DREAM THEATER - SCORE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR LIVE WITH THE OCTAVARIUM ORCHESTRA

This is one hell of a live DVD. Every single thing about it is everything you could ask for in a DVD. Fantastic production, amazing setlist, entertaining documentary and other special features. As has been mentioned before, LaBrie shines here more than he has in past; i.e., he doesn't sound bad, really. At any point. Which is cool.

That being said, I prefer Budokan. I'm really not sure why. I mean that honestly. Something about Budokan's production is just better in my book. I also think that the difference in setlists contributes to that. Budokan's setlist was about as incredible as you could get. Perfection. The setlist for Score is a great concept, but I think it falls short for me. I thought it was absolutely incredible to see Under A Glass Moon and Innocence Faded on there. Would never have guessed it, and beyond pleasantly surprised. Yet, I don't think Raise the Knife and Another Won were necessary. Afterlife, I'm in the middle on.

And Vacant? I mean, it sounds fantastic. Don't get me wrong. But that as Train of Thought's representation in Dream Theater's catalogue? Not sure about that.

Now, for the unbelievably good parts. The selection off Octavarium is righteous. I have nothing to complain about there. The song Octavarium is about as mind-blowing as you can get. Sacrificed Sons could bring tears to my eyes. And Root of All Evil opens the concert with more than a bang.

But, for me, the best part was the inclusion of the entirety of my favorite Dream Theater song: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. I mean... wow. Wow. Come on. With an orchestra. I mean wow. There's nothing to say. If you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about. 42 minutes of bliss.

All in all, however, I can't give it more than three. I gave Budokan four, and to put this on the same page as Budokan (for me) is impossible. Can't give either a 5: can't force Dream Theater on anyone, and a live DVD can't really be a 5 (for me). I give it three because Dream Theater fans MUST own this. That just goes without saying. Want to get to know Dream Theater? Eh. Starting here COULD be a good idea, but I'm not so sure. I'd go with the albums first. Maybe Metropolis or something to that effect. But this DVD, in many ways, is fantastic just the same.

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