Black Clouds and Silver Linings - Dream Theater (2009)

And after a brief break from posting I have returned with a proper post rather than another tantrum.

Some of you may remember a post on last October about news of Dream Theater working on a new album. The highly anticipated album, which is their second record with Roadrunner, was released on June 23 and debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200. It consists of 6 songs, 5 of which are based on actual experiences of difficulties and life-threatening events of the lyricists; drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci. As the album’s name suggests, all these seemingly hopeless and near-fatal incidents (the “Black Clouds”) mentioned in the songs are followed by hope and relief (the“Silver Linings”).

1."A Nightmare to Remember" 16:10

When I first put this album opener on, I almost couldn’t believe what I was listening to was a Dream Theater album. Because as soon as the main theme came roaring out, the combination of organ and choir sound produced by the keyboard gave a very EPIC sound, similar to that of the band Nightwish. The song is about John Petrucci’s experience of surviving a near fatal car crash during his childhood. Starting from 4:57, the song slows down to a dreamy mood and goes into telling the story at the ER where Petrucci is given painkillers. Somewhere in this part, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the vitals monitor beeping with the beat - I just love details like this. The song is overall very sick and rockin’ until 11:19, where Mike Portnoy goes into a chant that is reminiscent of 90’s pop rap which was a bit too much for me.

2."A Rite of Passage" 8:35

As the only song in the album that is not based on the members personal experiences, it delves into a theme of freemasonry. The video edited version of this song was released couple of months ahead of the actual album’s release. Quite frankly, it left with me with a concern that the rest of the album might be of around this song’s standard because I believed that the song lacked depth, fluidity and there was nothing special about it. Fortunately, contrary to my first impression, the rest of the album was great.

3."Wither" 5:25

I can’t comment a lot about this song as I have only listened to it twice, but I don’t recall it was as memorable as the other tracks on the album. The lyrics deal with John Petrucci’s fear of writer’s block. I personally interpreted this could be a hint that maybe Petrucci is starting to run out of ideas to write about.

4."The Shattered Fortress” 12:49

X. "Restraint"

XI. "Receive"

XII. "Responsible"

The long awaited final part of the Alcoholic Anonymous Twelve Step Suite is here! The tunes from previous chapters of the saga are reprised for the most part of the song and concluded with newly introduced theme. Equipped with epic solos and genuine, heavy riffs, I declare this song as the best in this album and a worthy finish to the suite. I still get chills every time I listen to this.

5."The Best of Times" 13:07

This particular song by Portnoy is a tribute to his father who died of cancer during the making of this album. The song had a feeling of looking back at the good times compared to a rather depressed and dejected atmosphere depicted in A Change of Seasons (1995), which was inspired by the death of his mother.

6."The Count of Tuscany" 19:16

For the past month, this song has my absolute favourite. A classic Dream Theater epic from start to finish, it talks about an actual encounter John Petrucci had in Tuscany several years ago. Apparently, the brother of the aforementioned Count was the original inspiration for the character of Hannibal Lector and the song talks about Petrucci fearing for his life during his stay in the Count’s estate. There are several golden moments in this song, but out of them all, the chorus is just fucking amazing in this song. I just can’t get enough of the layered vocal harmonies – the kind of stuff queen used to do a lot. I’m actually listening to that part of the song as I write this review. Best. Shit. Ever.

In times like these where dumb crackwhores like Lady Gaga are allowed to roam the stage, DT’s musical brilliance shines more than ever. However, it does come with their one recurring weakness. Lyrics. There were discussions about the extent of straightforwardness in the words and the ambiguity that metaphors provide. In particular, someone compared the lyrics to The Count of Tuscany to a Scooby-doo plot. But really, this is just a matter purely of personal taste. There are plenty of big-name bands out there that put out songs that are not even worth criticising. If you ask me, this is another solid album and the most diverse and exploratory work by DT in almost a decade.