So, this is it! I've been waiting about 6 months for this album, and it's finally out. Black Clouds & Silver Linings is the 10th studio album by one of my favorite bands: Dream Theater. Was the album worth the wait? Did it live up to my high expectations? The answer is interesting. I can't fully say that what I got what I expected. Some things were better, some worse, and some... well, they were just different. Allow me to elaborate:As the album is only 6 tracks long, I'd like to say a little bit about each one.
"A Nightmare to Remember" starts out with some thunder and lightning sounds, which give way to some really heavy guitar riffs. It's very reminiscent of Train of Thought. The first 5 minutes rock pretty hard. What a great way to kick things off! Then, we get a slower groove that reminded me of the second section of "Octavarium" on their eighth album. By now, I was really getting in to the album as it jumped back into the hard-rocking first section again. Then, after some solos and complex unison parts, there comes a section I don't really understand. Similar to parts of other DT songs, there's a section where Mike Portnoy speaks/shouts in rhythm. It's a cool effect, but the words just don't make sense. "It's a miracle he lived, it's a blessing no-one died. By the grace of God above, everyone survived." This is immediately followed by a growl. Why should these words be spoken in Mike's "angry voice"? Wouldn't it make more sense for James LaBrie's tenor voice to carry these uplifting passages? On that note, all of the lyrics in this song are very, very straightforward. It's about a car crash, yes, but do the lyrics need to be a step-by-step description of the events? Why can't they include some of the wonderful imagery used in Scenes from a Memory? Overall, though, I'm nit-picking. This song is really great, and might even be my favorite on the album.
Secondly, "A Rite of Passage" is a good (8-minute) single to follow up with. It's a bit more radio-friendly, with fewer time signature changes, and less twist-and-turn than the average DT song. It's still got that prog feeling to it, but it's definitely accessible to a wider audience.
"Wither" is very similar to most of DT's ballads from the past. It's got a little more of an edge to it, but overall, you won't find anything too new here.
"The Shattered Fortress" is the conclusion to Mike Portnoy's (now) 5-song AA suite. It's a very odd song to hear if you've never heard the other parts of the suite, because it's nearly entirely composed of sections, passages, lyrical comparisons and riffs from the other 4 tracks. Overall, though, it's a good closer to conceptual series of songs.
"The Best of Times" was written for Mike Portnoy's late father, and is a wonderfully written and performed tribute. You'll notice a lot of Rush influence, specifically in the guitar parts. One passage is nearly lifted straight from "Spirit of the Radio". The song is 13 minutes long, but as with many great songs by this band, it seems to fly right by. Definitely check this one out!
I'm going to come right out and say this: I don't really understand "The Count of Tuscany". I'll start by saying that the music is wonderful. With a lot of time signature changes and tempo swings, this song will keep you on your toes. I really like the gothic metal influence in the main refrain, too. What I don't understand is the idea. The song is about a count who takes the narrator on a ride and frightens him with his stories and actions. However, I, as the listener, found nothing frightening about the lyrics. They tell the story in a very straightforward manner, like "A Nightmare to Remember", but the narrators frantic refrain and pleading verses don't seem to connect. To be honest, (and this is actually very hard for me to admit) I thought the lyrics were absolutely awful. Also, as much as I love prog epics, this didn't feel like one. The sections of the song felt disconnected and inconsistent with the current mood of the song. Many sites are saying that this song ranks up there with "Octavarium" and "A Change of Seasons". I very much disagree. Don't get me wrong. Everything about this song is awesome, except how it pulls together (and those really bad lyrics).
All in all, I think there are very few Dream Theater fans out there that will reject this album. It holds its own just fine. Don't mistake my comments for dislike. I really do enjoy this album, I just was surprised by some of the elements given Dream Theater's discography up to this point. Black Clouds won't make a convert out of anyone, but it is a great entry in a wonderful line of albums despite its few hiccups. Happy listening!
Free link to the album on Napster:
http://free.napster.com/view/album/index.html?id=13237325
An afterthought:
I feel like this album is just... different somehow. Maybe this is because it's the first new album since I came into Dream Theater fanhood... maybe it's something else. I compared it earlier today to Black Sabbath. With Ozzy, they were great. With Dio, they were still great, but they were just... different. Maybe I just need to keep listening to it to make it more familiar...
It's amazing how much we think alike when it comes to this stuff. I think I had almost all of those same initial reactions. I had first got into Dream Theater a little before their release of Systematic Chaos and after listening to Octavarium I also felt a little robbed. It took a while for Systematic Chaos to grow on me, but now some of my favorite recordings are on that album. Unfortunately I don't think this will happen with Black Cloud & Silver Linings.
ReplyDelete"A Nightmare To Remember" is hands down my favorite track on the album, which is unfortunate, since it is also the first. I've grown to like "A Rite of Passage" more since I first gave it a listen when the single was released. As I had told you in the past, I don't think it played well without the full album backing it up. "Wither" is a nice filler track that almost seems out of place, but presents a good return to older Dream Theater ballads as you said.
I was really excited for "The Shattered Forest" and for the most part it was exactly as I expected. Although I don't know what was up with the James Earl Jones deep black man voice speaking the dialogue. That just kind felt out of place.
It's hard not to enjoy "The Best of Times;" the whole song transitions well and it shows that Portnoy spent a lot of time on it. At first I thought the lyrics could have been worked out better, but after a while I realized that they had to have that simplicity kind of feel to further push the focus.
"The Count of Tuscany" is definitely not another "Octavarium;" far from it (as far as I'm concerned, Dream Theater will never get better than Octavarium). You're right, the lyrics aren't creative at all. I feel the same lyrics could have been used, but with different emphasis to produce a different presentation that could have been better, but the fact is, they weren't. Petrucci gave it his all on the guitar parts, and I respect that, but I think he could have ironed out the presentation of the song a bit more. It just seemed rushed to me.
Anyway, I'm going to keep listening to the album, I think a first reaction review was a good thing to do, and it really opens the mind to a lot of conceptualization for the album. Maybe in a month or so we should recollaborate and discuss this album again; maybe you could even post a sort of follow-up review. Like you said in your afterthought, it may just need to become more familiar.
I think I will end up doing a follow-up review. "The Count" has really grown more and more on me, but I still think the lyrics and flow are distracting. Mainly, the slow section is beautiful, but why is it there? How does that fit with the story?
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