OCTAVARIUM

This album was my introduction to Dream Theater and I expected great things from it-hoping to uncover a clever metal-orientated album (a real rarity). I was, however, disappointed by this effort for due in the main to weak lyrics and the accompanying vocals. Ironically, when James LaBrie's voice begin to take a more pleasant tone on "The Answer Lies Within" the lyrics fall down and cement the fate of this decidedly average-sounding ballad. Throughout the rest of the album I found his voice increasingly grating on me and as such heavily preferred the instrumental sections. His voice reeks of overspilling teenage angst, it has that same annoying whiny sound to it which grapples so obviously for emotion that it manages to avoid it completely. This said the musicianship of the rest of the band lies in no doubt-sadly their technical proficieny is often obscured by James LaBrie's incompetance. There are some interesting moments instrumentally but are usually underdeveloped (the beginning of "I Walk Beside You") but these are tempered by a few guitar solos (though, according to other reviewers these are in mercifully less abundance than on prior albums) which seem to screech on rather aimlessly and some repetitive background occupying on other tracks. I'm not usually a fan of metal but this aspect didn't intrude on my enjoyment too much and I applaud Dream Theater for aiming at quieter moments occassionally but it's only unfortunate these times are usually the weakest.

The themes which reoccur continuously within this album-those of self-destruction and redemption are flogged tirelessly by inept lyrics that express the same ideas without ever really exploring them to the full. The lyrics smack of Linkin Park or other typical rock outfits and sometimes dive into the cheesiness ("I walk beside you/ Wherever you are/ Whatever it takes/ No matter how far" on "I Walk Beside You") yet there are a few nice turns of phrase hidden in there. Below is a summing up of each individual track, the attention any metal album which boasts intelligence deserves.

The Root Of All Evil - The instrumentation is pretty average, thrashing guitars etc pound out the rhythm with a few cuts to the obligatory guitar squeals. There's an semi-interesting instrumental break after the second to last break but this soon tires into the kind of metal we've all heard before.

The Answer Lies Within - Very simple lyrics which follow the typical ballad route and can't be professed as anything ground breaking. After a good but underdeveloped opening section this track loses all ability to captivate me with the inoffensive 'emotional' instrumentation though James LaBrie's vocals are much improved here.

These Walls - Great opening followed by generic angsty moanings which evoke no emotion in me other than plain irritation. Instrumentation throughout is solid and certainly catchy.

I Walk Beside You - Another promising opening followed by the cheesiest lyrics of the album which definitely deserves the U2 label others have firmly stamped all over it. The low point of the album and to be avoided.

Panic Attack - The best track on the album the lyrics are sparse enough to not be an annoyance and the vocals convey the urgency and sense of entrapment they should. The instrumentation is very interesting-it soars with variety.

Never Enough - Again the instrumentation is good but by this time I'm beginning to feel restricted the very stock sound of Dream Theater, the reasons why I've always veered away from prog metal in the past surface in this record-there just isn't enough variety in the sound to make it subtle enough to hold interest.

Sacrificed Sons - Supposed to be emotionally spectular yet lyrically it left me cold though the brief spurts of eery instrumentation were effective. Too obvious-slamming in your face the message which I don't appreciate.

Octavarium - Didn't really live up to my expectations as the pinnacle of the album. It had its moments but these were often stolen from other bands (very noticeable Yes influences) so I even though I enjoyed these I don't know how much credit can be given for them. Ultimately, it didn't quite pull itself together as the epic it had the potential to be.

Overall, I would recommend this as an example of good metal but as a prog masterpiece it is desperately lacking. Lyrics and vocals can't carry the songs which is a shame since the musicianship is always good. The themes are also very generic and it didn't evoke much emotion despite the interesting bouts of instrumentation.