Some albums are difficult to review. That’s just a fact. When it comes to Dream Theater, the reason is almost obvious. It’s also a fact their fanbase is pretty much split up into two main groups: the nostalgic, and those who appreciate their new “way” (whatever that way actually is, of course).
That sort of continuum is obviously very wide, and it’d be unfair to limit the difference to these two extremes. But again it’s a fact all DT lovers (as well as skeptics) find themselves somewhere on that “appreciation bar”.
So why such a long intro, instead of a song-by-song analysis of the record? Because you can do that yourselves. sS yes, my advice is to get your hands on this album and give it a listen (more than one, even much more than one, may just follow). My personal opinion (i find it appropriate to stress that because as we said DT‘s audience is as wide as varied) is that Dream Theater are back on the “right” track. If you agree that “right” stands for “in the same vein as their post-Metropolis pt.2 works”, your opinion about this very album won’t diverge much from mine.
Black Clouds and Silver Linings makes up for the flaws that undermined Octavarium (still a good album) and Systematic Chaos (a not-so-good one). Which is to say: no straying towards pop, no excessively enlengthened songs (these six tracks are very long, but every single note is worth listening), no running in circles in desperate search of ideas that don’t seem to come out, and so on.
Of course it’s still Dream Theater. of course they still play with the listener, and with themselves, sort of “recycling” some of their old themes (like the “core” of the AA suite, i.e. The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul and The Root of All Evil, conveyed in The Shattered Fortress) from the previous albums. They’ve got us used to it. And they can still do it with class, avoiding to stay stuck in a repetition that could hint at lack of ideas. Some will in fact superficially think this is the case; I’d rather say they do in metal what also great composers do in classical music. What keeps them safe from the charge of repetition and the such, is the fact they actually add plenty of new ideas to the lot. Solos are unexceptionable as usual, and the long song structure allows them to provide almost each song with differently paced moments. A good example would be The Count of Tuscany, with several changes of pace along the way, including an uptempo section fading to a very peaceful keyboard atmospheric piece. So is the case with A Nightmare to Remember. A Rite of Passage is probably the number that will get stuck in your head with the most ease, mixing up a catchy refrain with an amazing instrumental section.
But it’s not all about speedy fugues and scales, lengthy instrumental breaks and great solos – Dream Theater are also capable of slower, more meditative songs. The ones featured here (Wither, the only less than eight minutes long song of the set and DT‘s best ballad to date, and the semi-acoustic The Best of Times) have two big assets: they’re far from the whimpering whining of some of the last album’s ballads (putting them much closer to The Answer Lies Within, just to put up a comparison, than to I Walk Beside You and Forsaken); and secondly, they are in the middle of faster tempo tracks, which indeed grants the listener a relaxing “break” in between those. the music flow thus procedes pretty smoothly.
Black Clouds and Silver Linings is one of those albums that manage to never “lose their way” in spite of containing a bit of everything. If you’re wondering what ultimately keeps the album together, which is to say, what’s its defining “brand” – it’s probably a darkish (still the DT way, i.e. never really “aggressive”) progressive metal which is actually best defined in comparison with DT‘s previous creations.
Not only, in fact, it is hard to describe what this album contains without referring to the band’s preceding work – it is probably also pointless. DT nostalgics will likely feel left out of my enthusiasm surrounding this album; but to those who’re on my side of the aforementioned continuum I say: fear not, Black Clouds and Silver Linings is worth it. it is the step forwad we’ve been waiting for since Octavarium.
THUS SPAKE THE CENNSOR: To those who’re (totally, or just partly) new to them, I say: come have a listen, and don’t forget to also check out their other stuff, starting atleast from 1999. The good thing with Dream Theater is, they keep on evolving without forgetting about their roots. The very good thing is, they do it consciously, and with this album they’re back to doing it with class and a good taste. 8/10
