Great review, although I find this album to be consistently boring.

Album Rating: 3.5

Very good review.

Digging: This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain

Album Rating: 3.5

This album is so darn cool. Some of my all time favorite prog songs are on this album like Panic Attack and Never Enough.

Great Review.

Digging: Kalmah - Seventh Swamphony

Album Rating: 3.0

Panic Attack and Sacrificed Sons the only songs on here that don't blatantly rip off another artist.

I just never really got into this album or any of the others that came out after Scenes From A Memory besides Black Clouds and Silver Linings.

Album Rating: 3.0

album sux dik

except "These Walls", that one's good.

Album Rating: 3.5

Muse's Stockholm Syndrome became Dream Theater's Never Enough
Dream Theater's Panic Attack became Muse's Assassin

and you thought DT was bs'ing that circle stuff

Album Rating: 4.0

How can you not like the title track on this album seriously.

I mean I can see why this is at a 3.6 average tracks 2, 4 and 6 are pretty terrible but c'mon Octavarium rules. Almost as good as A Change of Seasons.

Digging: Hammerkill Reborn - Save 80's Style Thrash Metal

Album Rating: 3.5

Personally, I can hardly listen to the first 5 1/2 or so minutes of Octavarium (the song obv)

I've only heard the title track off of this. I'm not sure if I want to hear the rest, because that song is too fucking amazing to ruin.

Digging: Leprous - Tall Poppy Syndrome

Album Rating: 4.0

"Muse's Stockholm Syndrome became Dream Theater's Never Enough"
I think you mean Hysteria, there's a bit in the solo that is scary similar

Album Rating: 4.0

prophets of war from systematic chaos is also borderline muse ripoff

Album Rating: 4.0

yup, mike portnoy is a big fan of muse's absolution, I think he named it his favourite album of the decade. At times the similarities are scary and it sometimes seems they deliberately set out to write a song that sounded like Muse. On the other hand it just shows dream theater are in principle just fanboys like us and not some pretentious assholes some people believe them to be.

Album Rating: 4.0

Just because they have influences doesn't mean they're not pretentious assholes, and this is coming from someone who loves (most of) Dream Theater.

Album Rating: 3.5

Absolutely, see them live for the full effect. They are near flawless live, but boy do they know it.

Album Rating: 4.0

if they have to be pretentious assholes to make good music I'm fine with it actually

Album Rating: 3.0

This is the album where Dream Theater died

Album Rating: 3.5

if they have to be pretentious assholes to make good music I'm fine with it actually

Album Rating: 4.0

dream theater was the first bigger band I saw live along with opeth and bigelf on the progressive nation tour and they were great and all especially portnoy was on fire.
but I can't help but feel their music isn't very suitable for a live environment (standing venue that is), also James has trouble with some high notes (poor guy dissapeared numerous times from the stage for more than a few minutes during the long solos).
I was much more impressed with opeth; maybe I should've seen DT in an actual theater, I heard they played those in Asia at least.

Album Rating: 3.5

Totally agree, James obviously isn't the greatest singer but he does his job, and yeah the high notes can be problem for him live. instrumentally, I have never seen them put a foot wrong, not one of them.
Yeah, Live at the Budokan in Japan is a prime example of how their concerts should be. Does look more like a classical audience though, with polite clapping in between songs lol

I've heard Japanese audiences are kinda like that haha

Digging: Calibre - Spill