TRAIN OF THOUGHT

I know that there is a big controversity going on with this record, and I agree that I wasn't really pleased as I heard "TOT" the first time. But after I spend many time with this album I was pretty blown away! It's the heaviest DT album to date and also the most complex one. The production is powerful, the guitar riffs sound monster, the bass is better put in place than on all DT releases since "Awake", the keys aren't as dominant anymore as on previous albums. The problem I had to get into it was, that I couldn't found the brilliant hooks from previous releases, that made them to cornerstones for the listener. "Endless Sacrifice" was the track, where I could find these important trademarks first to get into it more, and the whole album seemed to connect all the heaviness with brilliant arrangent structures that gave me the possibility to understand all better and really get into it. The hymn of the album is the final "In The Name Of God", where all the strength of Dream Theater is connected in. If you don't know/own this record, I recommend you to download the free instrumental "Stream Of Consciousness" from this page, it's now my favourite instrumental of DT beside "Erotomania" and "Ytse Jam", really great, what brilliant played track, here you can hear what brilliant musicians they are! The opening track "As I Am" is in the style of "The Glass Prison" from their previous record "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence", sounds very like Metallica or new styled-metal like Mudvayne and should be only interestening for fans of metal. The following "This Dying Soul" is a prog metal epic, that also begins as a thrasher but is interrupted by a oriental-styled guitar riff, a melodic refrain follows, after that it's getting heavy again. "Honor Thy Father" begins once more with brutal agressive riff-attacking, followed by strange vocal-lines by James LaBrie, with great key- arrangement by Jordan Rudess, I miss a little bit the big chorus in this one, but a solid track although. "Vacant" is a short but effectful ballad, Jame's vocals are beautifully guided by a violin. All in all, "Train Of Thought" can't reach the high songwriting level of "Scenes From A Memory" or "Awake", but it's a great album, for what you must spend time, for what you'll be finally rewarded. It can't really touch the soul like "Scenes...", but it's really an original, impressing record by a fantastic band!