THE ASTONISHING

The Astonishing is a really interesting album. You see, when we talk about Dream Theater, we always mention Petrucci's skills and faster-than-light solos as the main attraction. Here, Petrucci is almost a secondary character. The driving forces behind this album are Jordan Rudess and Mike Mangini. The former delivers beautiful sonic landscapes, the latter strengthens them. Some Dream Theater fans, specially metalheads, might cast this one aside unfairly, mainly because most of the songs are not that catchy and their beauty is not readily apparent. You need to hear this one many times in order to appreciate its true power. The lyrics and theme might be cheesy, yes, but the whole package makes for one of the band's best offerings, if not the best. This is an amazing record. Bravo, DT, Bravo.