BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS

great album. t00 me, this is an awesome way t00 get me into Dream Theater. On July 1 2009, i went t00 Wal Mart cuz my mom got paid. i saw that they had the album. so i looked at it and i found that it had some long songs and on the back cover of the album, i found that the album was mixed by Paul Northfield, which also produced Rush's Vapor Trails, which was also a great Rush album. i bought the album, and when i got home, i ate some lunch and then i walked t00 my friends t00 put it on my friend's PS3 and t00 get the entire album on my MP3. so i walked around hearing the album. and i liked it. A Nightmare to Remember: the 1st song by Dream Theater that i ever heard. great song. even though the song has some gothic sounding, its still a great song cuz its Dream Theater, they have a light side and also the goth side on this song and album. in my opinion, the guitar, the guitar solos, drums, vocals, and the keyboard solos are what stands out for this song. i gotta love the guitar riffs, the guitar solos, and the keyboard solos by Jordan Rudess. amazing way t00 start off hearing Dream Theater for the 1st time. 10/10 A Rite of Passage: an 8 minute song that gets heavy around 15 seconds into the song. i love everything about this song. 10/10. Wither: more of like a sad song. its slow and heavy guitar. its the shortest song on the album and its 5 minutes long. the chorus and the solo is what makes the song worth hearing. 8.5/10. The Shattered Fortress: oh yeah! that's what i'm talking about! another epic! definitely! i love the song, i read the lyrics when i got the album, and i thought wow! that's one powerful message that this song has. so i got the song on my MP3 and i loved the song. i gotta give credit t00 the whole band for making this album. the guitar, the keyboard, the drums, the vocals, and the lyrics for the song. i like the lyrics after the 2nd chorus. the lyrics that Mike Portnoy wrote are just awesome. the lyrics fits with the entire song. 12 minutes long and i love it. 10/10. The Best of Times: 13 minutes long. i started getting into around 3 minutes in the song cuz there's this awesome guitar riff around 2:40 of the song. very great guitar from Petrucci right here. i like the every verse, every chorus, and definitely the guitar solo for the song cuz the solo is 3 minutes in length. 3 minute guitar solo for a song, yeah, it's awesome. 10/10 The Count of Tuscany: oh yeah! the last song on the album! i heard the song! its 19 minutes long! i love it! i love the album! this is a new beginning for me getting into Dream Theater. love the song i gotta tell yuhh. 9.5/10 58/6 = 96% - 5 stars