Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
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Free Music Notes for Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Free Music Review: Still at their peak
Hit: 5 Stars
When Scenes from A memory was released, I reviewed it and said it was their best album to date, which I believed right up to the release of this album. Now I'm torn between the two albums - I'd have to make it a tie. But, they are very different albums. It's very obvious with each new release that they are gradually pushing the stylistic envelope a little further each time. Just enough to keep from getting boring but not too much, which would turn away too many fans. And they continue to push their chops and precision to the limit. Jordan Rudess is absolutely the perfect keyboard player for them - for my money, the best keyboard player I've ever seen - period. Of course I think John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums)and James LaBrie (vocals) are also the best at their respective instruments - but I won't belabor the point, I've said it many times before. Let's also clear up one other thing: JM's bass is not mixed too low at all - it's very audible. The reviewer who wrote that has a bad ear for that type of thing obviously.1. The Glass Prison - is one of my all-time favorite DT tracks for sure. I love that song. Can't get enough of it. The reviewer who said it seems shorter because it's so good was right on the money. It just doesn't seem like it's 13 1/2 minutes long. Heavy as hell - I love it. Also, this song contains something else - some lead vocals by Mike. It's just a few lines at a time, but he's improving greatly, I think especially because of his involvement in Transatlantic. This song is quite melodic for such a heavy song. The tempo changes are quite fun too. The guitar solo is killer.
2. Blind Faith - I really enjoy the lyrics to this one. I think that Petrucci and Portnoy (who write most of the lyrics) are brilliant lyricists but I really like it when James gets a shot - his lyrics seem less specific and leave more to the imagination. It makes a great change from their usual lyric style. The music is great too. Very melodic.
3. Misunderstood - this is also a great song - the mellow intro is absolutely beautiful. This song is not really what I would call an all out ballad. It starts somewhat that way, but builds to be quite heavy as well. And I love the outro. Something which I haven't noticed any reviewers to have mentioned is that the outro is very, very King Crimson-esque - which I guess relates back to LTE w/ Tony Levin. I love the manipulated pitch of the drums on that part. VERY cool. They've never done that. Also very cool and utterly bizarre guitar solo by John. Nice Experimentation.
4. The Great Debate - OK, I am not really a big fan of politically-tinged songs and it doesn't seem most prog fans really are - but the other reviewers are really missing a great song because they're hung up on that. Once again - more experimentation, it's a piece of the puzzle that makes them such a great band. I think they did a great job - the mixed in fragments of conversation are very well done and fit the concept of the song, while the ambient keyboard intro is beautiful. The bass is totally in your face as it enters (again - was the guy who said the bass was too low just totally deaf or listening on a tiny speaker???) - The riffs throughout this song are great and the song maintains the usual highly melodic nature of the majority of DT's stuff. My second favorite song on the album. Also, my other favorite killer guitar solo from the album (the other being on The Glass Prison). By the way, the lyric is Are they JUSTIFIED (NOT satisfied)... And I don't believe they are taking a position - they are illuatrating the debate and letting the listener draw his/her own conclusion. But it shows why I like the change of LaBrie's much less specific approach to lyrics as stated in my comments on Blind Faith.
5. Disappear - this is a great mellow tune. At first I didn't relate to this as well because I love heavy stuff so much... but this is a great tune too. It is quite simply put, beautfully melodic...
6. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence -- This totally rivals Scenes from a Memory for great long concept pieces. To oppose a previously expressed view: the Overture is amazing - it's soundtrack progressive metal. This is Jordan's genius REALLY shining through. Solitary Shell is a standout section - The verses are reminiscent of either Styx in their "Fooling Yourself" mode or maybe ELP. But the standout section is the guitar break where JP shows off some seriously cool DiMeola-like acoustic passages. But my favorite part is "About to Crash (reprise)" - I'm also a big Steve Vai fan, so I love the Vai-esque riff that opens this part and then when the vocals enter it reminds me of Derek St. Holmes at his peak in the early Ted Nugent stuff ("Working Hard, Playing Hard" from the Cat Scratch Fever album comes to mind). The whole 42 minutes is awesome....
Another masterpiece. My favorite band of all-time...
Free Music Review: Six Degrees of Musical Brilliance
Hit: 5 Stars
Until I heard Scenes from a Memory, I was a tepid DT fan at best. After being (and continuing to be) thoroughly impressed with that album, I was excited to hear the next one - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. This album has managed to grab both my feet and pull me completely into the DT admiration society!
This album has two true parts to it. However, the two parts are still thematically connected in their focus on our struggles with understanding our own spirituality.
The first disc has some great individual songs that, on average, dance around the notion of how our spirituality plays into our lives. Glass Prison is a strong opener written around the first two steps of the AA 12 step plan. The AA suite is building into a very impressive set of songs strung out between several albums that have since followed this one (TOT, Octavarium, & Systamic Chaos so far). Perhaps, once Mike Portnoy has finished this suite, they will re-issue it together on its own?...One can only hope!
Blind Faith is a powerful song (both musically and lyrically) around struggles with the need for and notion of faith in each person. From an arrangement standpoint, I believe this is the best of the first disk.
Following that song is Misunderstood. This is probably my least favorite song on either disk. It is still a good DT piece and has a very good verse and chorus arrangement. However, this song lingers on for 2-3 minutes after the final chorus while not really going anywhere. I normally skip the ending instrumentals on this piece.
Perhaps the most interesting song (overall) on this disk is the Great Debate. You will never hear a politically motivated song do a better job at delivering a better balance of both sides of an arguement that this one does. While they are not unbiased in their opinion regarding stem cell research, they actually strive (successfully) to level both sides of the argument lyrically and musically. It is very enjoyable in that respect. They really do leave it to the listener to think through.
The final song on disk 1 is Disappear. It is a lament about the passing of a dear friend/spouse during the final hours. It is a quiet song that slowly drags itself deeper and deeper into you on each listening until you are stuggling right along with the band. This one most certainly grows on you.
Coming to the second disk, at this point, initially, I was almost to the point of wondering if I would be overwhelmed by it all. The opening piece, the overture, actually draws you back in somewhat gently (at least for DT) before the rest of the disk hits you over the head with some serious rock and serious material. The disc spends a substantial amount of time and effort trying to describe several different types of mental illness from the inside. In the end, you feel like you might actually have a little better understanding of what goes on in the mind of those who suffer from some of the illnesses detailed here than you had before. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd's The Wall, you will appreciate this approach to the topic all-the-more.
This whole disc is an enjoyable journey through a topic that is anything but. I still spend time listening to this trying to better understand how they pull this off.
Musically, there is a substantial amount of detail on both discs that can easily be missed. From a technique standpoint, there is not alot new here. Of course, with DT, that means very little since they have tabled so much new already. However, this is not a rehash of past music or even past styles. This is new for them on many levels.
This disk demands to be played a) loud, b)on good equipment, and c) all the way through in one sitting (at least the second disc). Even then, much like in Scenes, you will be discovering new details you sware weren't there during the previous pass.
As a direct result of Scenes and this album, I now consider myself a serious DT fan. This is one of the best albums I own in my entire collection. I have played it enough now that I would normally be getting at least a little tired of it and have to park it for a time. However, the opposite has happened; it is like opening the book up for the first time - again and again.
This is a full emersion CD. You will not be able to help yourself after one or two passes. If you insist that 4 minute thrash songs which require little or no thought are as good as it gets, then this is probably not for you. Otherwise, this is a must have for your music collection, one which will spend far more time being played than filling up storage space!
DT is considered a "prog metal" band and most certainly are. However, this album proves, yet again, that they are far more than that. They are "progressive", period.
Free Music Review: A psychological prog masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
The numbers are clear. Two CDs. 96 minutes of music. One eight-part song. 42 minutes. Dream Theater has once again raised their own incredibly high standards for ambition with their latest album. Having followed the enormous pre-release speculation and having avoided hearing the monumental title track until the afternoon before their warmup show in New York, I had great expectation that we would soon be blessed with an effort of incredible depth and art of the highest measure. Let the truth be told: Six Degrees is music of the highest order, an album that reaches for impossible heights and succeeds. It is by far DT's most challenging and diverse work, and every member of the band plays to perfection. Before going into specifics, there is a very simple question, the test that stumped absolutely no one: what song were you looking forward to the most? The first disc is wonderful, from the raging Glass Prison, a monster of a song that will forever silence anyone who still believes that DT aren't metal, to the heroically resigned and multifaceted Misunderstood, bleak lyrically and full of impeccable musicianship, to the languid Disappear, a song that reaches for the melancholic heights (or should I say lows) of Space Dye Vest and comes close, to the triumphant Blind Faith, a superlative composition that my appreciation for grows with each listen, to the contentious Great Debate, perhaps the album's most daring experiment with its droning pace and argumentative vocal arrangement, this is certain. But stupid questions deserve obvious answers, so here is an indepth analysis of disc 2 of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence.Like SFAM, it begins with an Overture. Unlike Overture 1928, which had John putting on a tremendous instrumental preview of things to come, this section attempts to be a full-on classical piece. It is a bit labored and drags in places, but has some moments of beauty, a great keyboard cadence at around 2:45, and is an entirely necessary component of the picture, especially towards the end. After the orchestral swelling, we soon learn we are About To Crash. This song tells the story of a girl born into an illusion of perfection, which leads her to depression from unrealized expectation. This song is the most warmly melodic of the eight sections, and the chorus is highly emotional. John delivers the first of many great solos. The instrumental transitions are among the finest points on the disc. Soon the music gains in tension and now we prepare to fight a War Inside My Head. A short piece about traumatic combat experiences, this is a menacing little track led by a killer keyboard riff. The chorus features a great backing vocal from Mike Portnoy, whose drumming dominates the next part, The Test That Stumped Them All. This is possibly the heaviest song Dream Theater has ever done, featuring a devastating lead riff. A chronicle of a rock star forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation, James' vocals seethe with rage and Portnoy's drumming is lethal. The song also features some electronically treated vocals that add to the themes of insanity throughout the concept. After another great instrumental section, everything drops out and we receive a Goodnight Kiss. A disturbing lullaby about a mother who loses her daughter, possibly to drugs or a severe disability, this is arguably the emotional high point of the epic. If this doesn't touch you in some way, you probably have a heart of stone. A beautifully fluid guitar solo, aided by rising tension in the drums and some sound effects, adds to the intensity of the piece, in contrast to the violent imagery and music of the last two parts. Soon acoustic guitars and warm keyboards break in, inviting us to the Solitary Shell. This is another great song, again highly emotional and deeply melodic and incredibly thoughtful, its lyrics telling a story about an autistic child's development...this affected me the most out of any moment on the disc. An extraordinarily powerful composition in itself. Another great instrumental section closes out this part, building into a reprise of About To Crash, a more energetic counterpart to the first installment, here the character's determination to escape leads to disappointment and possibly manic depression. The band plays its... off, particularly Jordan Rudess, who proves himself to be the most talented of DT's three keyboardists with amazing performances throughout. Parts first heard in the Overture begin to resurface here, reminding us we are Losing Time. This is a short piece before the Grand Finale, which unifies the themes of the previous sections and provides for a stirring and dramatic conclusion for a stunning work of art.
Free Music Review: The Sixth Degree
Hit: 5 Stars
When Dream Theater went into the studio to record this album, they said that they weren't looking to top Scenes From A Memory (surely, as one of the best prog albums of the last 20 years, an artistic peak), and just make another killer album. And that's exactly what they've done. The album is so sprawling and varied that it takes a few listens to get into. It lacks the cinematic scope and cohesiveness of Scenes, and this may seem a bit disconcerting at first; initially, I was somewhat disappointed in the album. However, subsequent listens have revealed its greatness. Once you've put aside all pre-conceptions, you will enjoy this album; looked at individually, it ranks among their best. Mike Portnoy, prior to the album's release said he would loosely describe the album as a cross between Awake and Liquid Tension Experiment. One can see this, as some of the songs (The Glass Prison, The Great Debate, and certain sections of the title suite) are among Dream Theater's heaviest songs ever. However, a deeper delving into the album will reveal that this is Dream Theater's most musically diverse album ever. A range of influences is revealed: Misunderstood starts out with a gentle acoustic introduction reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's The Rain Song, and ends with a guitar noise cachophony straight out of Radiohead's OK Computer (Karma Police, Paranoid Android.) The Great Debate is highly reminiscent of Tool (as are parts of The Glass Prison) with its dub-ins - and even all the way down to the lyrics, vocal melody, and backing riffage ("Anarchistic moral vision...") Disappear, a ballad that closes the first disc, is another track where you can find touches of Radiohead. The Test That Stumped Them All is very Pantera-esque, and certainly Dream Theater's heaviest recorded moment yet. Although Disappear is not my favorite song in the Dream Theater catalog, every other song on here is absolutely great. The Glass Prison kicks off the album cleverly enough with a fade-in burst of static, thus linking back to Scenes. This is an all-out, balls-to-the-wall rocker in the best tradition of heavy DT. Blind Faith is another great piece with curiously ambivalent lyrics and subtly amazing keyboard playing. Misunderstood contains the musical virtues already noted, and a set of lyrics that are a curious contrast to the preceding song. The Great Debate reeks slightly of cheese (social commentary is not Dream Theater's strong point) with its lyrics focusing on stem cell research, but the music and interesting approach to the arrangement will allow you to forgive it's naivety. However, the undisputed highlight of the record is the 40+ minute title track that is the whole of the second disc. Musically incredible and lyrically interesting, it ranks among Dream Theater's very best tracks ever. The six and a half minute overture is an absolutely amazing piece of work: dominated by Jordan Rudess's incredibly dexterious keyboard work (and later augmented by some heavy killer drumming from Portnoy), it sounds like a masterly symphony orchestra scoring a soundtrack for the latest epic motion picture. After this amazing introduction, we are led into the almost poppish tinkling piano of the second movement. The movements provide an interesting contrast to each other: we have extremely heavy parts (The Test That Stumped Them All), ballads (Goodnight Kiss), and everything in-between. The only bad thing I can possibly say about this absolute magnum opus of a song is that the closing movement (entitled "Losing Time/Grand Finale") led me to expect a longish concluding musical section - but, alas, this is not to be as the "Grand Finale" consists of a re-working of the main theme from the overture being played behind the closing lyrics of the album, followed by a minute long fade out. But, hell, even Achilles had his heel. This album is an absolute must for DT fans. The band is spot-on and perfect, as we would expect no less - Portnoy, I think, is better than ever: The Glass Prison and the Overture contain some of his best drumming ever (and he knows it, too: he credits himself with playing "lead drums" on this album - though who could blame him, eh?) I must say that this album has, belatedly, lived up to my (very) high expectations - I could barely contain my excitement when I saw the announced tracklisting (with running times - who else would dare put out such a disc?) of this album, and it is every bit as good as it sounds. Another magnum opus from the best band on the scene today, period.Free Music Review: Different Album From Metropolis Pt. 2, But Just As Good
Hit: 5 Stars
While most Dream Theater fans (including myself) regard Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, to be DT most elaborate and stunning work to date, I would have to say that this latest offering is my favorite. It's much MUCH darker than its predicessor, and a lot more diverse in terms of thematic material. The Album comes in two discs, the first containing five songs all very good and some that are just plain exceptional. The Second Disc is a mammoth concept piece. It doesn't have a story line per say, but there is the common theme of insanity, multiple personality disorder, and other mental illness. So, lets dig into the material.Disc I:
1:The Glass Prison-This song is the heaviest thing they have ever written. It's a dark, thrashy, monstrous riffmania. It opens with the scratch and pop of a record, which is were Metropolis Pt 2 comes left off. The vocals are done interestingly, with Portnoy and Petrucci singing parts of the song. The drumming is fantastic, sounding like a gatling gun. The bass is very heavy and noticable. The hieght of the song is in the latter half however, when Rudess and Petrucci battle it out with Keyboards and guitars. Almost worth the money for this song alone.
2:Blind Faith-A slower, much more melodic number, it feauters excellent vocals by James and absolutely awesome keyboard work from Rudess. The lyrics are beautiful and moving.
3:Misunderstood-A tad experamental, this song is a metal ballad that brings the album back to the dark side again. The lyrics are very well written and the musicianship is impeccable, especially the guitar work. Near the end of the song, things get scary as the band launches into an intense Pink Floydesque barrage of sound effects and distorted guitars.
4:The Great Debate-A very interesting song dealing with stem cell research. Petrucci's sucessful attempt at being a lyricist. Great intro/outro, with a churning bass line accented by media clips. The drumming is really great, and the keyboards build to a fever pitch. Labrie's voice is dark and brooding, one of his best vocal performances.
5:Disappear-The shortest song on the first disc, it is a heartfelt ballad about death. It's mixed with keyboard effects, that give it a very creepy nostalgic feeling. the lyrics and vocals dominate again here, with Labrie being backed by Portnoy. The singing is very beautiful and emotional, almost brought me to tears.
Disc II:
1:Overture-Of course there had to be an overture, and this is a good one. It's pretty much the same idea of SFaM, showing little bits of what is to come. Very bombastic, reminds me a lot of the overture from The Who's Tommy.
2:About To Crash-Starts off with all the flair as if it were a celebration song, the lyrics quickly show differently. The melodies are sharp and biting and there is great musicianship on all sides.
3:War Inside My Head-This song functions kinda like an intro to the following one, but it is still very worthy of praise. It talks about the metal decay that can be caused by war. The riffs are heavy and the percussion is thunder. Labrie again drops his voice, souding angry and embittered.
4:The Test That Stumpted Them All-Even heavier, this song is powerful, with thundering drums, raging guitars, a deep bass, and chorus's that are reminiscent of none other than Slayer. The song is very brooding, and really....just downright aggressive.
5:Goodnight Kiss-The most balladish one on the album, acoustic, with heartfelt lyrics. Nice touch, after the onslaught of The Test That Stumpted Them All, that is until it reaches the end. Then there is an interlude filled with the extremely disturbing sounds of a mental hospital, screams, medical equipment, sobs, intercom messages.
6:Solitary Shell-Aiming for a more upbeat feel, this song is a flippent poetic ode to isolation. It's almost a comic relief, though the subject matter is no less dark.
7:About To Crash/Reprise-A lot like the original, it is just that, a reprise. A tad faster and a little heavier.
8:Losing Time/Grand Finally-The bombastic despairing ender of the album, this is one of my favorite tracks. The lyrics are beautiful and weave very well witht the song. There is a final gong strike by Portnoy at the end, signifying the conclusion of this journey into madness. The music resounds for over a minute, slowly growing softer, until there is nothing but silence.