Review Summary: Relatively epic, with extra cheese
Please, hear me out. Nothing against Mangini, but I do miss the old Mike just as much as the next guy. That being said, this album is actually epic (for a post-Portnoy Dream Theater release, pPDT for short) if you're willing to approach it with a... very open mind. Dream Theater definitely write some of their best work with a concept in mind (Metropolis, Six Degrees, so on) - and the same seems to be true for 'pPDT' - with this release being significantly more interesting and engaging than their last two.
I was going to discuss various things I personally enjoyed about the album on my first few listens, but it was poorly written and pointless. Yes, there's some interesting recurring motifs, and some moments that particularly stand out - but honestly, this record doesn't have much longevity, and I can't even name the tracks that stood out to me without re-listening to them all. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun to approach, as long as you don't go in expecting a 'good old pPDT album' - it's just that once you've heard it a few times, there's not a whole lot else to discover here.
Sure, it ain't perfect, but you can't deny that they've taken some great strides since incepting Mangini into the group. Some tracks, particularly their early single-release 'Moment of Betrayal', remind us that they're still capable of writing cluttered messes like the majority of their last two records, but (for the most part) it's very cohesive as a whole. So the lyrics are extremely cheesy - that's never stopped them in the past!
My biggest recommendation would be to just take the time to sit down and listen to the whole thing in one go - I know it's a big ask - and just try to forget any pre-conceived expectations about what to expect here. It's actually pretty good, all things considered!
