OCTAVARIUM

Octavarium was my introduction to progressive rock music. My father gave me this album when I was seventeen, and it has no doubt launched a wave of incredible music in my life. It seems only fair that my first review here on ProgArchives be of Dream Theater's Ocatavarium.

The Root of All Evil is a great opener, with heavy riffs throughout accompanied by lower toned keyboard and piano. This song is somewhat slower-paced and isn't as technical as other works from Dream Theater, but that doesn't diminish the metal edge of this song. Overall, a very good opener. 9/10

The Answer Lies Within is a beautiful ballad with some truly epic moments. I really enjoy the lyrics here, as well as the vocals and piano (a running trend in this album). Not too much variety, but a well-crafted song nontheless. 9/10

These Walls kicks in with some cool warped-guitar sounds. The melody here is outstanding and the band sounds full and focused. Great lyrics and some pretty cool drum fills. One of the best tracks on the disc in my opinion. 9.5/10

I Walk Beside You is the most radio-friendly song on the album, but that doesn't bother me too much. There are plenty of great moments here, including a part that reminds me of the song "surrounded" from Images and Words. This song is epic in its own way and fits perfectly within the album. 8.5/10

Panic Attack is the heaviest song to be found here, and the album really starts to kick in at this point. This song has an Interesting structure and really showcases the technicality that's almost been missing from the first four tracks. The instrumental/solo section is pretty awesome. Just as epic as can be expected. Great song! 9.5/10

Never Enough has a cool opening keyboard and the vocals have a great sound throughout the song. Everything here is top notch, including the main riff and the chorus. 9/10

Sacrificed Sons starts out pretty slow and haunting, then transforms into a wall of prog riffs and crazy soloing! Which is quite welcome at this point in the album, considering the only other songs to have such instrumental busyness so far is The Root of All Evill and Panic Attack. The song never loses focus, though. The chorus is great and the ending is heavy and epic as usual. Outstanding song! 10/10

Octavarium is the greatest track on the album. There is too much in this song for me to accurately cover, which is always a good thing. This song has everything any prog fan could ever want. So epic and full of instrumental madness! Amazing lyrics and emotion, tying together the theme of the album, and the guitar solo at the end makes me shiver every time. Without a doubt the greatest song Dream Theater has ever made. 10/10

While this album isn't considered to be the pinnacle of Dream Theaters accomplishments, to me it certainly is their masterpiece. Every song fits together wonderfully, and the concept is original and executed perfectly. Maybe it's my personal connection to this album that's saying all this, seeing how it is my first prog cd, but it's certainly enough for me to reccommend to anyone. Overall, 10 out of 10. A prog metal masterpiece.