OCTAVARIUM

Dream Theater's eighth album, Octavarium, is in generality highly underrated for an unknown reason. Many say, that it lacks in originality, it's not DT-ish, it's not true (some people are dropping around this world so silly)...in my opinion, it sorely is. That's not the old DT you get here, but a new and strong band. A good step forward from Train of Thought, unfortunately their way led to Systematic Chaos...but that is another story.

All of the musicians play excellent (no surprise form DT). I have to praise especially Mr. Portnoy: THIS is the drumming style I expect from him (listen to the intro of Never Enough), and his backing vocals here are well done, and he don't pushes himself in the foreground

Let's see it track by track.

1. The Root of All Evil: Pretty heavy, metal song (not a heavy metal song, though), a fantastic opener (just watch it on Score!). The main landmark is the riffing, which is chequered by the piano. The

2. The Answer Lies Within: A nice ballad featuring mostly the piano, and here we have the first point where the orchestra joins in. Very strong song, due to LaBrie's emotional interpretation and the high- class bridge at 3:05.

3. These Walls: Great song with a great riff, catchy chorus and excellent instrumentation: the distorted guitars and the background piano are each other's awesome counterparts. And it's NOt nu metal as in the eyes of some deaf critics. (If you want to hear DT making nu metal, then check The Dark Eternal Night.)

4. I Walk Beside You: A light hit song (though, never released as a single), relatively simple. Its best point is Portnoy's nice drumming during the verses.

5. Panic Attack: You are shocked, aren't you? This is the band's most extreme song, but a damn good one as well! Long, agressive, technical, and the chorus (Run, try to hide, overwhelmed by this complex delirium) gives me shivering. The building up is smart, the solos are mind-blowing (for example the guitar-synth unison).

6. Never Enough: Some may say, it is a Muse song, and while they're right in some measure (see the melodic similarities between this song and Stockholm Syndrome, falsetto-like voice from LaBrie), I ask them: when did Muse use long instrumental sequences? Not a highlight of DT music, but a pretty track. And

7. Sacrificed Sons: The track is based on 9/11 (New York City is their hometown). Although it is the most repetitive song, you don't really recognize it due to the energy and the emotions. The orchestra finally gets a bigger role.

8. Octavarium: Fantastic 24 minutes long epic! Their best work so far. The first two movements are slow, but in the middle it becomes faster and faster, then it reaches the climax Trapped inside this Octavarium!, and the final movement brings it off. Absolutely beautiful.

Obvious FIVE from me.