Lets face it, this album was a total downer after the previously stunning Images And Words and Awake. The lack of Kevin Moore is clearly felt, and the commercial direction that the album takes does not fit in at all with Derek Sherinian's keyboard style. Tracks like New Millennium and Burning My Soul are some that sound like Dream Theater was attempting to write a strong song, but then decided it might not be 'commercial' enough, and hence dumbed it down some. That is pretty much the feeling throughout the entire album. One of the few songs that does shine through is Lines In The Sand, an upbeat rocker with a very mellow guitar solo in the middle, which goes full blast for a while, throwing in everything the band has to offer. The epic closer Trial of Tears does a decent job, but the absolutely beautiful intro completely outshines the rest of the song minus a few key licks in Petrucci's guitar solo. In the end, Dream Theater failed at going for a different sound, and luckily was able to turn it around by the time the band released their next album.
