Dream Theater

"Octavarium"

Rating:                                 

Reviewed by:

Skeletal Grace

I know. This album has been out for months. However, I feel I never gave it a fair shot when it was first released, and my opinion on it has drastically changed since then. Therefore, I am going to make things right and give this latest DT release the review it deserves.

I think the reason I was turned off to it the first time I heard it, back in May, was because of the way the album opens with “Root of All Evil”. Boring, generic and predictable. You have to understand that to a long time DT fan who takes immense pleasure in their musical prowess, their last album, “Train of Thought”, was flat out offensive to me. So, when “Octavarium” started out just where “Train” left off, I was thoroughly disgusted. I think it had such a poor effect on my mood that I just shot the rest of “Octavarium” down by default without really listening to it.

My mistake.

First of all… The opener, “Root of All Evil”, is not that damn bad when it comes down to it. I still don’t like the Velvet Revolverish riffing in the beginning, nor do I care for the static verse with the flat vocals. But then the song really opens up with a blooming second chorus and moves into a nice little instrumental number before it finishes in the same drab way as it started off.

This is by far DT’s most mellow album and reminds me often of the softer tunes on “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” or even the slower passages on “Scenes From a Memory”. Dream Theater’s musical identity has changed a lot since their debut, “When Dream and Day Unite”. They’ve gained melodic accessibility at the expense of innovative complexity, but there is one area in which they’ve improved vastly since then - the slow stuff. The band has a knack for writing stunningly beautiful music and infusing it with the most perfect vocal harmonies; this shows in all its perfect splendor in these ballads. In fact, I don’t think James La Brie has sounded this good since “Images and Words”. The second song on here, “Answer Lies Within”, is the perfect example of this “new” DT. They may not necessarily be so very metal anymore, but who’s counting anyway?

On the other hand, the biggest issue for me with DT of today is the way Petrucci has toned down his guitar playing, both in the formerly so flashy solo department as well as in the actual riff composition. The riffs on this album are all fairly standard, which translates to “well below par” for this band, and could just as well be found in any average metal band of today. I just expect more from the best progressive metal guitarist on the planet. Was there a memo about not making a big fucking statement with your guitar solos anymore? If so, I didn’t get it. Petrucci obviously did. Rudess plays more solos on his keys than Petrucci does on his guitar throughout the whole album. “Well, we write actual songs nowadays, not just excuses to get a chance to show off.” True, but why are they both mutually exclusive?

Part of DT’s charm has always been that they could pull off both, effortlessly and flawlessy, and always manage to put you in a state of absolute awe before their musical superiority. Not so anymore. Having seen them live dozens of times from the start until today, I KNOW that they are better musicians than they were when they first burst onto the scene. Look at Myung, evolving into one of the best bass players in the world, compared to his humble beginnings. Seeing Dream Theater live is a mind altering experience. Fuck drugs. Get high on this band instead. The keyword here is “live”. Sadly, this is not reflected in their studio efforts of late. Mike Portnoy is a tremendously exciting drummer, and although he can play in circles around most everybody on any scene today, you would never guess that from listening to this album. The drumming is great, of course, but not DT great.

“These Walls” and “Answer Lies Within” follow, and both songs have that new positive musical sound to them; DT on Prozac. I love the melodies and the playing on here, but sometimes I find myself bouncing up and down with the frustration over them not taking a few more chances. Chances with anything… the key, the riff, the time changes, the goddamn overall structure. Do something! It’s cute, but cute doesn’t cut it for me with DT. I want extraordinary. I want to be blown away. This is all a little too “nice” and predictable. But then again, maybe I should just get used to this new Dream Theater sound and stop living in the past. The vocal melodies are the only area in which, at least a little, they have pushed the envelope. James La Brie’s voice sometimes travels uncanny and beautiful routes through the rather flat, hard and straight-forward soundscapes. Again, this is most prevalent in the slower songs though.

“Panic Attack” has a really crappy first minute or two, until it opens up in a big choir laden break. The guitar sound here is a little too unwrapped for me. It sounds like it’s leaking all over the place, without that tightly wrapped control that Petrucci has mastered to a point of absolute excellence otherwise. Is it to mask yet another crappy riff? Throw us off the scent? I don’t know. DT never do anything they haven’t planned meticulously into the smallest detail, so I guess I’m just not getting it. The mid part of this song is just amazing. Again, more because of the vocals and harmonies, than because of any superb musical interludes. As a matter of fact, they sound a lot like Maiden halfway through this song. Not a bad thing, but not DT either. The guitar solo is, of course, very good, but where Petrucci used to incorporate all kinds of styles into his wizardry in past breathtaking solos (listen to “Under a Glass Moon” from “Images” for reference) it’s just “very good” now instead. I used to be able to hum along with every Petrucci solo ever written, down to the last note and the fastest arpeggio, but I don’t even remember what just happened a minute ago in this song. The solos don’t stick in memory anymore, and I’m not that damn senile.

Rudess and Petrucci have a fantastic twin harmony solo together in “Never Enough” and it restores a little of my faith. The song itself is a really good mid-tempo piece that far surpasses anything they have done lately.

The album closes with “Sacrified Sons” and “Octavarium”, both songs much too long to go into detail on because of the way they keep the music constantly changing within the songs throughout their beautiful progress. “Sacrified Sons” could have been the best song on “Six Degrees”, and “Octavarium” showcases everything DT is about in 2005; not necessarily as musically bold and innovative as in the old days, but fiercely capable of making hauntingly attractive songs. (Side note: There’s a passage in “Octavarium” that reminds me of Pet Shop Boys’ hit “West End Girls”, but it could be my mind playing tricks on me.)

I haven’t bothered to launch into massive and elaborate rants on the advanced lyrical themes on this album, because quite frankly I never cared for lyrics. Especially not with a band who I first and foremost admire because of their musical talent. Read the booklet yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Grading an album like this is not easy. From a Dream Theater perspective it’s obviously not their best one, but still well above duds like “Falling Into Infinity” and “Train of Thought”, so it should get a solid 4. On the other hand, “Octavarium” is heads and shoulder above 99% of ANY other release so far in 2005, no matter what genre, and as such it should get at least a 4.5, maybe even a 5. So take your pick.

Artwork used with permission from Neverland Music Inc.