SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

It's been 1 week since I first had the chance of listening to DT's long-awaited album, Systematic Chaos. It was something i was really looking forward for so long and as a hardcore DT fan, listening to an upcoming DT album is always a special experience (more like a ritual i dare to say :P).

I found the first review extremely detailed as far as the music part is concerned, to be honest if i had to describe the songs one by one i would 've done it likewise more or less so i believe there is no point in adding something else about this part of the album. After 15 or so listenings I must say that I'm starting to really dig Systematic Chaos and I can say that once again DT succeeded in delivering a truly unique album.

Most you of should already know, or learned from some reviews, that this album includes some really controversial songs like "Prophets Of War" or "Forsaken" which create the usual misunderstanding about a DT album. To me, the biggest problem of this record isn't that a song might sound too poppy or thrashy or whatever. After all, even the greatest DT albums (I&W, Awake) included balladesque songs ( "Another Day" and "Silent Man" respectively) that musically had little to do with the rest of the songs. The problem is that this record doesn't flow.

The songs individually are great but no matter how many times I hear this record I still believe that "Constant Motion" is REALLY out of place. Do not misunderstand me, it's a great song and I really love it but musically it doesn't belong in this album. The fact that it was the first officially released song from SC makes me even more to believe that it was put in this album to give the impression that the rest of it would sound like it. A catchy, fast song to attract more buyers that fancy straightforward music is indeed the best choice for a single. But fortunately or not, it has nothing to do with the rest of the album.

One other song I have serious doubts about is "Prophets Of War". Why Dream Theater do this to themselves? 20 years now they have proved to be great composers (SC is no exception) with groundbreaking ideas and stuff that simply cannot be written or even imagined by other musicians. With "Never Enough" we all said, "Ok, they like Muse they just wanted to do a song sounding like Muse and that's it" And no matter how good and enjoyable song "Prophets Of War" might be, it's like it came from a tribute band to Muse. It's such a shame that fantastic riff was wasted in an imitation song. Dream Theater always sounded like Dream Theater and nothing else. That's why they became that big band they are today. And its not like they are out of ideas or something. Songs like "The Dark Eternal Night" and "In The Presence Of Enemies" prove the exact opposite thing.

If some of you believe that DT simply writes whatever they like let me tell you one thing. Its really NOT like this. With Systematic Chaos they indisputably prove that almost each song serves a purpose. "Constant Motion" is the lure for the more "classic" heavy metal listeners, "Forsaken" is the radio-friendly song, "In the Presence of Enemies" is the one to please the progressive share of their fan base etc. Frankly, as I said above, it's fine by me since I enjoy the songs but allow me to argue this "We play what we like" attitude.

Overall, Systematic Chaos is surely better than Octavarium but doesn't quite reach the majesty of I&W, Awake, SFAM or 6DOIT. Those that describe it as an album equal to the aforementioned, they exaggerated a bit because of enthusiasm.

Individual Song Rating: In The Presence Of Enemies 5/5 - Forsaken 4.5/5 - Constant Motion 5/5 - The Dark Eternal Night 5/5 - Repentance 5/5 - Prophets Of War 4/5 - Ministry Of Lost Souls 5/5