TRAIN OF THOUGHT

As I Am- The perfect song to ease into the album. As I Am introduces many of the important sounds and moods that the band is going for in this album. Its on the radio friendly side (nothing wrong with that) so its quite catchy. Pretty great overall. A solid 8/10

This Dying Soul- A bit slower and more melodic than As I Am, but still has many of the same sounds found before. Towards the end the song dives into a pretty intense instrumental which is absolutely phenomenal. A solid 9/10

Endless Sacrifice- Perhaps the most radio friendly song on this album, and certainly the one that is easiest to interpret. I didn't quite appreciate this song until I heard it live. Really catchy and there are some great instrumentals packed into this song. A solid 9/10

Honor Thy Father- One of the bands best songs, and one of their heaviest ones too. Reminds me a bit of their Awake material but obviously with a heavier sound. Amazing song with some amazing songwriting. 10/10

Vacant- I don't love every one of Dream Theaters ballads but this one certainly works for me. I wouldn't necessarily listen to this song on its own, but in the context of the album its very important. It conveys the intended emotions well and its a really nice lead into the next song. 8/10

Stream of Consciousness- This is it. This is their best instrumental and one of their best songs (a top three in my opinion). This song is filled to the brim with intense instrumentals. Most importantly it isn't completely off the rails like Dance of Eternity- it is, above all, musical and the complexities of the song only add to its musicality. The ending section is probably the best guitar playing I have ever heard and the interplay between the guitar and keyboards is just perfect. A true masterpiece of a song- 10/10

In the Name of God- Normally, it would be really hard to follow up the bands BEST instrumental with anything however In the Name of God successfully did so. Intense instrumentals back up a really impressively written song. I really don't have much to say without sounding repetitive. 10/10

Overall, this album is REALLY underrated. Honor Thy Father, Stream of Consciousness, and In the Name of God alone make this album nearly perfect regardless of the other material on it. The rest of the songs are pretty damn good too in my opinion but I understand why others don't love them as much as I do. This album is pretty unique in the bands discography being the heaviest one they have ever done. Perhaps this alienated some fans, reducing its average score as a result. Anyways, my love for this album is nearly endless and its certainly a top 5 all time for me.

Weighted Average Rating- 9.36/10 and it certainly rounds up to a 10/10