The album's mastering is pretty hot and therefore a bit tiring after a few tracks, but hell yes am I enjoying DT having punishing production again. The album's riffs smack like a bulldozer, and it's not a bad look for DT. JP's on point, in his solos giving off quite a few callbacks to classic 90's era DT. Some ToT vibes in the instrumental sections, love the JP soloing over just pure JR piano and airtight bass from JMX. And JLB: While quite a few vocal touch ups can be noticed, and the effects are possibly applied a tad more than absolutely neccesary (it really detracts from the experience IMO), his personality definitely shines through, with a performance he can be very proud of.
At Wit's End is my favorite track to return to it seems, mostly in part of the dramatic opening part with the chugging JP arpeggio and JR's mournful piano chords. That shit instantly transports me back to ToT, tonally reminiscent of In The Name of God. The 'Something's missing' section later on is just spine-chilling to hear from DT after an album I did not gave a damn about. The way that the groove of that section came in after the piano & vocals section feels so great every time I'm hearing it. What a masterpiece of a track from DT at this stage in their careers.
Paralyzed I liked from the start and it's still not winding down. Instantly accessible melodies with an amazing groove to it and a premium guitar solo from JP. Dude, I'm not worthy.
Not a bad track on the album, even. I'll always miss Mike Portnoy on the drums, but this is the first DT album with Mike Mangini that I can honestly say I love. The musicality and TONE finally seem to match.
One final thing: Pale Blue Dot is a missed chance at being the 'Octavarium' of the album - hell, the ending JP solo definitely hints at that vibe - but it had to be freakin' longer.