TRAIN OF THOUGHT

On this album Dream Theater come out looking lean and mean and play harder than they ever have. Train of Thought is quite possibly one of the heaviest albums Dream Theater have ever released. The band just kick it into overdrive without adding any of the excesses found on past recordings. Dream Theater appears to have followed the same direction as Vanden Plas did in 2002 with their own fabulous release Beyond Daylight.

How does one even begin to describe an album like Train of Thought? This is often the kind of question I ponder whenever I consider reviewing an album containing high quality complex music. I was listening to this album over and over, and it happen to still be playing when I sat down to eat late one night. I was thinking to myself, seven songs in length so why don't I compare it to a seven course meal...sounds good to me!

Train of Thought opens with "As I Am", a truly delicious appetizer. Then you are treated to another hors-d'oeuvres in the form of "This Dying Soul," just a superb follow up to "As I Am." By the time "Endless Sacrifice" arrives, 19 mintues have gone by and I was already feeling content, could not have been more satisfied with my progressive meal so far.

However, "Endless Sacrifice" arrives as a very tasty salad with just the right amount of ingredients and a wonderful salad dressing, I swear it was like the icing on a cake, and the main course had not even been served yet? In need of a little more meat and potatoes, Dream Theater finally deliver "Honor Thy Father" to really mix things up big time. What to make of this meal? Very yummy and very different from earlier recipes offered by the band. My brain had just been treated to some of the most filling and heavy prog metal I had heard in a while and I was only 40 minutes into this 7 course meal.

In need of a moment of rest and Dream Theater deliver a short little break in the form of "Vacant," just a slow atmospheric breather before moving right along to the main course, the extra juicy instrumental "Stream of Consciousness." But the meal was not over yet, to top it all off, Dream Theater did not disappoint with the highlight of the meal being "In The Name of God," a superb 14 minute track that could easily have been the entire meal all by itself. A very special delicacy indeed, enjoyed it the most even after having that entire heavy meal that came just before it.

The full meal deal is easily worth 4 times the amount I paid for it. I will repeat the experience time and time again until I literally blow up or my brain says I've had enough. Train of Thought was simply the most delicious and interesting 7 course meal deal I've had so far.

Just in case some of you are wondering, Train of Thought is a Progressive METAL album! Sink your ears into this one folks, savor it and enjoy every minute of it. Careers are built on albums like these.not that Dream Theater needed a career boost or anything like that but they delivered an outstanding effort here. Don't take my word for it and don't believe all those who down-rate it without explaining why, just check it out for yourself...especially if you enjoy those HEAVY prog metal meal deals. ;)