Review Summary: 'Haphazard Mess' would be more apt.
Dream Theater didn’t need to release a mediocre album to commemorate
Falling Into Infinity’s 10 year anniversary. A re-recording of the 1997 commercial/critical failure would’ve probably been a superior offering. Alas, fan wishes and band goals don’t always align, and we’re left with
Systematic Chaos, an album displaying the band at their sloppiest.
Things don’t start off so bad; “In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1” is a very enticing opener, featuring the best qualities of the album in a nine minute track.
Systematic Chaos was Dream Theater’s first outing with Roadrunner, the result being a smooth sounding album. Unless Petrucci and company wanted the guitar parts to sound distorted, there’d be no interference from limited production values. Also welcome are the lyrics, which the band clearly spent more time thinking and writing than those on
Octavarium. Though no one will ever compare Dream Theater to Walt Whitman, the distinction between “The Answer Lies Within” and “The Ministry of Lost Souls” definitely extends beyond sound and runtime.
Otherwise,
Systematic Chaos couldn’t be any more inconsistent than it already is. The second and third tracks have drawn a significant amount of ill words from casual and hardcore fans. I’m not among them. “Forsaken” has a nice piano melody to pull us in, with the unfolding song turning into a routine but still enjoyable piece. On the heavier side is “Constant Motion,” which feels like an attempt at “Panic Attack Pt. 2,” albeit with a less elevated tempo. If there’s one thing the song has over “Panic Attack,” it’s that the main riff is more notable, but the constant presence of Mike Portnoy’s vocals cuts that edge off. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only song Dream Theater’s drummer couldn’t resist splashing his unwelcome chords over.
Speaking personally,
Systematic Chaos has the distinct dishonor of playing host to the only Dream Theater song I hate: “The Dark Eternal Night.” Even more than “Repentance,” it’s this offensive number that makes listening to the album from start to finish especially difficult. Rather than sounding the least bit like Dream Theater, “The Dark Eternal Night” comes off like a Slipknot song injected with the sole purpose of being a cruel joke. It’s that baffling.
Once those nine minutes of torture are over,
Systematic Chaos continues to meander through the end, though most notably during the prolonged “Repentance” and conventional, uninspired “Prophets of War.” Closers “The Ministry of Lost Souls” and “In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 2” are both guilty of letting their final minutes go to waste, turning them into a pair of tragic, would-be classics. While the former has an initially held-back vibe, the band keep going and loosening their grip, turning indulgence into overindulgence. The same happens during the final six minutes of “In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 2,” which attempts to create a decidedly chaotic vibe before letting the song come full circle. Instead, it just makes the listener want to cut the song down to ten minutes and be spared the technical disorientation.
Systematic Chaos is an album that, if nothing else, puts other Dream Theater works into perspective. The benefit of improved lyrics and production makes the cheesy, embarrassing points on
Octavarium even clearer. Otherwise, this album makes you realize how much more command and direction there was on its predecessors--with one or two exceptions.
Systematic Chaos lives up to the chaotic part of its title, and you’ll wish it took the other word more literally because of it.
