SYSTEMATIC CHAOS

I purchased this a week ago and have listened it to around 10 times but all to no avail. Granted, it ticks all the boxes but possibly this is the most damning thing I can say....through an exhaustion of ideas, a work has been created based on a template of all that has gone before. The most positive thing I can say is that Petrucci's guitar riffing is actually quite inspired at times. All this would be enough in itself to keep me onside, but no, they had to go for the lowest denominator....cheesy lyrics (dark master....oh please), a chorus on one song lifted from the Village People, and to cap it all nu metal quotations throughout (those dual distorted/monster vocals really are crass). The only explanation I can think of is that this is a result of the label switch to Roadrunner and there is a strategy to appeal to a greater number of tenagers. Well if it makes Portnoy and Crew rich fair enough, I can't knock them for that. I guess poetic and meaningful lyrics are not required for that market. And where is Rudess in all of this? He seems relegated to a minor supporting role. I'm hoping that once the band have got this one out of thier system, I can look forward to a return to maturity in around 2 years time. Here's hoping.