Now that I’ve listened to the album in full a few times, I feel comfortable sharing my thoughts on it, track by track.
-Untethered Angel is one of the band’s best lead singles, up there with Pull Me Under, Home, and As I Am. Also a solid album opener.
-Paralyzed is to this album what Build Me Up, Break Me Down was supposed to be to ADToE. The riffs on this song just scream out of the speakers. Special mention to John Petrucci’s solo on this one, which hasn’t been discussed much on these forums in the early stages of this album’s release. Tasteful and serves the song perfectly.
-Fall Into the Light is, IMO, the weakest of the three singles, but it’s still great. That opening riffs screams Metallica, and it had me headbanging from the moment I first heard it. The middle section sounds tremendous, and really highlights now much better the production on this album is this time around.
Side note, I kind of wish Dream Theater didn’t release the first three tracks as the promo singles, as for a lot of us, that means we already heard the first 20 minutes of the album before it was even released. Kind of nitpicky, but it would have been nice to not have to wait until track four to hear something new. Ah well, I guess that’s what I get for listening to them in the first place.
-Barstool Warrior’s placement on the album is perfect. After the first three heavy tracks, having a more progressive rock style song to diversify the flow of the album was a smart choice. It helps that this song kicks total ass, while a unique subject matter gives this song its own place in the band’s discography.
-Room 137...I really wanted to love it. I was so excited to hear what Mangini would bring to the table lyrically, and while they aren’t terrible, they aren’t great either. I don’t think that Labrie’s voice suits the melody or style of the song either. The instrumentation is also kind of bland. Not a terrible song, but certainly the weakest link and only disappointment on an otherwise great album.
-S2N picks the album back up off of the ground with a grooving intro that reminds me a bit of Take the Time and Lines in the Sand. This song is the one that reminds me most of classic Dream Theater, and i have a blast listening to it every time. The keyboard solo over the heavy riff at the end reminds me of The Dark Eternal Night, and is the perfect way to end this epic song. To quote Owen Wilson, “wow”.
-At Wit’s End has some of James’ finest lyrics. This is a difficult subject matter to write about, and he did it with grace, leading to some truly emotional moments. And then John Petrucci ends the song with one of the most beautiful guitar solos he has ever written. Easily one of the top three tracks on the album.
-Out of Reach’s placement on this record is predictable as the ballad before the bombastic album closer (standard edition anyway but we’ll get to that), but hey if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The album needed a second to breathe after AWE, and OoR has some amazing moments in its short runtime. The guitar solo with its feedback is awesome, and the ending is beautiful. Maybe not a song that I’ll come back to often outside of the album, but not one I would ever skip.
-Pale Blue Dot.
I actually might be in love. There’s so much to say about this song. The ambient intro. The epic instrumentation. The intelligent lyrics. This song is Dream Theater at their very best. Upon the first listen of this album, this is the song that immediately grabbed my attention and it’s had it ever since. This may end up working its way into my top 10. It’s that good. Oh and this may also be Mangini’s best drum performance on an album since he joined the band. What a song.
-Viper King is easily the biggest surprise of the album. As a bonus track, I didn’t expect much, but it’s such a fun song to listen to. It doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the album which is why I guess they made it a bonus track, but I have a smile on my face for the duration of the song every time I listen to it.
In my opinion, Distance Over Time is Dream Theater’s best album since Octavarium, and I fully expect to have it in my album rotation for a very long time. 8.5/10.
Topic: Official Distance Over Time discussion thread (Read 189430 times)
