soloing. The mix of heavy chugging to soft melody keeps the album diverse, reminiscent of Falling Into Infinity. Dream Theater really shines on the epic closing track “Illumination Theory” with the inclusion of a full orchestra and heartfelt piano coda played by Jordan Rudess.
In closing, Dream Theater is more about the experience than the feeling of being in a dream. While it does allow the listener to use their imagination, the sound is becoming stale and the themes are recycled. Depending on what kind of fan you are of this band, that could be either a good or bad thing; maybe you like the consistency of their style, or maybe it’s “old hat” and you want something fresh and original. If you’re in the latter camp, this album is not for you.
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Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
This is my first album review in a long time. I am so rusty...
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I'm having a hard time coming up with things to say about this review, so I'll let someone else do the hinting instead.
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I'm having a hard time coming up with things to say about this review, so I'll let someone else do the hinting instead.
edit: Browser's sloppy today.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
It's got ideas, but it doesn't expand on them. Sound about right?
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"the band have managed to craft real songs rather than musical tangents of 5-minute soloing."
um did you listen to enigma machine?
you seem to be pretty critical for a 3.5 but idk this is an ok review
album kinda sucks
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Illumination Theory is the reason of the 3,5, without that track this will be a 2,5 or 3
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
@tempest, Enigma Machine is an instrumental though.
Perhaps it is a bit critical. I didn't want my personal opinion of it to make it sound biased so I was a little harder.
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i don't know if you know this but instrumental songs are still songs js
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No vocals = no song
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
The review is not bad enough for a neg, nor is it good enough for a pos... I'M IN LIMBO, PEOPLE, WHAT DO I DO
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Oh yeah, just don't vote. Yeah, that's about right
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correct rating
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Illuminaton Theory is a classic. Other than that this album can eat shit and die
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the summary is worth a neg
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I feel you deserve a couple of pointers, especially considering the fluctuation of the site's user-base in terms of offering help to reviewers. Here goes...
Plenty of theater, not enough dream.
Puns, like cursing are a fucking art form. You need to choose when and where. This is a bit too cheese-y for a hardened viewership of review reading teens.
Dream Theater has been around for a long time, and it is starting to show. Their interestingly self-titled twelfth album, while throwing a few surprises, still sounds like the music they have been making throughout their career.
How long have they been around? Specify to back your points up. Has it been a year, twenty, or sixty?
Why is having a self-titled album interesting? This can go...
while throwing a few surprises, still sounds like the music they have been making throughout their career.
Two different opinions in one sentence that contradict each other without an explanation. Please explain.
Thematically, the album centers around typical the Dream Theater fare of dreaming/nightmares, spirituality, mental illness, abuse and enlightenment.
Provide the where to better convey your opinions. It's not enough to say something without backing yourself up. Give your readers something more.
________________________________________________More on the next post
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
The band combined the various sounds throughout their career, even ones from the 90s,
Funny how bands will play music that sounds like, well, themselves. Tie it in with your review's thesis.
but the songs still lack that mystique and reflection found on earlier albums, a la Image and Words and Awake Instead
Sentence needs a full-stop before "Instead".
each track plays out like scenes of a movie.
Each* should be *where, not to mention this whole sentence needs a "how".
In interviews circulating the internet, the band stated this was their intention, and the reasoning for the self-title.
Wait, what's the intention?
While this was a good career move, especially now that the band keeps the Grammys in their sights, new/potential fans are better off starting with their earlier albums when the band was still at a creative high.
, especially now that the band keeps the Grammys in their sights,
Should be bracketed, but it's not relevant to the topic. Remove.
That is not to say it is a bad album.
Where is bad mentioned. You broke a new paragraph, where is your reference point?
_______________________________________More on next post.
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They should just break up DT and reform Liquid Tension Experiment.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
5-minute soloing.
It's not really hard to type "five"....
The mix of heavy chugging to soft melody keeps the album diverse, reminiscent of Falling Into Infinity.
Familiarity with the reader is a double-edged blade. Half your readers will understand, the other half won't have a clue what you're actually talking about.
Dream Theater is more about the experience than the feeling of being in a dream.
More half-assed wordplay?
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
ok album
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
average at best
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