OCTAVARIUM

As I read the reviews about this album, I'm very taken aback. After giving this album multiple spins, I expected to find for it a reception of kings amongst progressive fans. True, Dream Theater lets their influences show in this album, but does that degrade it? No. The amount of sampled sound from other artists is not only acceptable, but intentional, as seen in the lyrics to the titular track. This album had a solid 4/5 as it approached track 8. It was wonderfully executed, and masterfully played. However, it is not tracks 1-7 I wish to discuss: it is track 8, and track 8 alone. I consider Thick as a Brick to be one of the world's few progressive masterpieces. This mainly is derived from the song's focus, and detail. I wholeheartedly believe that should the eighth track of this album have been elongated to an entire album, it would have matched if not surpassed JETHRO TULL's masterpiece. Between concept, lyrics, melody, craft, and pure skill, this track is one of the most beautiful and satisfying songs I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.