Tuesday, May 17, 2005 :::

So...got my hands on the new Dream Theater record, Octavarium. Listened to pretty much the whole record this morning, and it proved to be a sobering experience. Dream Theater, in my opinion, has lost it. Maybe I'm more inclined to say this because I've been exposed to tons of incredible Power Metal, but this new album feels extremely uninspired and lazy, as if they just don't care to push themselves to the limit anymore. Sure, there are some great solos here and there from Petrucci, but it seems that they're trying to establish a new "unmistakably Dream Theater" sound...and it's crappy. It's more of the same style from Train of Thought, which was less than impressive, but better than this stuff. OH, also...there's shit on here that sounds like Linkin Park. Seriously. Fuckin' record scratches and unoriginal drum samples - it all comes off sounding very contrived and weak. Labrie's vocals, though dead on, sound...dead. There's no energy...no emotion behind his voice, and its rarely backed by another vocal for harmony. What else... - well, most of you know that I've grown to hate Mike Portnoy, and his performance on this disc only strengthens that hatred. Tasteless, excessive - even, dare I say it, sloppy at times. Seriously - after hearing some truly monstrous drummers kickin' ass in the Power Metal genre, I'm more confident than ever that Portnoy's talent has been hyped up beyond his actual ability. Conclusion: Unless unextinguishably curious, stay away from Octavarium and indulge in previous Dream Theater releases (Awake, Scenes from a Memory, etc.).

Oh - and Power Metal still kicks ass.

::: posted by AJBrotz at 12:55 PM

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