Dream Theater - Train of Thought
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Dream TheaterEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Published: 2003
CD Release Date: 2003-11-11
Music Label: Elektra
Product features:
- DREAM THEATER TRAIN OF THOUGHT
- As I Am
- This Dying Soul
- Endless Sacrifice
- Honor Thy Father
- Vacant
- Stream of Consciousness [Instrumental]
- In the Name of God
Free Music Notes for Train of Thought
Free Music Review: Full Steam Ahead, but Still Thoughtful and Articulate
Hit: 5 Stars
'Scenes from a Memory' was a progressive masterpiece, and (in my opinion) was one of the greatest albums of all time. Its successor, 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence' featured some admirable experimentation while still managing to remain a delight to listen to. After these two brilliant pieces of work, 'Train of Thought' was always going to be met with ridiculous expectation from the Dream Theater fan base. Released in 2003, 'Train of Thought' was met with mixed opinions, because, on this release, Dream Theater had taken a slightly different direction - for the first time, the prog aspects of DT's music had been pushed into the background somewhat, while the heavy metal elements had been brought to the forefront. On this occasion, Dream Theater bared less of a resemblance to Rush, Frank Zappa, or Fates Warning, and more of a likeness to the musical stylings of Metallica. The harder, more guitar-driven direction, and the greater prominence of 4/4 beats made 'Train of Thought' a rather difficult pill to swallow for many DT fans (which is evident from the amount of 1-star ratings we have on this item's product page). However, while the approach on this disc is heavier and more simplistic than most of DT's previous albums, there's no denying that there's still a high level of quality on this album. I personally get a great level of enjoyment from each on of the tracks on this album...
"As I Am" - 9/10
This is perhaps the worst offender on the album for simplicity and basic song structure. This really wouldn't sound too out of place on a Metallica album. But the thing is, if this song WERE to appear on a Metallica album, it would no-doubt be an absolute standout, be considered one of their best songs and become a cult classic. That's because the song has some amazing riffage, an incredible solo from Mr. Petrucci, and some very impressive choice and structure of lyrics. However, there's only one reason why I can't give this track a ten, and that's due to the repetition. I have to admit that the chorus doesn't match the brilliance and listen-ability or the verses or the soloing, and it's probably heard in the song one too many times, and it actually becomes a little grinding to listen to by the end of the song. That being said, this is a terrific song, and is one that I've used to spark numerous peoples' interest in Dream Theater.
"This Dying Soul" - 10/10
Following on directly from "As I Am", "This Dying Soul" hits the ground running at full speed; double-kick in constant motion accompanied by another driving guitar riff. After a brief but effective solo from Petrucci, the band then enters seamlessly into a slow, powerful and articulate riff which is almost indescribably likeable. This then drops off into a quiet section upon which LaBrie can soulfully deliver his first lines of the song. So, within the first 2-and-a-half minutes, we hear three vastly different sections of music that fit together perfectly. This is essentially how things continue throughout the rest of the track, with this song taking the listener through a musical journey which features an incredible array of progressive metal brilliance. Also, I can't finish this track review without commending the outtro of this song; the final two minutes demonstrate exactly why John Petrucci is such a respected guitarist in the rock & metal world. It must be heard to be believed; it rivals his soloing in the latter half of "Fatal Tragedy."
"Endless Sacrifice" - 10/10*
I have nothing bad to say about this track. It opens as a slow, sentimental ballad, before building towards a rather heavy chorus (a chorus which is actually better than the verses, as opposed to "As I Am"). This verse and chorus are repeated once more before the band then enter into one of their trademark jams. Though heavier than most of their instrumental sections, it still features much experimentation and weirdness, which is exemplified by Jordan Rudess' obscure keyboard solo at around the 6-and-a-half-minute mark. Speaking of Rudess, I was happy to find that he was much more audible in the mix of "Endless Sacrifice" and "This Dying Soul", unlike "As I Am", in which he is a little drowned out by everything else. This jam continues to build throughout the song, taking it to new levels; if you were to suddenly skip back to the beginning, you would hardly believe you were listening to the same song. Eventually, this jam reaches its climax, before the band enter back into the chorus and finish the song in an extremely powerful way (which one must hear for themselves to properly appreciate). I would rate this track just above "This Dying Soul", on account of the fact that it builds slowly towards a crescendo, rather than being a series of impressive solos, riffs and arrangements. This is one of the two tracks on the album that I would actually describe as 'truly epic'.
"Honor Thy Father" - 9.5/10
Depending on my mood, this track can either be a nine or a ten, so I've decided to moderate. This is one of the most aggressive Dream Theater songs I've heard, and this is for a reason too, as the song's lyrical content deals with Mike Portnoy describing his relationship towards his stepfather (and obviously he is not too fond of him). The track features such harsh lyrics as "You'll go to your grave a sad and lonely man", and "Never in my life have I seen someone, So ignorant to the damage he has done, You're the rotted root in the family tree." Such lyrics are complimented by the musical aspect of the track, with the song opening with a harsh and heavy riff, the type of which is very uncommon in Dream Theater's music. This heavy riffing continues throughout the entirety of track, but is juxtaposed by quiet moments in which LaBrie quietly delivers Mike Portnoy's abrasive lyrics. Also, the heaviness is balanced out by the keyboard, which gives an almost symphonic vibe to the music, thus adding some sophistication to this harsh and reactionary piece of music. Unlike most songs that act as outright personal attacks, this track possesses a level of credibility, which is found in the well-written lyrics, the large array of quality riffs, the impressive instrumentation, and the genuine power that the track has. That's the difference - this track doesn't just sound angry, but it sounds powerful, and it sounds inspired; Portnoy has translated his negative experiences into something of quality, rather than writing various insults and putting them over the top of a flat and uninspired piece of music. But, unlike most DT songs, I can't listen to this whenever I want. If I'm in a calm mood, I will generally not warm to this track, but if I'm feeling anything from apathy to frustration, then I can really appreciate the power that this song conveys.
"Vacant" - 9.5/10
In absolute contrast to "Honor Thy Father", "Vacant" serves up a nice, quiet, calm and emotional piece of acoustic music. After the heaviness of the last four tracks, this song is really nice to sit and listen to, and just soak in. It's the calm after the storm, and the time when you can rest your ears and your brain, and just appreciate the melodies of James LaBrie's voice, Rudess' piano, and Eugene Friesen's cello. This track serves three purposes: a) a quality piece of enjoyable music, b) a peaceful interval which separates the first two thirds of the album from the latter third, and c) as an introduction to the mammoth instrumental that is to follow.
"Steam of Consciousness" - 9.5/10
We now leap plunge into "Stream of Consciousness" - the album's instrumental track. Running at over 11 minutes, we are given a absolute overload of impressive instrumentation from Petrucci, Rudess, Portnoy and John Myung, as each of these immensely talented musicians progress through a series of varying musical styles and sections. Each musician compliments the other in everything that they play on their respective instruments, as the sounds produced by each of theme weave and intertwine with one-another's in order to create some incredible pieces of mindblowing music. This track serves to showcase exactly why these men are idolized by so many aspiring musicians. Though the track gets a little repetitive by the end, it is still a pleasure to listen to, and is right up there is Dream Theater's previous instrumentals such as "Dance of Eternity" and "Erotomania."
"In the Name of God" - 10/10*
My oh my, does it get much better than this? I think not. For the full 14 minutes that this track runs, the listener is met with nothing but quality and excellence which will hold their attention for the entire duration. The song opens with one of Dream Theater's greatest and catchiest riffs ever. Following this intro, the song goes through many stages and transitions that range from a slow, powerful and anthemic chorus, to Metallica-esque, guitar driven sections, to quiet jams, to frantic and up-beat jams, to ridiculously fast guitar soloing, and other interesting arrangements, with each managing to share a common musical theme. I love everything about this track; every minute of it; every aspect of it; every section, whether it be heavy, soft, fast or slow. It's a very well-written song, musically. The lyrics also should not go without mention. The subject matter of the song deals with religious corruption and holy war, speaking of those who transform religion into a violent, evil killing machine; who twist otherwise peaceful belief systems into something in which to perform acts of evil and create suffering. This serious issue is conveyed and explained quite well by Petrucci (the song's lyricist), as he is able to string powerful sentences and strong passages together by using rather articulate vocabulary and clever choice of wording. Combined with the music, Petrucci uses his wonderful lyrical abilities to powerfully convey his message and discuss his disapproval of this issue.
The track finally draws to a close with a repeat of the chorus, before closing with a strong and emotional piece of music in which the piano can be heard most prominently. The ending is only given enhanced power by LaBrie's amazing vocal performance, which is arguably the best he has ever given. In the final minute of the song, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" can be heard in the background. This both brings another effective element into the music, as well as providing some contextual relevance. Once the track reaches its final stages, I usually get chills; it's just such a powerful song which is consistently brilliant from start to finish. It is a truly amazing, monumental progressive metal epic which all self-respecting rock and metal listeners should hear at least once in their lifetime.
I once read a post from a user on Last.fm which read something like ""In the Name of God" is undoubtedly the best song on 'ToT'. It could have saved the whole album if it needed to." And this basically sums up my feelings on both the song and the album; 'Train of Thought' is worth owning purely for "In the Name of God", but luckily there's a huge amount of quality throughout the rest of the album too. However, many DT fans do seem to miss this quality or simply pass over it due to the fact that this album is different to most of the others in the band's catalogue. It's unfortunate that this album isn't given a fair chance by many DT fans simply because is structurally and musically different. Dream Theater aren't compromising or "selling out" in any way by adopting more of a mainstream metal approach, because their musical traits can still be found within this album; they're just found in different areas and perhaps not quite as prominent or pronounced as on other albums. This album still features amazing instrumentation, great lyrics, excellent musicianship and chemistry, and well thought-out arrangements; they're just done in a slightly different manner than they are on previous releases such as 'Scenes from a Memory' or 'Images and Words.' I urge all Dream Theater fans to listen to this album with an open mind and a degree of acceptance for new musical directions. Because, when it comes down to it, when have Dream Theater released two albums that are musically similar or stylistically identical? Never. They're always exploring new territory, experimenting and trying new things; progressing, in other words. This time, they wanted to try their hand at Metallica-esque heavy metal covered in a thick layer of 'proginess', and they pulled it off brilliantly. This music is some of the best heavy metal you'll hear, and it's far beyond the capabilities of most bands (if not all bands) on the metal scene.
Train of Thought Poster
Asia exclusive limited edition pressing of the Long Island-based heavy metal quintet's 2003 album features 7 tracks including a bonus live CD with seven tracks, 'Overture 1928', 'Strange Deja Vu', 'Home', 'The Spirit Carries On', 'Just Let Me Breathe', 'Acid Rain', & 'Caught In a New Millennium'. WEA. 2004.Hard Rock & Metal Music CDs
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