OCTAVARIUM

When I first read the reviews I was expecting a bad album (or at least something like Systematic Chaos, and by the way, I like it). Now that I've listen to Octavarium very carefully and a lot of times, I can say this is not a bad CD, in fact is, for me, one of their best works. And why do I say that? First of all, we should assume the fact that there won't be another Images and Words anymore, and that's perfect because that shows the evolution of the band. Dream Theater could be mediocre and make a lot of albums like Awake or Images and Words, suffering from that Iron Maiden archetype (always the same sound). So, what's the bad thing in innovating? This album still sounds like Dream Theater, but with more complex and refreshing sound.

The root of all evil is actually a masterpiece by its own merits. It's powerful, heavy, and, in my opinion, has the most memorable riff of the entire album. LaBrie's voice in here is simply amazing, and that's why I do not understand why so many people hate his voice. He's just perfect as the song itself.

The answer lies within is a very nice ballad with enough power to remain in the mind a very long time. It's both melancholic and beautiful. Maybe it's not the best Dream Theater ballad, but it is indeed good and subtle.

These Walls has an excellent chorus leaded by a mid tempo melody which fits perfectly with the whole song. It's not boring, but such a calm and strong track.

I walk beside you, okay, very U2-ish for all, even though is the weakest song on the album, it's not that bad. It's catchy, superfluous, and proves that progressive metal bands don't need to make every single song difficult to listen to. I do hate U2, but what can I say? I like this song.

Panic attack is the heavier song on the album, and balances perfect the circle in where we're now immerse. After two soft tracks, a heavy song is what the album was praying for. Musically, I can say this is pure technique: a lot of rhythm changes, a constant fast melody, an accurate LaBrie, many keyboards and an excellent guitar work by the master himself, Petrucci.

In Never enough some say Muse changed roles with Dream Theater in this song, and made a powerful remake of Stockholm Syndrome. I don't know if that's true, but while we discover it, we can say this is a good song with a great chorus and a powerful guitar solo. Not the best of the album, but a nice song.

Sacrificed sons is the first really epic song. In a few words: it's emotive, subtle, desperate and awesome. Lyrics are really nice too, they describe a very deep feeling of the Americans after 9/11, but not go through the trite denounce. It's just beautiful, some kind of dark, epic and evocative.

What can I say about Octavarium? I cannot describe this song with human words. Maybe you'll say I'm exaggerating, but this is an ode for the progressive rock, an anthem of the genre. As the title suggests, it's circular, because within the melody we're not able to escape of it, we keep trapped inside this Octavarium for 24 minutes, flowing through this virtuous music. It's epic, it has the best musical work of the entire album, and it has the album within it (literally). Also it has a lot of references to prog music through history: from Pink Floyd, passing through Yes, to Genesis and a lot more. The best part in my opinion is Intervals, where LaBries goes dark while speaking, and finally screams in a very good way, actually in an epic way.

Octavarium is a great album, no matter what other people thinks. This is the way which music should sound. One more time Dream Theater proved that they are nothing but one of the best musicians in the whole metal scene. I wouldn't call this a masterpiece, but a very brilliant and excellent work.