Here's my impression of how the album has been reviewed by listener base:
- Press: Very good reception in general, above average compared to most Dream Theater albums
- Hardcore fans: Very good reception, only time will tell if the strong reception holds
- Fans of the genre: Good reception, based on Prog Archives
- Non-fans: Mixed reception, based on AllMusic, Amazon, and Rate Your Music
Obviously this is far from scientific and I probably got something completely wrong, but for what it's worth, that's my speculation.