SIX DEGREES OF INNER TURBULENCE

Originally posted February 20, 2002 My initial reaction to SDOIT is it's not very good. Sounds like the band ripped through the song-writing as if in a hurry to get on with something else. And while the songs are ridiculously long they're short on imagination and creativity. The lyrics are especially lacking and pale in comparison to those from Awake and Falling Into Infinity. In fact, the disc is so underwhelming I haven't even listened to it in the last week and a half or so. In total, I think I've only listened to it 8 or 10 times.

Don't get me wrong...it doesn't suck....it just sounds a little hurried to me and, thus far, isn't a compelling listen. I do intend to spend some time digesting it (there is, after all, almost 100 minutes of music here) and will give a full review after I've learned a bit more of the disc.

November 7, 2002

Well, the fact it's taken me nine months to finally write my review of this disc should tell you something. If I'd been truly excited by SDOIT you know I'd have posted my thoughts months ago. I wanted my site to be thorough so here we go. Six Degrees is not without its high points, most of which are found on disc two, the 42-minute title track. While DT's best works are usually found in grand concepts this effort fails to reach their lofty standards. Listeners will enjoy many usual DT elements such as outstanding musicianship and a wide-ranging mix of musical vibes. The "song" begins with a significant departure from the standard DT sound with a piece that could easily be a movie soundtrack. From there the band covers progressive rock (About to Crash), thrash (War Inside my Head) and mellow 70's jazz-rock (Goodnight Kiss). Along the way you're treated to the usual solos and extended musical sections. All are performed flawlessly and are all solid efforts. The problems though, are many. The most glaring weakness is that, unlike clasics such as A Change of Seasons or Scenes From A Memory the whole is less than the sum of the individual parts. THe six-minute opening Overture, while interesting, plays no role in the overall story. The song can be completely skipped over and have no impact on the total listening experience; it also plays no role as far as musical themes, story-lines or character revelations. This is true throughout the piece as each section seems separate from the others, with little connecting them together. The transitions, while good, pale compared to those found on truly great concept pieces.

This could all have been salvaged with a strong finisher. Instead, Grand Finale represents the least compelling portion of the work; slow, lacking passion or intensity and dragging on far too long. These are not the elements you want to leave the listener with but that's what you get with SDOIT. Thus, the centerpiece of the two-disc release ends up being a LONG exercise in self-indulgence for the band members. Interesting and entertaining at times but overall disappointing and a bit disillusioning.

Disc one fares even worse. The five songs share many traits: all have solid moments, all last WAY too long and all suffer from weak lyrics. The opening Glass Prison shows tremendous promise with a classic progressive DT opening. Unfortunately, the song needed to last about six minutes instead of 14. Much the same could be said of the four remaining songs....each has parts that live up to the DT legacy and each suffers from self-indulgent musical masturbation. Worse, the songs all lack originality with all of them openly ripping off artists such as Genesis and Tool. While DT is great in many ways they should leave Tool to Maynard; we're better off with one Tool and one DT as opposed to one Tool and one Tool wannabe. With all of the problems the absence of solid lyrics if the proverbial final straw. The songs truly sound as if they were written in a few weeks (as they in fact were) as opposed to the mind-expanding works found on previous DT releases.

In sum, SDOIT lacks originality, solid song-writing and cohesion. In my mind it is easily the weakest effort from the band since James LaBrie joined back in 1991. Really, all you need to know about SDOIT is that the conclusion of the title track is a single "climatic" note that last for a full minute and forty-five seconds. The not could have lasted only 15 seconds and achieved the same purpose but in true SDOIT fashion it excruciatingly carried it out 7 times longer simply for the amusement of the band itself.