Systematic Chaos - Dream Theater > Reviews > Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Brilliant album
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This CD is Dream Theaters ninth studio cd and they seem to get better with every cd they make. One good thing being each dream theater cd has a new and different sound to the last and theres no exception here.

In the Presence Of Enemies Part 1: This is part 1 of the epic that is In the Presence Of Enemies. Part 2 is the last song on the cd. This part of it is mostly instrumental and shows off how good dream theater are musically. Labrie doesn't come in till about 5 minutes into the song and then the song starts to pick up. This is a brilliant opener to the cd.

Forsaken: This song is one of the softer, more catchy songs on the cd, much like I Walk Beside You from the previous cd in that it sounds radio friendly. The main riff of the song has to be one of the best guitar riffs on the cd. Song has a really catchy chorus, I would imagine this will be their second choice for a single from the cd after Constant Motion.

Constant Motion: This song sounds heavily influenced by Metallica and is the 2nd heaviest song on the cd behind The Dark Eternal Night. In a somewhat new vocal style, Portnoys vocals are heavily featured alongside Labrie's which gives the vocals an agressive style. Petrucci and Ruddess let loose in this song and have some crazy solo's. This song was picked to be the first single off of the cd and a promotional video has been made.

The Dark Eternal Night: By far the heaviest song on the cd, this song sounds influenced by Metallica, Pantera and even Meshuggah at points. Also like the previous song Petrucci lets loose with another crazy solo. At the end of the song theres probably the most headbang-able moment of the cd as they break into a Pantera like breakdown.

Repentance: This song continues the AA Saga. Compared to the previous songs in the saga(The Glass Prison / This Dying Soul / The Root of All Evil) this song is a bit of a rest break and is mellow throughout. Best moment of this song is the slowish solo by Petrucci at 4:40. This song features various guest singers in the prog/metal world, such as Steve Hogarth, Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Chris Jericho, Corey Taylor and more.

Prophets of War: This song has lyrics of a political nature as can probably guess by the trackname. The song has a bit of a Muse vibe to it. The main hook of this song is very catchy, "Is it time to make a change, are we closer than before, can we help them break away, are we profiting from war?".

The Ministry of Lost Souls: This song is one of the more mellow songs of the cd. For the most part its a slow song with some emotional lyrics. Midway it picks up and Dream Theater show their instrumental side which is brilliant as always. Special mention has to go the amazing unison by Petrucci and Ruddess to lead back into the main theme of the song.

In The Presence Of Enemies Part 2: This has a darker feel to it than the first part of this song at the beginning of the cd. The song builds up slowly to the heavy chorus of "dark master within, I will fight for you, dark master of sin, now my soul is yours". This song is the perfect end to a brilliant Dream Theater cd, which lives up to the expectations that come after releasing the quality of cds which they have in the past.

Overall, this cd is very varied, has a lot of heavy moments to the cd but also has its fair share of mellow songs/segments. So it has something for everyone on this cd. I would recommend this cd to any Dream Theater fan, or to anyone looking to get into Dream Theater.