BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS

I'm not a musical expert, but sure i'm a long time listener of progressive music, since my (very far from here) 14 years, so i'm only capable to review and rate album from an amateur perpective based just in my taste. DT is a band i catch somewhere in the 2005, through a DVD, the Budokan. And was love at first sight: the ability, the strength of the music, the attitude of those guys made me become a follower. And then I start collecting DT music. This introduction lends me to their last effort, BC& SL. A bit irregular album, but very inmmerse in DT idiosincratia. It has it all: the ballad, the radio friendly theme, the end of the AA saga, and the epics. The lowest point of the record is the growling of Portnoy, i surely can live without it. The highlight is Count of Toscany, a song in the tradition of A change of seasons and Octavarium. Mention appart deserves Best of times: a little corny, but taked in its real context a nice homage from Portnoy to his father, and that reserve respect.

And now, the gradings song-by-song: A Nightmare to Remember : 7/10 A Rite of Passage: 6/10 Wither: 8/10 The Shattered Fortress: 8/10 The Best of Times: 9/10 The Count of Tuscany : 10/10 Overall: 48/60=4/5, or Four stars.