TRAIN OF THOUGHT

With previous efforts focused on a revolving theme, this is an album that takes a complete turnaround in style. On this album, it seems, Dream Theater decided to get rid of concepts and go strait for the several-long-song approach, the result is mixed. While each song is good, none seem to stand out above the rest, this may be due to the fact that many of the songs seem to run together, with a lot of instrumental wanking in each track. Usually DT does this well, "Six Degrees..." and "Metropolis" being prime examples of this, but with no true standouts, the album mostly seems to fade to the back of the listener's mind.

While it's hard to point out standouts, there are some noteworthy moments still. AS I AM is a good single, fiarly radio friendly and catchy, and THIS DYING SOUL is a good continuation from "Six Degrees..."'s The Glass Prison. Other than that, there's a lot of instrumental heavy-mishmash that's fairly generic until the next good track, the instrumental STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS. This is a winding journey that's still good by DT standards, and is the main thing that's saving this album from a 1 rating. Granted, this album is enjoyable while being listened to, but at the end of the day it's likely not to be remembered.

Long time DT fans will fans will find a lot to like here, others may find solace in the long song structure, but in the end this is merely a good album, not exceptional as DT has so often done. 2 stars... 2.5 at best.

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