A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD

DREAM THEATER, 100 years I waited to review one, my prog metal masters; how am I going to stay neutral, listening and telling you of course. DREAM THEATER is the discovery in 1992 of one of the best albums, it is the realization at the end of the year of this 15th thanks also to the DTHQ which allows them to go beyond the distances. DREAM THEATER initially tried to recreate a sound from YES, RUSH, PINK FLOYD or IRON MAIDEN and METALLICA, he quickly made DREAM THEATER with care and genius. The cover signed Hugh Syme can represent the bridge between their moving productions of the beginning and the latter very successful, filled with neat melodies where the musical developments integrate effectively with the voice of James.

"The Alien" hits the ground running with Mike's triple pedal, John's bass that lets low notes dripping, keyboards with a sound that comes from Jordan's 3 or 4 hands, a hard heavy riff that announces color; that's it the new Dream Theater has arrived and will wreak havoc. A colorful crystalline solo from John that puts the mood and finally found James' voice on human efforts at alien exploration (would the containment have helped put her down for a bit?). The single that many hastened to listen to this August 13 and which gives each of the instrumentalists his place to the chagrin of his detractors, whom I personally say immediately I support them 100% for this deluge; mention to Jordan and John (and John who seconds them with his 12 fingers) for a long solo of over 4 'and Mike for his various pad escapades! More successful LTE overboosted, phrasing, dynamite. 'Answering the Call' drives the point home, submachine gun in action, meteoric rise of notes, groovy and heavy riff amplifying melodic James' voice; more conventional title with the immense bass cutting the rhythm and leading to a thunderous, tortured synth-guitar fight, yes the synth is also a weapon at the Dream Theater when the guitar solo wants to be felted; tribal final on percussion and bass. "Invisible Monster" starts with a refined register, melodic mid-tempo, text about the confrontation of his fears admirably sung by James, a piece reminiscent of "Forsaken"; halfway through the station wagon highlights Mike and then unleashes a sublime, catchy, fresh, fruity guitar solo in two stages; simple title in my opinion on the certified vein of the group. 'Sleeping Giant' mysterious intro at first, a heavy riff that leaves, S-F BOF atmosphere, a keyboard oozing notes, the main riff brings back the titles of Images And Words 'in memory, concise, focused, perfectible; tortured, variegated, heavy, thunderous, choirs rocking the air, a little synth foolish folklore funfair and the guitar squirting for a pure moment of supercharged progressive metal; track which as an instrumental on CD2 immediately sends me back to LTE's 'When the Water Breaks'.

'Transcending Time' obvious RUSH intro, aerial, melodic prog metal before the hour, here we are on the sound of the agreed group, conventional, not overdone, similar, in short their sound with Jordan leading the dance .. There I understand the annoyance of those who say 'it's the same', but who would shout even more if? it was different! In short, neo-prog metal limit with a divine childish piano just to recover from John's refined and millimeter solo, a soft title that disappoints me a little in view of the feeling of déjà vu despite a flawless harmonic. Heavy 'Awaken the Master'! John and Mike are asking for one thing, to see them in concert for this airy and crystal-clear brutal intro; Jordan comes like an angel to bring emotion, John takes out the grapeshot from his 8-string so that James releases his text and combines it all into a successful tune. When heavy and symphonic complement each other in this dantesque whirling 6 minute solo? listen and you will understand, good nothing to throw here after all. A View from the Top of the World 'in 3 parts for the epic main course, the baby dinosaur that reminds me from the start of' Six Degrees 'for its string and brass suite; good that hits hard, text on the limits of some to want to test and surpass themselves in this sanitized life and place of king for James here; 5 minutes and break with John-bass for the 2nd verse, 7 minutes it heats up then it squirts; 9 minutes already without striking a blow and we catch our breath with a little acoustic guitar then cello synth, divine solo posed, James takes control of a Floydien tune of 'The Greag Gig' for a while, sumptuous voice I insist then that sets out again on the 14 minutes with a solitary tonic surge as one did not dare to imagine, me if and I have for my account; guitar right, left, a Hammond synth and the tune picking up with the last verse; dantesque finale with an imposing groovy riff juggling a neoclassical hint of the 90's; the final riff to rule the time that stopped for 20 minutes.

DREAM THEATER shows its ability to compose evolving, exciting, twirling and joyful pieces. DREAM THEATER releases a high-end musical slap with a packaging of over-boosted notes that will bury the grumpy. Remember to breathe a little before starting to listen to this album suffocating by the quality of the raw, sensual tracks. There are progressive atmospheres, there is art, there is a great album. Simply progressive metal album of the year.