A CHANGE OF SEASONS

This EP was released because Dream Theater wanted to release a longstanding classic that hadn't fit on any of the preceding studio albums. They added a couple of live recorded covers to it and as a result this EP counts no less then 45 minutes.

At the time, both the epic track and the live tracks shed a different light on the band for me. The focus is obviously on the Change of Seasons, an epic title that shows DT in fine progressive form. The metal aspect in the sound is toned down a bit and acoustic guitars and melodies get more room to develop. It starts just excellently and keeps developing through many appealing sections, but Labrie's vocal lines are at times too whiny, melodramatic and sentimental to make me appreciate the piece through and through. Still, prog-metal fans shouldn't hesitate. I think this track shows Dream Theater at a creative peak. 4 stars.

The remainder of the EP consists of semi-interesting covers and medleys that highlight Dream Theater's influences and shows how they got their prog from Floyd, their crunch from Zeppelin and the cheese from Queen, Kansas and Elton John. That's a lot of cheese unfortunately. Hardly 2 stars for the choice of music here, the execution of the material is fine though.