LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT 2

Liquid Tension Experiment blows their first album out of the water with their second release by creating one of the best instrumental rock albums of all time. While there are some tracks that are technically impressive progressive metal reminiscent of Dream Theater, overall, the album is groove after groove of eclectic, jazz-influenced rock. All the musicians are world-class, and LTE2 contains some of their best jams as a group. The first few tracks are primarily shorter progressive metal songs with various other influences mixed in, while the last few compositions are mostly longer jams. All of the tracks fit together perfectly in terms of balance on the album; there are enough catchy riffs and grooves to balance the more abstract sections of the longer tracks. It's a rare occurrence that an album can be extremely catchy and memorable while at the same time being technically mind-blowing and compositionally moving. However, Liquid Tension Experiment manages to bring all of these factors to levels of near perfection in their second release and pushes musical boundaries farther into new territory.

Rating: 9/10