Liquid Tension Experiment 2 - Liquid Tension Experiment

I bet at some point or another, you've found yourself thinking, "I wish three of the instrumentalists from Dream Theater would create a side project with the bass player from King Crimson where they abandon the vocal focus of their respective groups and have more freedom to solo and let loose their mad skillz." Your wish came true (12 years ago)! As the name implies, this is the second studio album by Dream Theater side-project, Liquid Tension Experiment. What you get is exactly what you'd expect from these guys, and a little more:
To me, the first song, "Acid Rain", sounds like the guys really indulging themselves. It's got a full-on prog metal sound. It also shows off quite well the first point I want to make about this band. Oftentimes, when side-groups and supergroups are formed, the members are great, but there isn't really any structure or chemistry; they don't sound like a group so much as individuals. With LTE, though, I find the opposite. Although the 'jam band' feel is intact, it isn't all solos and hooks: true to the band that spawned this one, you'll find a lot of thought-out progressive rock/metal instrumental sections tying it all together. "Acid Rain" is a perfect example of this. Listen to how the solos trade and are complimented by unison sections.
"Biaxident" is probably my favorite song on the album. With a little less soloing than the first track, it starts off in the fashion of a ballad. It quickly shows it's progressive side, but maintains the keyboard focus it started out with. Definitely check it out. Also, the ending is one of those hooks that makes you go, "AWW, YEAH!"
Skipping ahead a bit, I want to mention "When The Water Breaks". Obviously, the name is a clever little musical reference, but the song was inspired by a time when the group was ready to record and Petrucci's wife went into labour, spawning a side-side-project, Liquid Trio Experiment. This song kind of reminds me of "Dance of Eternity" on Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory by Dream Theater (soon, my friends.... soon...). It's got a lot of VERY complicated passages that will make any prog metal fan squeal with joy. However, what makes it different is that is has those solo breaks that I mentioned before (and some cleverly hidden King Crimson references).
Overall, this album is really great. Don't look too deeply into the content, because you won't find any, but just enjoy it for it's face value: great prog metal (with just a hint of jazz!). There aren't a lot of really great supergroups and side projects out there, but if you're a fan of the genre, or of Dream Theater, I guarentee you'll love this. Unlike the Porcupine Tree album from last week, though, I can't say that this one is super-accessible, but it really is a wonderful find. Check it out, and happy listening!

Free link to the album streaming on Napster:
http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=12516768
(...and for once, I agree very much with the Napster review!)