16. Illumination TheoryUntil you struggle through the dark
You’ll never know that you’re aliveImages:The newest epic doesn’t reach the stature of most of the classics and is the tiniest bit disjointed, but it’s still an excellent song with some really brilliant technicality and melodies.
I. Paradoxe de la Lumiére Noire:
The beginning of this song is just massive, with that huge symphonic melody and great playing by the band under it.
II. Live, Die, Kill:
Then, we have this excellent opening instrumental section with some great riffing by John and strong drumming by Mr. Mangini. Another one of those bits I like to mention a lot where the band just takes us through a lot of great musical themes, all of which are excellent and flow well together. Then there’s that riff. That gorgeous, catchy riff. James comes in and sounds pretty good, singing some really catchy vocal melodies. I love “hope can be a shadow fleeting… final act of faith.” And I love the little thing that Jordan plays right after the vocal part ends. The band carries us through some more fantastic music on their way to the end of the first part of the song.
III. The Embracing Circle:
This part is like nothing the band had ever done. On their twelfth studio album, so just contemplate that.
The ambient section is an interesting part, and while it’s not my favorite style, it’s really well done. The symphonic part is the best part of The Embracing Circle. It’s just such emotional center for the song. To me, it’s kind of a contemplative section, between the questions of Live, Die, Kill and the answers of The Pursuit of Truth and Surrender, Trust & Passion. And what’s more, it’s really beautiful. Really really beautiful.
IV. The Pursuit of Truth:
The bass and drum intro is heart stopping, but it’s not done yet. I didn’t think James LaBrie could impress me anymore. I thought he could perform brilliantly, yes, but not impress. He did with that bit. I simply didn’t know he could still sing like this. He does very well. And then the “Noble and brave” section is great, and then the instrumental section is just an excellent release of that classic Dream Theater craziness that we hadn’t seen much of on this album.
That moment, actually. 13:06. Oh my god. Out of that chaotic stuff, John… Oh my god, John brings this incredible guitar solo. Brilliant. And then the keyboard solo… Jordan is almost as good, and then there’s even more from both of them. Just an amazing DT instrumental section.
V. Surrender, Trust & Passion:
The return to a rather symphonic bit is well-timed after instrumental chaos. Mike carries this section forward well to James’s re-entrance, which is excellent. Then John plays an excellent guitar solo to bring it home. Way to end an epic by calling back but not duplicating Razor’s Edge.
But then it’s not over (I don’t care what anyone says, check the discography listed on the 360 app: Surrender, Trust & Passion is a 7:00 long movement and Illumination Theory is a 22:17 song; it’s official). The last bit gives a bit of serenity after the emotional roller coaster of the preceding 19 minutes, and oddly somewhat calls back Eve. John and Jordan are brilliant on this bit, I would pay large sums of money for an album of the two of them playing in this style.
Words:These aren’t John’s very best lyrics ever, but they do transmit an interesting message and maintain a loose storyline that fits the music of this… unusual song. And the words to Surrender, Trust & Passion are simply uplifting, no matter how cliched some may think they are.
15. Lines in the SandBaptized, enlightened, surrounded and frightened
And blind to the lines in the sandImages:What a gorgeous song. This begins with that truly excellent keyboard intro that is one of the things I love about Derek Sherinian’s performance on this album. Finally, John and Derek build us into that jazzy riff and we’re off to the races with brilliance. Then the little mini instrumental section before we finally get into the vocals. All just excellent. By the way, I’ll just say this: take a bow, Mr. Myung, for a seriously brilliant performance. The vocal melodies are really good here, too, and I like Doug Pinnick’s contributions on the chorus to give that more gospel-esque feel. The second verse section takes it up a notch and gets even better. This song is just so brilliant. And we’re only halfway through.
The middle section is another amazing bit with John’s excellent guitar solo. Not my very favorite of this type, but it stands its ground. The vocal section that follows is also quite good, though the high part is one of those parts on this album where the limitations that James had at this time show the tiniest bit. The instrumental section that follows this is a masterful build back to the last verse section, which is itself a masterful build.
But there’s something missing, at least in the studio version. I homaged it in my choice of lyrics to quote. That extra verse just pushes this song over the top and I miss it every time I hear the studio version (I don’t have CiM or Bucharest so the studio version is the only decent audio quality version I have). If Shirley hadn’t cut that one bit… This would be just perfect. I mean. “AND THE MYSTERIES WE NURTURE ARE THE FABRICS OF OUR LIVES… BAPTIZED, ENLIGHTENED.” But no. Still, this song is brilliant and you should love it, and if you don’t love it, I don’t like you (just kidding though).
Words:These are some of my favorite John Petrucci lyrics. I love his use of religious imagery throughout the song, particularly on the “sometimes…” verses. The words mesh so well with the music and the use of Doug Pinnick as a backing vocalist. It’s really a gorgeous combination.
14. Six Degrees of Inner TurbulenceA journey to find the answers inside
Our illusive mindImages:This song is perhaps the closest Dream Theater has come to a full-on classical composition (aside from the obvious two minutes in the middle of Illumination Theory). It has the orchestral Overture, obviously, but also just puts so heavy an emphasis on bringing in a number of truly brilliant melodies. This is a great 42 minute suite/song (I use them interchangeably for this composition though obviously there are some compositions that are just one and not the other, like ACOS or AMBI), plain and simple. It has a few excesses, with the major one being too many solo sections, but the number is actually surprisingly low for a song of this length. Another minor thing to note is that unlike something like Octavarium, it is very obvious that this song was written in chunks that were then added together (which is why I think it warrants the suite label). Not necessarily the worst thing in the world, just something to think about.
This is a beast so I’ll try to keep it as brief as possible, saying only a few favorite things about each section.
I. Overture:
This is one of the few sections that ever feels a little excessive, but I really don’t mind because all the parts of it are excellent.. Overture does well at introducing the many themes of this magnificent melodic suite, and sounds especially great when played by the real orchestra on
Score, though I do like that Jordan’s synth version on the album also features some playing by the rest of the band on certain sections.
II. About to Crash:
The piano intro to this section is gorgeous and James is stunning on the entire movement. I really love him on the entire song, actually, but this is a highlight. One of the poppy sections of this song that really sets it apart from the first disc, which is... incredibly not. I also like the use of backing vocals from time to time in this section. This is one of the movements on which the solo section feels perhaps a bit superfluous and messes maybe a bit with the pacing, but actually it’s quite good in spite of that.
III. War Inside My Head:
This movement is certainly a trend toward the metal side of the suite, but it’s still extraordinarily melodic. I love the way the intro introduces the melodies before diving into the verses. James brings the right edge of aggression to these verses and Mike is simply excellent trading off with him on the chorus. This one is the only section that feels like it’s over way too soon.
IV. The Test That Stumped Them All:
This is my second favorite intro of all the movements on this suite. I love the soloing at the beginning and then the way these tease for a quite a while before diving into that brilliant main riff. James is again excellent at bringing an aggressive edge to the singing. The chorus is… eccentric, with James getting in character, and Mike doing… honestly, I don’t know. But somehow it mostly fits with the tone of the song, since it is critical of outdated psychiatric practices. This movement is the other one with a solo section that, while good, maybe messes with the pacing sometimes for me.
V. Goodnight Kiss:
The transition into this from Test is the most noticeable one in the suite, obviously, but I still don’t think it is a bad one. I love how the song calms down at this point and then slowly builds back up to About to Crash and carries momentum there into the Grand Finale. On the topic of this actual section, James carries this bit and does so beautifully. I love the instrumentation particularly between the first half and second half of the lyrics. Then there’s the guitar solo, which has to be top 10 for John Petrucci. Just gorgeous and making me rethink my placement of SDOIT in my album rankings (but… TGD, Misunderstood ending, Disappear… nope, it’s staying there right behind the great
Falling Into Infinity ).
VI. Solitary Shell:
Another rather poppy section. The chorus is very catchy and almost anthemic, which is odd to say about a chorus about autism. Some great acoustic guitar playing by John and I really also love Jordan’s keyboards on this one.
VII. About to Crash (Reprise):
The entrance of this section is simply epic. The way they come out of Solitary into that infectious guitar riff, and then Jordan jumps on the keyboard section… I also like how they tease out of the main verse and then come back to it before James soars amazingly in. Seriously, he and Jordan share the MVP award for this suite. This movement also possess my favorite solo section aside from Goodnight Kiss. In fact, if I had to pick a favorite movement, it might well be this one.
VIII. Losing Time/Grand Finale:
This is just an EPIC ending to the suite. First of all, the Losing Time bit is simply gorgeous. James sings his heart out and persists in being perfect (gushing time again!) and so damn emotional. I love him. And then it goes seamlessly into the Grand Finale, on which James continues to shine and shine and shine. Those vocal melodies are SO GOOD oh my god (I just can’t stop gushing, I’m writing this one first so maybe this mood will carry over to my other writeups). And then… “Our illuuuuuuusiiiiiiive miiiind…” that drum fill and then that note. And that note and that note and then dum dum dum dum dum dum TAKE ME AS I AM. Okay done gushing, I’ll actually give some serious thoughts on the whole thing:
This is just such a good epic filled with some brilliant melodies. I’m second guessing this placement a little, but I do really love all the other songs above it just as much or more. This one does fluctuate for me a little, too, which justifies the placement. There are just days when it’s too much, too ambitious.
To continue to fan the flames a bit: I do wish that they’d used the songwriting style/philosophy they used on this on the rest of the album. It could have been one of their best albums if everything was like this, instead of probably their worst.
Words:The lyrics in this song, despite covering a variety of subjects and coming from two different lyricists, are actually really good all the way through. To someone more pedantic than myself, it might be bothersome that they alternate seemingly at random between first person and omniscient third person perspectives, but I think John just went with what seemed to be the best for the particularly topic he was discussion (and Mike always did first person). I like, actually, how the reprise of About to Crash makes it more personal. Anyway, all of the lyrics are riveting descriptions of the disorders they cover, though I think John outperformed Mike by a hair on this song. I really love the way John brings everything together at the end, explaining the purpose of the subject matter and emphasizing an important message. Not to mention the fact that that section is amazingly well-phrased.
13. Space-Dye VestAnd I’ll smile and I’ll learn to pretend
And I’ll never be open againImages:This song is just beautiful. Haunting. Sad. But beautiful all the same.
Kevin Moore’s piano intro is beautiful. Then, he pushes into the main melody with sampled audio effects to provide an entire soundscape of… well, despair. James and Kevin sing together throughout this track, their voices blending to provide the appropriate emotion of extreme and despairing numbness. The use of samples perfectly punctuates the piano sections between verses. The piano buildup at the end of the “He’s the sort who can’t understand…” sample into the guitar entrance is one of those brilliant sections. The piano breakdown is also gorgeous, with the “You’re not in this house by 9:00” sample playing behind it.
Then, the vocal section that follows is so incredibly powerful. “Never come near me again—do you really think I need you… I’ll never be open…” Chills. Such powerful chills. Then the full band moment where the final singing carries the desperate mood all the way to the end of the song. The drum fill is a moment of emotional height, but Kevin then emphasizes the numbness with the piano at the very end. So haunting.
This isn’t one of those songs that you listen everyday and get all peppy about. This is one of those songs that you listen to on repeat at 2AM after a breakup. It’s so beautiful, though, one of the most beautiful compositions DT ever released. And I never get tired of it. Thank you, Kevin.
Words:The lyrics are simply brilliant. Of course, they are, it’s Kevin Moore. Still. Kevin brings in this odd psychological phenomenon and then turns it into the most depressing, heart-wrenching breakup song ever. “Never come near me again—do you really think I need you?” Gorgeous. Again, thank you, Kevin.
Album 11. Falling Into InfinityThis album is one that just strikes me as very inconsistent, with a lot of variety between really good stuff and stuff that is rather poor. New Millennium has good parts but fails to excite me as a whole, mostly because I really don’t like a lot of the vocal melodies (Mike Portnoy’s inexperience in that department really shows on this track). You Not Me is an improvement in the vocal melodies department but it’s still not that great a song and is probably weaker than New Millennium overall (NM has parts I actually really like though the whole falls short, while YNM is mediocre all around). Unlike many, I don’t like Peruvian Skies all too much either. It’s an improvement over the first two, but it’s probably in my bottom 20. It just doesn’t really bring anything that especially interests me to the table. So the first 20 or so minutes of the album is all stuff that I don’t really like all too much.
The album does finally get good once Hollow Years begins. This song is a seriously great ballad and is an example of the commercial approach done right. Burning My Soul is not as strong but still good. Hell’s Kitchen is not as good as people say but continues the string of solid music and delivers us to Lines in the Sand, which is an amazing epic and one of the two highlights of the album.
Then it sours again. Take Away My Pain is not bad, but this arrangement is kind of weird and detracts from the emotional quality of the song; it’s not what it could have been. Just Let Me Breathe is kind of just there, which isn’t a quality I look for in a Dream Theater song. Anna Lee is the same way. Luckily, the album finishes on a very strong note with Trial of Tears.
So, the issue for me is that the album starts with 20 minutes I don’t especially love, then does a little over 25 minutes I enjoy, then returns for 15 more weak minutes and 13 more good minutes. So the album is almost half material that I consider among the weakest in the band’s catalog much of which I don’t particularly care to listen to. The good stuff on the album is seriously good, especially Lines, Trial and Hollow Years, but the weak points are really weak. And there’s a lot of songs that are just “there,” which as I said is a problem for DT.
I’m not going to rush to assign blame to anyone, I just think this album is pretty weak. Replacing NM and YNM with Raise the Knife would certainly have helped, and would have made the mediocre TAMP/JLMB/AL swing be a lot more forgivable, but it wouldn’t raise it too much higher on my list. There’s just a really high standard when it comes to DT and this album has too much material that just doesn’t make the cut.
Why does it edge out SDOIT? Well, each album has three stellar songs and then a lot of material that doesn’t do a lot for me. FII’s #3 beats out SDOIT’s #3 and so on, which is part of why it comes out ahead. The other part is that FII does bring a lot of that catchy stuff that I enjoy a lot and blasted SDOIT for excluding. Even the songs that are on the mediocre side and are just “there” at least have a catchy chorus (JLMB, YNM), which means that FII is a lot more fun than SDOIT as an album to put on in the background, even though I’m unlikely to actually do so. It’s close but FII does win it.