Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
It goes without saying, that the steadily growing and evolving genre of progressive rock and metal would not be where it is today without the input of perhaps it’s most successful artist: Dream Theater. Having been at the forefront of progressive rock and metal development since the mid-late 80′s, Dream Theater continue to push the boundaries of technical, progressive metal; and this release, “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” is no exception. It is the band’s tenth studio album to date, and second release under their new record label, Roadrunner Records. Released on June 23rd, 2009 it was the last album to feature founding member and drummer, Mike Portnoy, who left the band on September 8, 2010 due to conflicting differences. From a musical standpoint, this album is in a league of it’s own; pushing the boundaries of progressive metal, yet remaining faithful to the sound, and legacy the band established for themselves in the mid-80′s. With 6 songs in total, and over 75 minutes in length, they have done just that! Lyrically, this release is very dark, exploring personal subject matter from car accidents, religious cults, addiction and death.
The album opens with a 16 minute epic, “A Nightmare To Remember”. The lyrics were written by founding member and guitarist, John Petrucci about a car accident that he was in as a child. This song is very dark musically, opening up with sounds of rain and thunder, and an eerie piano introduction, which utilises a chord sequence made up entirely of minor chords. Like all Dream Theater epics, this one is riddled with time signature changes, key changes, extended solo sections, tempo changes and the like. Also, “A Nightmare To Remember” introduces for the first time to DT fans, Mike Portnoy’s use of blast-beats, and death metal growls.
Next, is the first single from the album, “A Rite Of Passage”. Once again, the lyrics were written by guitarist, John Petrucci, this time about his thoughts on Freemasonry. Melodically, it’s one of the more “straight ahead” songs on the record; it’s catchy, thoughtful and well-structured. During the solo section, Petrucci and Rudess battle each other with blistering guitar and keyboard solos. Also, a first on this release is Rudess’ use of an iPhone solo during the instrumental section.
“Wither” is the shortest song on the album, at 5:25. It was written with more of a singer-songwriter approach, although remaining undeniably progressive and melodic. It’s comparable to numerous Dream Theater releases including, “I Walk Beside You”, “Take Away My Pain” and “The Answer Lies Within”. The lyrics were written by John Petrucci about his struggles with “writers-block”. LaBrie’s vocal performance on this one is worthy of a mention also. “Wither” shows off the softer, warmer side of LaBrie’s voice, which was unexplored on their previous release, “Systematic Chaos”; a nice change of pace.
“The Shattered Fortress” is the final part in Mike Portnoy’s Twelve Step Suite which he started back in 2002 on “Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence”. Lyrically, it covers the final three steps in the Alcoholics Anonymous program, that Portnoy has titled, “Restraint”, “Receive” and “Responsible”. Musically, it implores many riffs, motives, sections and chord progressions from the previous songs in the saga, offering up very little original material itself. This number reintroduces Portnoy’s spoken-word lyrics, which were first used on, “Repentance” from “Systematic Chaos”.
The second to last song on the album is another epic, clocking in at 13:09. “The Best Of Times” was written by Portnoy for his father who at the time, was dying from cancer. Portnoy played this song for his father with his own vocals, prior to his death. Contrary to John Petrucci’s song for his father, “Take Away My Pain”, “The Best Of Times” is more of a celebration of the life of Portnoy’s father, and the time they shared together. The song is based around a single, strong melodic theme that was developed and orchestrated between all the members of the band, and various string parts. It has a very theatrical, cinematic and anthemic feel to it. After the final vocal section (verse if you will) a powerful climax is reached, and Petrucci lets loose with perhaps the most lyrical guitar solo in all of Dream Theater‘s catalogue. Without a doubt, this is the most breathtakingly beautiful song on the album, and not a minute too long. Alongside “Space-Dye Vest”, “The Best Of Times” has never been performed live by the band, due to Portnoy’s strong emotional connections to it; and due to Portnoy’s departure, probably never will be.
The final, and longest song on the album, “The Count Of Tuscany” is the perfect representation of what Dream Theater‘s music is all about. It opens with a spacey, finger-picked acoustic guitar part that develops into a big, theatrical anthem. The lyrics were written by John Petrucci about an Italian Count that frightened him in Tuscany. This song reminds me a little of the Circus Maximus epic, “The 1st Chapter” in many ways. Unlike any other Dream Theater song in their catalogue, “The Count Of Tuscany” explores an extended section of ambience, as a release from the “chaos” of the previous 10 minutes. Here, Rudess and Petrucci create a bed of sound-scapes, and atmospheric textures. The final section of the song begins somewhat abruptly, with an rhythm guitar entrance, closely followed by LaBrie’s very clean, soaring vocals.
It’s hard to believe that this band have been around for over 25 years, and have released 10 studio albums! It’s hard to believe that after all these years they still continue to produce music that is current, relevant, interesting, cutting edge and overwhelmingly progressive. It’s hard to believe that they can remain driven, motivated and encouraged to create fantastic music given the tiring hours of writing, recording and world-touring. Furthermore, on top of all of these considerations, it’s hard to believe that Dream Theater have remained true to progressive music, and most importantly true to themselves as a band. This album is a winner, and I highly recommend it to any progressive rock and metal fan.
I gave this album an 8 out of 10, an exceptional album.
If you wish to purchase this album, just follow the link below.
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
