Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Roadrunner Records
www.dreamtheater.net 

Rating: B 

The latest Dream Theater album has only six songs on it.  Six tiny little songs — well not so tiny as “A Nightmare to Remember” clocks in at over eighteen minutes and three others clock in over twelve minutes as well.   

Prog fans will continue to have wet dreams now that this album is on the shelves as Dream Theater continue to be the leaders of their genre.  This album, while popular with music loving computer geeks around the globe, has also seen the band crack the Top 20 upon release, a feat almost unheard of in this day and age of pop dominance.  This shows that there is a demographic that want real music.  The success is due only to the band’s continued excellence as there was not much of a budget for marketing.   

The band is so talented that it is actually hard to convey what is going on creatively.  Each song is an epic and changes shade and color with ease.  The guitars are amazing, the vocals are amazing, the bass playing and keyboards are amazing and the drums are breathtaking (betcha thought I was gonna say ‘amazing’).  The bottom line here is that Dream Theater are getting better with age and experience.  They are playing with confidence and they are enjoying the fruits of their labor.  This band is a long way from being done and, at the end of the day, one wonders what comes next.  The only thing for sure is that whatever it is, it will be amazing.

– By Jeb Wright