Better get this one out the way, I guess. Systematic Chaos is Dream Theater’s debut on the Roadrunner label. There is something really by the numbers about how the album sounds and I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why it’s so boring. Let’s start with the lyrics. The lyrics are bad. Metal lyrics are usually passable within context. Scenes from a Memory, although I haven’t heard it in years, has lyrics that tell a pretty complicated storyline. Yeah, some of it was awkwardly arranged, but even if you consider lyrics to be of not much higher merit than a vehicle for the instrument of the human voice you can’t really argue that it doesn’t at least sound nice. Not only do these lyrics not seem to mean anything worthwhile outside of Repentance, which again stands out mostly due to the significance of the Glass Prison theme which began on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, they don’t even sound good. It’s important to mention that this is no reflection on the singing itself. For an example, Paul McCartney is a lyricist who chooses lyrics purely for the way they sound and compliment his voice, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HgCtHZQlJM . Dream Theater: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkF4JD2rO3Q .
The actual playing on the album is good. At this stage, the band wouldn’t get away with anything less, they are by nature a highly technical group. This is a double edged sword: this is the sort of group you watch impressed from the sidelines. I guess you could sort of compare it to a Stanley Kubrick film, you get more out of it if you have an idea what to look for in regards to lighting and camera techniques. Otherwise it’s just monkeys fighting for twenty minutes.
Dream Theater isn’t a bad band, but they do seem to have more than their share of bad albums. I recommend Octavarium, Images and Words and if you have the time for it, Scenes From a Memory. There are a couple of other good albums I haven’t heard yet, like Awake and the last record. Don’t get this one, it’s probably the weakest thing they’ve ever done in the studio.
Constant Motion, but only because I couldn’t find a studio version of Repentance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFiexmXEccE&ob=av3el
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