OCTAVARIUM

DT is and will remain my favorite band. Throughout their career, these artists have created matchless, almost divine music. So when I read all these controversial reviews I felt anxious to give one of my own. But I needed some time to hear the album several times and come up with a more objective opinion, unlike most of the overexcited fellows. Now I can shout for certain that Octavarium is by far the band's simplest creation. But hey prog music can be grand even without shiny solos and spastically fast and complex guitar riffing. (Take for instance Fates Warning.) Prog music can be great if it's authentic and emotionally deep, features that are absent in Octavarium, which seems to be vastly suffering from lack of originality. Petrucci is probably the principal responsible for this mediocrity. Portnoy has some (but not many) fine drum moments but Petrucci seems more compromised and less innovative than ever, with static and repetitive riffs. There is no true progressive metal in Octavarium apart from some satisfactory moments on the two last tracks. In general, Octavarium is too commercial and mainstream rendering apparent that the bar that was set by Metropolis may never be surpassed. So if Metropolis deserves five stars, Octavarium should not get more than two. It's true that they are still immensely better than the average metal band, but guys we have to take into account that these superb musicians can do a lot better than that. p.s. DT Greek fans see you all in Athens on July the 1st!