Dream Theater - Train of Thought
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Free Music Notes for Train of Thought
Free Music Review: Yet Another winner from Dream Theater
Hit: 5 Stars
A few years go a friend of mine introduced me to Scenes From a Memory. I've been a Queensrcyhe fan years, and also love Savatage. This friend let me listen to this after work one day. Needless to say I didn't get home until late. I listened to it three times.
Train of Thought is rockin. I think the songs are soaring, loud, and abrasive. Imagine an 11 minute instrumental. When ever I listen to DT I think that the artists in the group must have been classically trained. There are very Classical Romantic undertones in all of their music. This is the kind of music to listen to with your eyes closed and think of the message that they are trying to tell.
I think album is taking a serious look at the world of religion. Most specifically In The Name of God. This looks deeply at the roots of most wars in the world today, and in history. It looks deeply at the fact that so much of religion is blurred with secularism that you can't tell the difference. It also looks at how religion is used as an excuse for everything. Blind allegiance can be dangerous.
As a person who has been estranged from their father for most of my life, I can seriously relate to the song Honor Thy Father.
Upon listening to This Dying Soul, I think of Nicholas, the main character in Scenes from a Memory. He's looking in the mirror trying to figure out what happened. It has the same basic sound, though much much heavier then SFAM. The opening line, along with the similar sound are clues back to SFAM, "Hello, Mirror, so glad to see you my friend, it's been a while.
Where a group like Metallica sold it's soul to the altar of public opinion and committed ritual career suicide, DT just keeps cranking it out. Granted some of it is lighter, but this album is proof that they've never lost their soul of being a Prog metal band.
Don't listen to the one star and two star fools. This is DT with the hardest edge that they can grind.
Another fine example of the fact that DT is one of the deepest, most complicated bands that has ever been into a recording studio, or concert hall, or arena. You listen to this music and it makes you seriously look into their lyrics. Few groups today can say that. So much of the music of today is just candy. It's taste is temporary and fleeting. Then, a short time later more candy is brought to you and you forget about that last piece of candy you had. DT destroys that mold.
Free Music Review: Hear it to believe it
Hit: 5 Stars
I was skeptical about this album after reading a few negative reviews posted here. With my first listen of TOT, my fears were blown away. I do realize every one of us has different tastes /opinions. Some of fans obviously didn't expect the album to be that heavy yet complex to ears so they do complain. Someone calls it an evolution; others might think its crap. But guess what, the band could not and will never please everyone. Every step that Dream Theater takes (just like any other band) can be assessed in a different way, and I personally happen to dig new material. After a few listens now I keep asking myself if this is their best. Maybe. And again, it is different from the rest of DT albums just like any of them is different from one another.Yes, my jaw was dropped after I heard angry sounding lyrics with some rapping and excessive language, heavy guitar and keyboards tone and some similarities to modern metal music. But, all that went with incredible playing of every member of the band, unexpected vocal harmonies, beautiful melodies and excellent musicianship. And the best part is that the album grows on you with each listen: you tend to find new elements in songs that you think you are now familiar with every listen. Yes, this is easily their heaviest to date, no question, and they do incorporate some of that'nu-metal' into their songs. But, who cares if they do it with class so that even those moments should not sound that bad to a melodic metal listener at all.
There are seven songs on the album and only one of them is a 3-minute, piano driven ballad. All others are about or over 10 minutes long (one of them being an instrumental). The opener 'As I Am' is a straightforward rocker that gives a hint on what direction Dream Theater's taking with TOT. Petrucci goes totally insane and shreds like there's no tomorrow. He does that on other songs as well showing he's no stranger to keep speed, melody and precision all in one. If I were to choose the best songs on the album, I would probably go with 'Endless Sacrifice' and 'In The Name Of God', but that might change after more listens as every song grabs me and sends me shivers or makes me smile.
So, do not fully trust complainers and check the album out for yourself. I cannot assure you will fall in love with it. I do guarantee though that you will hardly find any other amazing, top quality album like this in today's world.
Free Music Review: Their heaviest album yet!
Hit: 5 Stars
I should probably preface this review by stating that Dream Theater is far and away my favorite band, so my review of their latest album might be a bit biased. Still, that doesn't change the fact that Train of Thought is one of the best albums I've heard in quite some time.
Clocking in at 7 tracks in just under 70 minutes, Train of Thought is a leaner offering than the band's last release, the mammoth Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. It's also heavier, more focused, more song-oriented, and more powerful overall than Six Degrees, which at times came across as a just a showcase for the band's considerable technical prowess. Train of Thought still has plenty of excellent instrumental passages (like the brilliant instrumental track Stream of Consciousness), and is still very much a progressive album; it's just that the instrumentals seem to merge better with the vocals to make each song more dynamic and effective. Each band member is clearly in top form on this release, and it's obvious that they all have continued to grow their talents over time. The band also seems to focus on the more metallic aspects of progressive metal with this album, which may be their heaviest release ever. Dream Theater had been performing covers of albums like Master of Puppets (Metallica) and The Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden) on some of their recent live shows, and you can hear that classic metal influence quite clearly in Train of Thought.
Overall I'm quite pleased with this album. It's heavy, progressive, powerful, and may just be Dream Theater's best album since A Change of Seasons. I would particularly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Images and Words and Awake, but might have been put off a bit by the highly technical and progressive nature of the band's last two releases.
Free Music Review: Holy ****, this cd is amazing
Hit: 5 Stars
Maybe my favorite dream theater cd and that's saying a lot. First of all, it's a lot more metal than anything they have ever done but it stills stays progressive (don't know what that one dude was talking about saying it wasn't progressive) and the riffs on here are smoking! The bass guitar! Their best bass ever! You can actally hear the bass and it's so good that it's worth buying the album just to hear the bass guitar! Most bass players are useless but John Myung proves that he is one of the best ever on this cd. This is their most darkest cd too and it comes off extremely well. As always, the drumming is extremely good and their keyboard player has really improved from their last release. and james? well, he's still the same ol james, which means he rules.
I know the words brutal and dream theater usually don't go together in the same sentence but this cd PUMMELS you. the only breather you get is track 5, which is a short quiet piece and pretty much a waste of time. the other 6, VERY LONG, tracks are the best, tell you me.
Opening track As I Am is very catchy yet it still avoids being repetitive and the guitar solor towards the closing of the song will blow your mind it's so good.
This Dying Soul seems to be some sort of sequel or something to The Glass Prison (track 1 on the first disk of six degrees) because it has a riff in it that is very close to one in the glass prison and they mention the glass prison.
Honor Thy Father is probably the heaviest and fatest track on here and my favorite other than track 3, which I will get too now.
Track 3, Endless Sacrifice, is like track 2 from six degrees on steriods, the best song on this cd if you ask me. epic epic epic and still extremely fun to listen to.
The last track, In The Name Of God, is the longest track on here and a great way to close the album and finish it off. The first 30 second are quiet and melodic then at 31 seconds the pain and heaviness starts with a really groovy, thick, heavy riff. throughout the song, the keyboard sounds like a piano, very cool.
The instrumental track, Dream Of Consciousness, is 11 minutes and 16 seconds of pure frickin amazement. one of the best instrumentals EVER by them or any other band.
I CANNOT explain this cd with words, i cannot recommend it enough. it's a masterpiece, buy it now.
Free Music Review: An Amazing Metal Album
Hit: 5 Stars
This CD simply blew me away the first time I heard it. While looking for guitar lessons on Google Video, I found Petrucci's "Rock Dicipline" series. Before I could take it seriously, I had to see what the man was capable of. I looked him up on Wikipedia to find him associated with the band Dream Theater. In their discography, "Train of Thought" was labeled as their heaviest album at the time, so I decied to give it a listen. That's when I got sucked into the whirlpool and have become unable to stop listening to their music.
The album kicks off with "As I Am," the first song by them I heard. I noticed the strange time signatures almost right away, and I was amazed by how they kept in time, even though I was unable to count it. This song roped me in and I had to hear more.
The second song, "This Dying Soul," is as amazing as the first. The lyrics drove in the idea of someone really struggling with their life, and realizing they must change in order to remain alive.
"Endless Sacrifice" starts off as the exact opposite of the first two songs. It begins very soft, with sad lyrics, but soon enough the song picks up and becomes as driving as the ones before it. This song also features some of the weirdest keyboard soloing I've heard. Ever.
The name "Honor Thy Father" made me think this song was going to have some sort of religious message/twist, but this was not the case. The song starts off with and awesome drum fill, and heavy riffs, which don't stop until the song is over. Nice.
Song five, "Vacant," merely serves as a soft intro to the instrumental, "Stream of Consiousness," after which only one thing can be said: "Wow, that was awesome!!"
The final track, "In the Name of God," once again sounded like it was going to have some deep religious message, but this time it actually did. The lyrics to this song are my favorite part, though everything else about it is equally great.
If you don't have this album, you'd better get it. Now. Well, maybe you shouldn't, or your friends may get annoyed because you won't be able to talk about anything else. Meh, who needs friends when you have this CD? ^_^