[Music] Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

[antigoon]

Here's my short review of DT's latest. Don't go too hard on me, I'm a terrible writer and this is my first review


Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Dream Theater's tenth full-length studio album, is a worthy addition to any Dream Theater fan's collection...Well, almost. People looking for a reinvention of the Dream Theater sound won't find that here. What they will find is a very strong refinement of the modern Dream Theater sound. The album is full of memorable vocal melodies and harmonies (two things that were sorely lacking on Systematic Chaos), and although there are extended instrumental passages in nearly every song, they seem to fit and hold the listener's attention more so than the ones on the band's previous effort. However, while the music has drastically improved on Black Clouds & Silver Linings, the quality of the lyrics has resumed its steady decline. Entertaining at their best (the tongue-in-cheek The Count of Tuscany), and cringe worthy at their worst (Mike Portnoy's otherwise touching tribute to his father, The Best of Times), the lyrics detract from the otherwise very good songwriting far too often.

Individually, the main members of the band absolutely shine on this record. John Petrucci has written some of the best solos of his entire career for the songs The Best of Times and The Count of Tuscany, and Jordan Rudess, often criticized for his overplaying adds tasteful atmosphere and texture to every song. This isn't  to say this album is absent of the trappings of the modern Dream Theater instrumental section – it is full of them; but the band seems to have improved at making those instrumental sections more memorable and interesting this time around.

The centerpiece of the record is the near-twenty minute The Count of Tuscany. The song, recounting an experience John Petrucci had with a real-life count in Italy, is a three-part epic. The first section is a prelude of sorts, featuring a short guitar solo before taking off into Rush territory for a while. The song pauses for a split second until we are introduced in to the main thrash-inspired guitar riff that introduces the vocal melody of the second section of the song. Part two of The Count features a few infectiously catchy radio-friendly choruses and some very silly vocal lines before spiraling down into the final section of the song which starts off with a multi-minute ambient break featuring lush keyboards and volume pedal guitar work very reminiscent to the intro of Trial of Tears. After that, a lone acoustic guitar is heard playing the chords from the beginning of the song, when the vocals kick in again to start what is arguably to be the best three minutes of music the band has made in the last ten years. While vocalist James LaBrie falls flat in The Best of Times, his delivery in the finale of The Count is a truly majestic send-off.

The rest of the album is full of other gems, as well. A Nightmare to Remember is a 16-minute riff fest sure to satisfy the metal fans, with a soft interlude sandwiched in the middle of the song that may very well feature the best vocal part of the entire album. Wither, the album's trademark pop-oriented song, doesn't disappoint. The members of Dream Theater have always been able to write catchy hooks, and Wither's sing-along chorus and bridge showcase that skill. Rudess elevates the song to a whole new level in the instrumental break, and Petrucci's Brian May-esque solo is a short, but tasty transition to the final chorus. The final step in Mike Portnoy's "Twelve Step Saga" (A collection of songs detailing the twelve steps of recovery), The Shattered Fortress, doesn't disappoint. Essentially it is a skillful mash-up of Dream Theater's previous "twelve step" songs which avoids sounding clumsy, forced, or trite. One shining moment in particular is a section that features a combination of three very popular past Dream Theater riffs backing a very long, blazing keyboard solo that is sure to be a fists-in-the-air, headbanging moment at live shows.

Black Clouds & Silver Linings won't do much for Dream Theater fans who have become disenchanted with the band's current stylings. However, the music is sure to capture the hearts and minds of the Dream Theater faithful around the world, as the band appears in top form on this record aside from a few lyrical follies.


A-

[Perpetual Change]

I agree and disagree with some of this, as you can tell from reading my review. I'm mainly surprised at your thoughts on "The Best of Times." I think it's interesting you find the lyrics to be cringeworthy. Also, I think some of the disenchanted fans will be made believers again by this. It's a genuinely good album. Or at least KevShmev thinks so, which I honestly wasn't expecting

Anyway, I think that the lyrics are definitely a step up from the last album, but otherwise we seem to pretty much agree. And, you're not that bad of a writer! One thing I'd do is add a little bit more introduction. This album sounds like it was written for people at DTF rather than for a broader audience who might not necessarily know much about DT. Of course, that's fine since this IS DTF, but if you plan on putting the review elsewhere I'd make those little changes.

Otherwise, good review!

[antigoon]

Thanks for the kind words! I've always had problems with starting and ending pieces of writing and it's something I definitely need to work on.

[j]

Reading this, I have no idea why you would think you're a "terrible writer".  Don't be discouraged by the pseudo-intellectuals who try to showcase their vocabularies by cramming extra wordiness into everything they write; people can see right through that.  Great review! 

I agree with nearly everything you said, including your qualms with the lyrics.  It seems pretty clear to me that the lyrics of The Count of Tuscany weren't intended to be entirely serious, even if they were based on a true event.  That said, there still seems to be something a bit "off" about them.  As for The Best of Times, I suppose the lyrics are at least sincere and honest, but there are a few moments that really bug me for various reasons.  I wonder if Portnoy had let the event of his father's death "set in" for a while, how his lyrics for a song like this might have differed.  I really like the music of the song, so it's almost a little disappointing that it's sub-par lyrically.  *shrug*

But I agree with Perpetual Change about this album's ability to potentially "bring back" old fans.  Despite not straying too far from "modern-DT", they *do* try some new things on this record, as well as some things that they haven't done in 5 or 6 albums.

Anyway, I'm clearly too lazy to write a review myself, so this is about as close as I will come.     Your review is accurate and well-written.

-J

[AcidLameLTE]

Reading this, I have no idea why you would think you're a "terrible writer".  Don't be discouraged by the pseudo-intellectuals who try to showcase their vocabularies by cramming extra wordiness into everything they write; people can see right through that. 

*cough*AndyDT*cough**

Good review

[Nick]

Sticky threads are there for a reason. *cough*

[OsMosis2259]

pretty good review but i disagree with James sounding flat on The Best of Times. i think he sounds really good especially in the first half

[BlobVanDam]

A nice review, although two things I disagree with
"Black Clouds & Silver Linings won't do much for Dream Theater fans who have become disenchanted with the band's current stylings."
I think a lot of people have realized that DT are still capable of writing great music with this. Not everyone loves it, but most people think it's a huge step over SC.
And also, you said it's still full of the "trapping" of instrumental sections, when they've obviously made a huge attempt to break that up. Yes, ANTR and AROP definitely follow that, but Wither only has a short tasteful guitar solo, TBOT doesn't have any big instrumental sections other than an outro solo, TCOT has a lot of instrumental sections, but the only actual solo is the guitar at the end with the rest being as tasteful as anything from IaW, and TSF does have a long keyboard solo and guitar solo, but they're at least broken up rather than following any pre-conceived formula.
Anyway, just my opinions. It was a good review