FORSAKEN

I genuinely don't understand why this was released. Dream Theater have never been an EP sort of band, with the notable exception of A Change Of Seasons, which is a completely different kettle of fish. This EP consists of nothing more than Forsaken which is identical to the studio version, an uninteresting live version of the same track, followed by a live version of Constant Motion, which is also quite unnecessary. It would have been understandable if they'd released this EP prior to 'Systematic Chaos', but in fact this was released as late as March 31st 2008 when 'Systematic Chaos' was released June 4th 2007. What's more is this is a digital download only, no CD version of this, so to get it you had to feed iTunes, or some other soul sucking website spewing awful protected files, which I'm ashamed to say I did back in the days when I thought Dream Theater could do no wrong. Maybe the only pro of this EP is that the live tracks sound better than their counterparts on 'Chaos In Motion 2007-2008', with crisper drums, and LaBrie not sounding like he's just swallowed a golf ball. However, there is nothing of worth on this supremely useless release, and it seems like a huge money trap for obsessive DT collectors who need to own everything the band have made. Poor show.