TRAIN OF THOUGHT

This album seems to be the subject of either extreme criticism or praise; in my opinion it deserves neither. This is not a bad album, but it is definately not a 'Masterpiece' and, as a whole, is one of DT's weaker outputs. There's a lot of great music here, but the problems lie mostly in orchestration. It seems that DT was so occupied with finding ways to fit all these great riffs that they forgot to incorporate the emotional element that's usually felt in their music. The lack of emotion is also a result of lyrics and melodies that aren't up to par with traditional DT standards. Instead of vocal lines that are powerful and capturing they're often boring and even frustrating to listen to. This is all with exception of one or two songs that were amazing and a step in the right direction for DT; which is why I don't see this album as a step back or "the downfall of DT". The band is starting on a new path with their music and are raising the bar even for them. There is an abundance of great ideas on this album and a lot of potential. I will hold great anticipation for the band's next release expecting further exploration of these new ideas but with improved songwriting and composition. ToT is a good purchase for any established DT fan; being a steppping stone in the bands carreer. However, for anyone looking to be introduced to the band I would suggest starting with 'Scenes From A Memory' or 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'......or pretty much any other previous release (save 'Falling Into Infiniy').