#43 - Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)Although this was the first Dream Theater album I ever owned, I never really gave it or the band a shot until I had heard
Scenes From A Memory. I ordered this through either BMG or Columbia House by accident and just stuck it on the shelf, not really giving it a second thought. I didn't really know what I had even though I had heard of the band. I eventually purchased
Scenes From A Memory and really liked that, so I decided I needed to give this album a shot as well. And it became one of the reasons Dream Theater went on to be one of my favorite bands.
This is a DT classic. I like both discs about equally although I preferred the first disc over the second disc initially. Disappear is really the only weak-ish song to me. And the ending of Misunderstood can get a little grating. Other than that, the rest of the songs are awesome. Some favorite moments include the build-up during the opening of "The Glass Prison" with the band exploding in just after one of those bell strikes; the laid back, atmospheric feel at the beginning of "Blind Faith" and James' great vocals throughout the song; the heaviness of the "Misunderstood" chorus; the gradual build underneath the clips, Petrucci's stoccato riffing during the verse, and the resolves during the pre-choruses in "The Great Debate"; the piano opening to "About to Crash" then the band exploding in (kind of similar to Glass Prison); the tenderness of "Goodnight Kiss" and transition into "Solitary Shell".
The album is full of great moments from each of the band members (as per usual) and a great mix of songs that are heavy, light, aggressive, and laid back.
"We've been waiting for you my friend
The writing's been on the wall
All it takes is a little faith
You know you're the same as us all"