Octavarium

Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, I had the new Dream Theater album "Octavarium" on my computer the day after it came out in the USA. (I will get the actual CD in a few weeks.)

Rave reviews at progarchives.com are not hyperbole. I pumped the MP3s to my iPod and have been listening to the album on and off all day.

From the heavy opening track with its absolutely wicked synthesizer solo to the stupendous epic that closes the CD, this can only be called a musical event. Weakest point perhaps is the 2nd track, a saccharine ballad that may be a welcome resting station for some listeners but didn't do too much for me. Neither did track 4. The 3rd track, "These walls" is apparently intended for single release: nu-metal with brains, catchy as hell, yet full of musical subtleties that make it withstand repeated listening much better than typical radio fare.

An edited version of the appropriately named Panic Attack (an even heavier track than the opener, and possibly the heaviest one DT ever recorded) can be downloaded at progarchives.com.

But "heavy" for DT means something else than "heavy" for, say, Limp Bizkit or System of a Down. If the latter are like 300-pound gorilla boxers dishing out the heaviest punches they can, DT would be the equivalent of a 6th Dan black belt in karate.

All musicians shine on the album, but several reviewers correctly noted that keyboard whiz Rudess is more prominent on this album than the previous few, and that bass phenomenon John Myung takes the spotlight in a few places (most notably the jaw-dropping opening of "Panic Attack"). LaBrie's voice possibly sounds better than ever (precisely because he takes it easy on the operatics and instead tries to sound natural).

I'm looking forward to the tour :-)