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This often happens when five classically trained musicians collaborate and put together a collection of great songs….It can become over processed and flooded with brilliant musicianship. When every beat is precision struck and every guitar lick dead on, the fun side of rock and roll along with its necessary grit and grime can be lost. Rockers tend to embrace an “in your face” approach and a hard driven groove along with some gritty vocals within their typical 5 minute attention span. Although the record is laden with groovy hooks and Petrucci’s blistering Satriani esque guitar riffs, it somehow gets lost when the songs carry on for over 10 minutes each. Jordan Rudess’ vocals are melodic and again, a bit too clean for my taste. Dream Theater has a reputation for high energy live performances and I hope they deliver because I have tickets for the 08’ tour. If you are into a Queensrysche meets Steve Vai meets Styx with lengthy jam’s record, this recording may be for you.I'm giving an "average" rating only because the songs although good, are just too long and redundant. If you prefer a good punch in the face rock and roll album, stick to some Guns-N-Roses, Montrose or AC/DC.Read full review
Like almost every Dream Theater album, it keeps you wanting more. This is because they lay everything on the table at every recording session and only take the best. This is one of the darker albums by DT and with intros like on "Honor Thy Father" it blasts you from the beginning of each song until the final note of the CD is played. The song "As I Am" opens up with an almost Black Sabbath (Ozzy Days) feel that just bleeds a darkened feel that carries through the rest of the song. Whatever is felt about the singing of James LaBrie, one thing cannot be denied: This band is one of the most talented musically and compositionally ever!!!!!
I really enjoy listening to this cd, it is one of the heaviest studio offerings by a band full of classically trained virtuosos. Metal fans should get something to enjoy outta this, and true progressive rockers will too. Some of the heaviest percussion & guitar riffs in the bands career were laid down on these tracks. The only Dream Theater that I'd say is heavier would be the 2006 "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" which is (by the way) the only title from the bands 2+ decade career that I'd give an average grade too.
If you're just getting into Progressive music, this release might be a bit hard for you. It is without question one of Dream Theaters finest releases and examplifies exactly what this band is capable of but, it is also one of their heavier releases if not heaviest ("Awake" is equally heavy). Having said that, the title opener, "As I am" immediately takes you by the throat and doesn't let go. The chorus in this first track is very catchy. A few other highpoints in this album are the fast moving "Endless Sacrafice", the instrumental "Stream of Consciousness" which at 11:00+ minutes amazingly sounds as fresh at the end as it does in the beginning and the closer, "In the Name of God" which makes some serious observations about the hypocrisy of religion, kind of an antithesis to the opener track really. The guitar and drum work on this album is brillant and in Dream Theater's catalogue of albums, IMO this release remains as one of the best examples of what a guitar can do. With the exception of the track, "Vacant", which is more of a filler, don't expect a soft or mellow ride! Recommended.Read full review
Many people say that this is not one of Dream Theater's best CDs, I agree to a point, but it is completely different than any of their other stuff. This is balls to the walls music, they went for heavy metal all throughout and they succeeded big time. The CD starts out with As I am, which is a very heavy song. Lyrically it is very strong and leads into the next song This Dying Soul which is the continuation of the steps of alcoholism. It is no doubt one of the stronger songs lyrically on the album. It also changes half-way through with the way it sounds. The third song on the CD is definitely one of the best, Endless Sacrifice. There is so much to the song and the solo in the middle is awesome. This is one of the catchiest tunes on the album. The fourth song is Honor thy Father, it is an intense song, but really lacks in the variance department. In the bottom couple of songs, which still is good on this album The fifth song vacant is a slow ballad, but leads to Stream of Conscienceness which is an instrumental. This may be one of the best instrumentals that Dream Theater has as it is intense all throughout. The final song on the CD is the best song that they have on this album. In the Name of God is intense lyrically and musically. There is no real down time with the song and the 14 minutes fly by too quick. Buy this album!Read full review
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