This is my first review, so please bear with me and my obnoxious opinion.
Dream Theater's Octavarium is the latest studio album offering from the New York quintet, and it is, despite the opinions of some, really one of their better offerings. Unlike Falling Into Infinity, the poppyness of some songs is better geared and overall more musically justified, unlike Train of Thought Petrucci's overly wanking solo virtuosity has been toned down, and unlike their live albums James LaBrie does not sound annoying.
The album starts off with the killer opener
The Root of All Evil , which is one of the best tracks on the album (if not the best.) It continues the AA saga of Portnoy that was started by The Glass Prison on 6DOIT and set forth in This Dying Soul on ToT. The intro really showcases Portnoy's drumming imo, he speeds up the song slowly as Petrucci enters with a riff, finally kicking the song into high gear around the 1:00 mark. The song is quite catchy, and by DT standards, properly orchestrated. The lyrics don't really annoy me as much as they do on some other songs. Overall this track really got me into the album. It got me hooked. Good job guys. Also note that the numbering of VI and VII is a continuation of the two previous albums and also the closing song Octavarium.
The infamous DT ballad is up next,
The Answer Lies Within and it goes into the category of throwaway songs. Almost no DT ballads have been effective (barring Lifting Shadows Off A Dream), and this is no exception. The lyrics are horribly cheesy. The string quarter sounds allright, but really, this is nothing interesting.
These Walls begins with an intro reminiscent of a starting-up car. It sounds awesome, but the lyrics are again really horrible. "So much uncertainty, I don't like this feeling, I'm sinking like a stone." Seriously. *** off, Petrucci. Leave the words to someone else. Such as Portnoy. It reminds me of Linkin Park, but musically a step up. It's an okay song, better than its predecessor on the album, but not really interesting nonetheless. My interest starts to fade at this point.
Only to be rekindled at
I Walk Beside You. For once, the lyrics are less cheesy, but this time the music descends to U2 level, but luckily DT can beat those guys at their game with nine fingers off their instruments. It's quite catchy, and it does get stuck in your head, and it really sounds radio-friendly; but hey, I'd rather have this on the radio than Evanescence. This is surprisingly (for me anyway) one of the better songs on the album.
Panic Attack kicks the album rating up a notch with an excellent bass intro accompanied with frenzied riffing and thumping drums which really show Portnoy's skill. This man is a genius on the percussion, guys. Seriously. The song also really resembles a panic attack (excuse the pun). The lyrics again are nothing interesting, but they don't have the dramatic quality of These Walls. The solos at the end fit quite well, and this track is a worthy addition to the DT catalogue.
Never Enough completely loses my attention though, this really is one of the worst songs on the album. It simply can't hold attention for a second making it a pain to sit through. The synth solo in the middle is okay, giving Rudess some playtime, but this one isn't worth the money. The lyrics annoy me again. Dream Theater have the skill. They just fail to put it into a really good song here. Wasted shot guys.
After the tedious repetitivity of the ballads DT have also decided they must make one political song on every album from 6DOIT onwards, and on this one it is the magnificent
Sacrificed Sons . Commenting cynically on the attacks of 11 september, the lyrics are for once tolerable, and the Petrucci solo in the middle is top-notch. It also features a lot of the standard time changes, going from slow to quick. I really like this song.
If you hated this album up till now, and want to kick me for fanboying some of the songs on here that you really dislike with a fiery passion, or if you totally love the whole cd and think I'm being overly critical of some songs, you're in for a treat either way with the astounding title track (obviously named "Octavarium"), which clocks in at an astounding 24 minutes. It is composed of five different parts in Roman numerals, which continue on the first song of the album. It's quite awesome, it has an intro reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", a finger-licking Myung bass solo (yes, he plays for DT), and in the final part a tear-jerking guitar solo in which Petrucci is at his best. One thing James LaBrie should refrain from doing however, is screaming. He tries to shriek "Trapped inside this octavarium" four successive times, and falls flat on all of them. James, you're a good singer, but leave any shouting to guys like Hetfield or Fridén. Other than that, I can't nag about this song, it's perfectly organised, uses the orchestra well, and is overall the best track on this album.
Also note that some of the lyrics in Full Circle refer to some of the progenitors of the Progressive genre, such as Pink Floyd. It looks like DT wanted to pay homage to these guys. At least they show some respect for their elders.
Overall, this is a good album. It's no second Images and Words, it's not as majestic as Scenes From A Memory (save perhaps the title track), nor does it have the morbidity of Awake, but it really is quite an enjoyable album. It has its flaws, though, mainly the lyrics and the unorganised composition of some songs, and the failure to keep attention throughout which in my opinion defines whether an album has real class or not.
Pros:
- Petrucci shines when he has to, and keeps technical wankery to a minimum
- Portnoy is at the top of his game
- Octavarium is an excellently orchestrated track
- James LaBrie doesn't sound totally annoying
- You can hear Myung!
- Rudess is all over the place
Cons:
- The failure to keep attention
- Never Enough
- DT's tendency to produce throwaway ballads
- Lyric writing is complete trash
- some songs lack structure and coherence
Overall this album gets 3.5/5 from me. I debated about giving it a 4, but decided that there were too many letdown tracks for that in the end.
However, it is quite an enjoyable album. If you are a DT fan, pick this up. I would not recommend this as a starting album, if you are looking to get into DT, listen to Images And Words instead.
