Let's be frank, it has been a long time since Dream Theater has committed to the metal half of the tag "prog metal". Let's be even more frank, it's been a long time since Dream Theater have been interesting. For the last ten years, since the release of Train of Thought, the band has been content to fit into their niche and play to their audience without really shaking things up. Some had gotten their hopes up that the departure of founding drummer Mike Portnoy would provide the necessary jolt to bring different, more exciting elements to the surface, but 2011's A Dramatic Turn of Events frankly did not live up to its title. As improbable as it seems, a group of musicians with the collective skills that these men possess has become...boring. Never bad, but boring all the same. But it is a new album cycle, and with a self titled album comes hope for bigger and better things, a redefinition, a new paradigm. The question then becomes, are Dream Theater still treading water, or are they back to their former glory?
It's actually hard to believe that the final product is as good as it is. This is not only the best Dream Theater album since Train of Thought, this is one of the best albums of a very strong year for music. These guys haven't settled for a return to form, they've gone above and beyond. Starting off with what sounds like their riff on a Hans Zimmer score with False Awakening and ending with a twenty three minute suite that brings to mind Metropolis Pt. 2, this is an incredibly symphonic, cinematic album on top of being heavy again. The songs don't feel long this time around, they feel complex. They don't feel laborious, they feel energized. In interviews John Petrucci namechecked bands like Periphery and Animals for Leaders, and I don't know if his time spent listening to and hanging out with younger groups reenergized him, but his guitar parts on this new CD are nothing short of awesome. He pretty much carries one of the main instrumentals, and that track, called Enigma Machine, is by far the best on the record. New drummer Mike Mangini has now been fully intergrated into the writing process, and his performance here is standout enough that I regret not giving him enough credit in the past. He clearly wasn't given parts that were worthy of him on A Dramatic Turn of Events (he came in after the album was written). Even the keyboard parts on this record are either well integrated or are calibrated well enough to avoid the irritation they've caused in the past. Even on Train of Thought and before the inevitable keyboard solo was a dreaded moment to me, but on this release they've found a way to make it work. If I have one nitpick about this, I feel like James LaBrie is still not as standout as he could be. His solo album from a few months ago, the underrated Impermanent Resonance, was more of a showcase for him, an even better blend of heavy music and his clean, high pitched style. He's very good on Dream Theater, but he's missing an extra bit of oomph that the rest of the band seems to have found.
There's no saying that this band won't backslide and become too comfortable again, but at least for the moment they've crafted a standout release that one can only hope will be the start of a new, bigger, and better phase for them. Dream Theater has returned, and better late than never.
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