BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS

1) A Nightmare to remember: Dark and heavy. I LOVE this track. A gothic feeling, interestng lyrics and a beautiful mellow part in the middle of the song. And Petrucci really shines, his sound is awesome. I don't like Portnoy's semi growl, but it's a matter of taste. I can handle it. Overall, great opener. 9,5/10.

2) A Rite Of Passage: Nice riffs, catchy chorus and amazing solos. Petrucci was really inspired. The song structure is simple for a prog band, but it was done as a single and it works really good as one. 8,5/10.

3) Wither: The ballad. Simple and beautiful. Jordan Rudess does an amazing job with orchestral and choir sounds, but James LaBrie gets the spotlights. Beautiful singing. This song would become a really nice single. 9/10.

4) The Shattered Fortress: The final song for the AA saga. It really works as a closer, everything seems really cohesive. I found really interesting how it was made with pieces from the previous AA songs. The way the riffs where used, the solos, the vocals... Really good stuff. 9,5/10.

5) The Best Of Times: This is the song Mike Portnoy wrote about his deceased father, and is touching. It starts with piano, a violin and accoustic guitar... And then it turns into a very uplifting song. It finishes with a stunning 3 minute solo by Mr Petrucci. 10/10.

6) The Count Of Tuscany: The new Dream Theater Classic. Awesome instrumental section during the first minutes. The lyrics of the song aren't their best, but it's an improvement over the DARK MASTER from Systematic Chaos. The song appears to be ending at 10:00, but a really nice experimental part comes on. Then, accoustic guitar appears, and LaBrie starts to sing. The song builds up in a breathtaking crescendo, finishing with a short Petrucci solo, a WHOAAAH from LaBrie, awesome sounding drumming and beautiful orchestral sounds. Truly epic. 10/10

(9,5 + 8,5 + 9 + 9,5 + 10 + 10) / 6 = 4,7. 5 stars for this amazing album.

Sorry for the mistakes, english is not my first language.

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