OCTAVARIUM

I am afraid that I will have to stand by those who did not find this album a masterpiece, at least in comparison with this great group's top creations such as Metropolis II or Awake. I was not too enthousiastic when I bought Falling into Infinity, but right after listening 3-4 times to Octavarium, I put Falling in the CD player and it sounded really great! In Octavarium the voice melodies are simpler and more flat than in their other albums. Even in Train Of Thought which was a more straight metal album and -for many- not a representable Dream Theater release the vocal lines and choruses were memorable and imaginative. "Panic Attack" is the most vivid and fresh track of the album, the U2-type (as many others also noticed) chorus in "I Walk Beside You" ruins the awesome rhythm intro of this track while "Octavarium" is a great piece although it evolves too slowly like "Sacrificed Sons" does. Maybe, if we were still in the vinyl era and this album would not exceed 45 minutes, it would be another great DT's creation. But in its 75 minutes playing time the good and beautiful parts (which indeed exist) seem not to be enough to hold this album in high standards throughout its audience, which is really important now that you can find fantastic albums by post-DT groups, such as Symphony X's New Mythology Suite or Circus Maximus' 1st Chapter.