TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Unfortunately, a very disappointing album which gives a clear indication of Dream Theaters decline artistically. Not being content with having given us the studio-improvised pretentiousness of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Dream Theater, five professional musicians in their 30s and 40s, want to become angsty, heavy and dark. Unfortunately, they stopped being young and angry 20 years ago, and the result is laughably bad, devoid of any impact whatsoever. Solos are abundant, with clean precise picking and fast runs, but this listener feels nothing when he hears Dream Theaters studio indulgences and empty virtuosity. There is also little magic to be found in the harmonic minor heavy metal riffs John Petrucci churns out on his seven-string guitar, all following the same basic patterns of root note-transition-root note, often throwing in a bar or two in odd time signatures (so it can classify as "prog", like that should matter).

All that was magical about Dream Theater has vanished, a development starting with the appointment of Jordan Rudess as keyboardist. With this man behind the 'boards, all sense of restraint vanished and those that had given us such brilliant albums like Falling Into Infinity and Images and Words now went fully professional and started composing in the studio, instead of honing their compositions to the max in rehearsals. Train of Thought is clear evidence that DT are now releasing albums for the sake of releasing them, and is so mediocre that it marks the first album by said group that I have not, and will not, purchase.