A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD

To be fair, at this point I just wish they could play something different rather than playing the same prog metal they've been playing since Octavarium. This record's great though, probably their best with Mangini.

1. The Alien (7.5/10): The lead single and one of the best tracks from the album too. We've all heard it, fast-paced, diverse, technical, and overly dramatic.

2. Answering The Call (8/10): One of my favorite tracks from the album and very reminiscent of Octavarium's These Walls. The main verse is beautiful, and the chorus' stop-and-go nature is really good. The bridge is where the song shines, the dynamic between Jordan and Petrucci is brilliant.

3. Invisible Monster (6/10): Yeah, I don't like this one. Too generic, a way too made-up chorus and it feels too safe. I like Petrucci's solo for sure.

4. Sleeping Giant (9/10): The best from the album, can definitely say this will go into many of my Dream Theater Playlists. The song begins with a Breaking All Illusions-esque verse, followed up with a chorus of a similar nature. The instrumental section is the best part of the album, it begins with a short solo from Petrucci, followed by a comical ragtime-like piano solo from Jordan and a synth solo. The song closes with a 1-minute epic ending that feels a little too rushed. I really wished they had made it longer.

5. Transcending Time (7/10): This is the Rush-like song from the album and a ballad too. It's good. That's all I can say about it. It has a very cheesy happy vibe that lasts for its full length. For being the ballad song, it's surprisingly lacking in terms of beautiful melodies or choruses.

6. Awaken The Master (7/10): Wasted potential. Instrumental-wise, this is one of the most technical tracks on the album. The first two minutes are just pure instrumental madness, with the band changing riffs at light speed. But the melodies are really un-memorable, which is a shame. At around minute 6:40, your typical Petrucci/Jordan solo section starts. The song ends with the chorus. With a good chorus, this could've easily been one of the best from the album.

7. A View From The Top Of The World (9/10): The track that everyone wanted to know about, the fat-ass epic.

7A: It begins with a fading-in guitar, which then gets accompanied with some cheesy Orchestra from Jordan which then turns slightly into an harp. Very reminiscent of Symphony X's The Divine Wings Of Tragedy. The riff finally takes form into a 15/16. Petrucci then does his typical epic thematic solo.

7B: At around minute three, James finally starts to sing. The chorus is unexpectedly up-beat and fast paced, where the name of the song gets mentioned, it's not very memorable though. A bass & drums section follows, which gets quickly accompanied by another melody James which I don't dig much. At 6:40 the band enters a short instrumental section, where Jordan starts using his silly soundboard. This section ends with Petrucci shredding the hell out of his guitar.

7C: After a moment of atmosphere, a faint and beautiful guitar takes the center of the stage to give the listener a break. A synthetic cello can be heard accompanying the guitar. Jordan then enter with his keyboards to establish the main the of the song. The vocals enter with the drums. The melody feels, once again, lacking and uninspired. As expected, Petrucci does his emotional guitar solo at minute 12:00. James sings for a little and then Petrucci continues his solo.

7D: Release The Wankfest! The instrumental section begins at minute 14:00, it's really good, Petrucci and Jordan make eight billion solos as you could just expect. There's a Mozart-like section at minute 16:30 that's probably the best part of the song, unfortunately it's very short, it only lasts thirty seconds! It closes the instrumental section.

7E: The last three minutes are basically your typical epic closing that you hear in literally every single Dream Theater epic. It gets followed by a riff that reminds me a lot of The Dark Eternal Night's ending riff. A very underwhelming ending.

What's the biggest problem from the album? The melodies, barely any of them are memorable. But the instrumentation is probably the best they've made in decades. Overall, a record that will definitely satisfy any Dream Theater fan, and a very solid and brilliant release. Five Stars.

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