THE ASTONISHING

I'm not a Dream Theater fanboy by any means, but this one truly surprised me. After seeing the ridiculous trailer an knowing that it was over two hours long, I expected the worst. Needless to say, I changed my mind... though not completely. Musically, The Astonishing is probably Dream Theater's finest work. LaBrie's performance was what surprised me the most about this album. He was great. I never liked his vocals beforehand, but he absolutely nailed it here. Having to do different voices for different characters and events, he displayed tremendous versatility that I never expected of him. Petrucci is as good as he's ever been; same for Rudess. Myung is a little underused in this album, but it doesn't take away from the experience as a whole. My one complaint about this album is definitely the lyrics. I'm fine with the 'robot music rebellion' concept, but the lyrics are filled with so much cheese that it sometimes distracts me from the excellent music in the background. The concept, the music, and the lyrics are all extremely ambitious, but the lyrics definitely didn't do it for me. Don't expect Roger Waters level lyrics here, but if you're up for an amazing musical experience, I highly recommend this album. Again, I'm not the biggest DT fan, but based on what I've heard, this is one of the strongest albums they've written in the last decade, and perhaps their entire career.

Best songs: Dystopian Overture (definitely my favorite track), A Life Left Behind, A New Beginning, Astonishing.