BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS

Dream Theater has officially ended their slight dip in quality with the best album they've put out in years. Black Clouds and Silver Linings didn't exactly have to do much to trump Octavarium and Systematic Chaos, but if you were to tell me it would be THIS good I would have called you a liar. This album is masterful. It is one of the best albums they've ever put out, and contains some of the best music they've ever recorded.

A Nightmare to Remember kicks things off in a big way. This 16-minute beast is a wonderful song for new DT fans. It touches on almost every musical shift the group has been through over the last 23 years, making it a pretty good summary of what to expect if you wanted to check out some of their back catalog. Portnoy's singing in this song has gotten quite a bit of flak, and even some extremely baffling comparisons to Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt (guys, he doesn't sound A THING like him!). Personally, yeah, it's a little jarring, but I don't mind it. I've grown to like it, as corny as it seemed at first. It fits the song, but I do wish he would stick to backing vocals. 10/10

A Rite of Passage is the weakest song on the album, but is in no way a bad song. It's a single with a huge amount of soloing in the middle which kinda drags, but is overall still a fairly great track despite it's completely unprogressive stylings. If Dream Theater were a mainstream band, this would be their output. Thankfully they aren't, and thankfully there aren't a lot of songs like this on the album. 8/10

Wither is the next song, and one that would have been a cooler single. It's a slower, more brooding piece that centers around having writer's block. It's probably the most gothic track on the album, but it's gorgeous nonetheless. I can see why they chose to put out Rite of Passage as the single, but this song is worlds better. 9/10

The Shattered Fortress is the long-awaited final step to the AA Suite. What a way to end it! It's clearly the final movement in a vast array of other movements, but it holds up pretty well on its own despite a few jarring moments structurally. Regardless, a great finish to a great suite. 9.5/10

The Best of Times is, hands-down, the most powerful song these guys have ever recorded. Dedicated to and about Mike Portnoy's father who passed away recently. It's an uplifting, fun track in the vein of Rush with beautiful lyrics and a crushing, beautiful guitar solo at the end that reminds me of The Ministry of Lost Souls, only more potent. 10/10

Finally, the album ends with The Count of Tuscany, a 20-minute monster that is not only the best song these guys have put out in years, but their most unique too. It has bits and pieces that sound clearly inspired from Yes and other 70s prog bands, along with a definite hint of Metallica and other thrash metal. It's a STUNNING piece of music, and is absolutely their finest moment on here. 10/10

I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am that BC&SL turned out this good. Like the title suggests, it's a dark album, but it has hopeful undertones that keep it from falling into the muck of downbeat, gross gothic music. This is DT's finest moment in 10 years. Go get this album right away.

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