Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

Published September 21 2011

*=Staff's pick	On The Backs Of Angels Build Me Up, Break Me Down* Lost Not Forgotten This Is The Life Bridges In The Sky* Outcry Far From Heaven Breaking All Illusions Beneath The Surface*

Genre	Progressive Metal	James LaBrie	Vocals
Tracks	9	John Petrucci	Guitar
Running time	77 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Roadrunner Records	John Myung	Bass
Release	15 September 2011	Mike Mangini	Drums
Country	USA	Jordan Rudess	Keyboard
Producer	John Petrucci
Similar artists	Symphony X

The progressive metal world was in shock when drummer Mike Portnoy quit the band last year. The co-founder of the band was replaced by Mike Mangini and one year later a new album will see the light of day. Dream Theater is known for making music for musicians with their progressive and complex style, yet they make it worth listening to for the ordinary metal fan. Yet again they have recorded an album packed with music, this time counting in at 77 minutes. They are a band that express themselves with amazing skills and therefore to get it all out most songs are long and with a diversity that's hard to beat.

The absence of Mike Portnoy hasn't significantly affected their songwriting, so A Dramatic Turn Of Events follows the path of the latest releases, and to be quite frank, most of their recordings, with many heavy riffs and rapid changes from almost silent to full throttle. The songs turn from melancholic to top speed and from heavy into ballads in a split second, as they show the world how to handle their instruments.

Due to its complexity, this album gets better every time you listen to it, with small nuances and simple tones that gets stuck after a while. Sometimes though, their brilliance and will to show off creates parts that simply are not good enough. Lost Not Forgotten is a good example of this, when a couple of solos is nothing but boring with scales and without any traces of melody. This is however nothing rare on their albums, so fans of the band shouldn't worry, as this album is one hundred percent Dream Theater music, with or without Portnoy.

See also review of: The Astonishing , Dream Theater , Train Of Thought

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
9	7	6	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Tobbe