Customer Reviews

Systematic Chaos

5 star:		(138)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(44)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I always find it interesting to read the reviews after Dream Theater releases an album. In short, you never get any type of consensus from the fans. If they release a heavier album, half the fans want it to be more orchestral and moody. If they release a melodic album, half the fans want something heavier. If they play too fast, some people want them to slow it down. Playing too slow, on the other hand, causes the speed demons to turn their heads. Too much keyboard - not enough keyboard. Too much Portnoy, too much Petrucci. Not enough Petrucci, not enough Rudess. Bring back Kevin - and on, and on, and on, and on. Honestly, it's tiring.

But, you know what - behind it all is an army of hard core fans (mostly, dare I guess, musicians themselves who, by all measurements are always the harshest critics) who, whether they know it or not, are giving this band the highest form of praise you can ever give: In a word, VIRTUOSITY. These guys can spread themselves across such a wide range of styles that they have, along the way, picked up fans of all shapes, sizes, and musical tastes. So the fact that Dream Theater can never please them all at once is a testament to their artistic range, their musical talent, and, yes, their virtuosity.

Should I tell you about Systematic Chaos? Well, if you haven't guessed it yet, I loved this album. I am a fan of their more melodic works like Scenes From A Memory and the second disc of Six Degrees and, yes, even of the oft slammed Space-Dye Vest. That's not to say that Train of Thought doesn't have a coveted place in my collection. But I just happen to like the "catchier" albums a little more. So where does this one fit? Well, quite honestly, right in the middle. Every song has it's own set of big brass ones. But mixed in between are the signature catchy hooks that made this band so famous. I've seen many comparisons to many of their different albums in the various reviews, but the closest I could come is somewhere between Six Degrees and Octavarium - probably closer to the former than the latter.

I do have a few specific comments regarding the songs:

1. In The Presence Of Enemies Part I is a great opener featuring fast, high-energy riffs and the beginnings of a structured epic. The problem is that it doesn't go anywhere (clearly because it was recorded as one song with the closer). In any case, it's a good enough tease for the album that follows.

2. Forsaken is the catchy single. It is, in my opinion, the most listenable song on the album from the standpoint of wanting to hear it over and over again.

3. Constant Motion is, by far, my least favorite song on the album - mostly because it is a total rip-off of Metallica. They do it well, but this is not at all an original song. Dream Theater falls into this trap every so often, but never so obviously as this, in my opinion.

4. The Dark Eternal Night is a solid song with ripping solos, speedy runs, and dark but decent subject matter (feels a little Iron Maiden in it's story). Not a lot to remember, but definitely a lot to appreciate. My only problem here is with Jordan's "signature" ragtimey piano interlude. Jordan - enough already! I feel like he's trying to make this his trademark and, unfortunately, it's already been taken by Rick Wakeman. I wish he would drop the "piano in the western saloon" bit and break away on his truly original continuum instead.

5. Repentance is good, although too heavily influenced by Pain Of Salvation's "Be" album. I like the narratives, but POS did it just a little better.

6. Prophets Of War is another heavy tune with a great message. Not one of the stand-outs, in my opinion, but a solid contributor.

7. Now we're getting somewhere with Ministry Of Lost Souls. Some nice guitar work in the slower beginning parts, with one of the best vocal melodies toward the end that I have ever heard them build to.

8. And, finally, the rest of the first song. Again, great vocal melodies with an epic feel and an intense conclusion. But the song definitely loses some of its drive by being separated from it's start. Still, the album feels strong and complete with this one finishing it off.

So that's my take, for whatever it's worth. I love the fact that the fans are, yet again, mixed on this one. I hope they never all agree, because it will mean that Dream Theater has fallen into complacency and predictability - and that can never happen. But here's the most important thing - and please listen closely. I have seen a lot of different people who were fans since Awake or even Images. Well, I was a fan since the Majesty days. Truthfully, I followed these guys before they were ever signed and have been a die-hard fan ever since. And one thing I can say for sure is that they have all individually grown as musicians and, more importantly, have done the same as a band over their 20+ year career. These guys work hard at what they do and they are always honing their craft. I don't think we'll ever see them just sit back and take it easy and stop learning their instruments. And that's why their albums always evolve - in some cases even past their fans. But that's a good thing for the music business and, if we can all learn to appreciate it, a good thing for us.

Here's to another 20 years! May the rest of their career be as long as this review...

DT's new release is a solid disc-filled, 78-minute, journey that should please most fans and shows they still are on top of their game. Their intense musicianship and enduring passion to create great tunes and give it their all shines through on this disc, however, the lyrics still are their weakest link. Although they break no new ground in their musical styling, Portnoy's vocals, that used to make me cringe because of the sour notes he hit, have improved, or maybe I'm just getting used to them.

My least favorite tracks on "Systematic Chaos" are the last few minutes of "Repentance" with the dialog babble in the background, and I'm not a fan of the industrial-techno-disco-sounding riff on "Prophets of War". Otherwise, this disc is killer, the engineering and artwork are amazing, and this probably will be the best prog-metal release of the year.

The special edition DVD is a must and includes a behind the scenes "making of" feature and a 5.1 mix of the album. The 90-minute documentary is good and Portnoy's personality rules the film, but it's odd that John Myung didn't say anything through the entire feature. Was this how he wanted it? Some of his thoughts on the album would have been a treat. The 5.1 mix is awesome - full, thick, spacious and you can even hear the bass guitar, so get rid of the earbuds, buy a decent surround system, and crank it up!

I was willing to hear the next Dream Theater release to see what it was going to be like. After OCTAVARIUM, an album that I still consider a "revision" of the different styles that DT have recorded over the years, what was going to be next was kind of a mystery.

SYSTEMATIC CHAOS confirms even more the notion that Octavarium was musically transitonal. In the new CD, DT returns to the style they were playing in TRAIN OF THOUGHT, with a change: the new CD sounds as heavy, but with more progressive and chord changes, sounds and riffs added. It's like a combination of SIX DEGREES and TRAIN OF THOUGHT, a perfect balance that make me like this album more than the three previous. But I found that songs like CONSTANT MOTION and DARK ETERNAL LIGHT sound heavier that DT has ever been. They really rock !

Of course, this is not SCENES FROM A MEMORY, but it's still a worthy candidate to be there as one of the best albums they have ever released. It is produced by Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci (just like the 3 previous albums), this time with the help (as engineer and mixer) of Paul Northfield, who has lent the same services to the likes of Rush and Queensrÿche.

Even though this is not supposed to be a concept album, from a first impression it DOES look to have a concept, dealing with the themes of sin (in the form of the fight between good and evil), death, repentance and soul salvation. With the exception of "Prophets of war" (a self-explanatory protest song about the on-going war in Iraq) all the songs seem to follow a thread and fall into that category, which gives the album a spiritual meaning (and avoid a pair of slowers to sound mellow). That is until you hear what each song is about -in the DVD that comes with the special edition-. For instance, THE FORSAKEN is about a vampire, IN THE PRESENCE OF ENEMIES is about the attraction of the darkness and the temptation to fall into it (mmm...not unlike Anakin Skywalker's story), the MINISTRY OF LOST SOULS is about a trascendental encounter between somebody who was saved and his saviour who died. Still, the individual meaning of the songs, although more simplistic, is interesting.

The album have some good surprises. Mike Portnoy sings more than usual Not that he sings entire songs, but he appears in some instances as a complementary voice to La Brie's, and in others like in an interaction or "question and reply" manner. He sings good, providing a stronger element to make some heavy songs feel heavier (like the aformentioned CONSTANT MOTION and DARK ETERNAL LIGHT), and this might be a sign that he will do more vocal duties in the future.

Other great surprise is the inclusion of a batch of guest musicians in the song "Repentance", but in an original way: they don't sing or play, but do spoken parts, confessing "sins", to illustrate the theme of the song. There we have Steve Hoggarth, Neil Morse, Steve Wilson, Jon Anderson, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani... (why not Geddy Lee?).

In "Prophets of war" and "In the Presence of enemies", choruses are done by a bunch of fans that were invited into the studio (damn it, I wish I had been there!).

I think the best that I can say about this album is the same that I said about their last concert DVD: The songs have energy and vitality. DT still seem happy to play. Their motivation is still there...and they're still in the peak of their skills.

Notes on the Special edition DVD: I highly recommend the special edition, a must for any DT fan. The DVD has the 5.1 mix of the album, that enhances perfectly the heaviness of the album and presents the execution of the different musical parts and instruments clearer. The mix is for DVD video players in Dolby Digital 5.1 (meaning that it can be enjoyed in ANY DVD player, and that there is no layer for specialized DVD-Audio players). Also included is "The making of" documentary directed and edited by Mike Portnoy. Mostly, is about the band members, performing, creating and talking about the whole process (except John Myung, who is consistent with his "no speak about anything" policy). It's a real pleasure to watch the stages of the creative process, and how the skills and contributions of the different musicians convey in the whole as the finished product. By the way, there are no fights or heated arguments, but the band having a good time. It's interesting also in the information of how each song was conceived, and their meaning. And the documentary is surprisingly full of humor. The program has no subtitles.

A solid effort from DT this time around, and it's wonderful to see the support of a good record label behind them. Definitely worth getting the special edition for the documentary and packaging. The music...well, as with every album since SDOIT it's a mixed bag. Despite Portnoy's insistence that this would be a heavy, modern, ballsy album, it simply isn't.

ToT was a determined move in those directions, competing with the likes of Disturbed and Tool while maintaining the classic DT prog sound. On this disc however, The first four songs are heavy and aggressive, but not any more so than an your average track from Awake or ToT (though much more aggressive than anything on Octavarium). The album slows WAY down about mid-way through with 'Repentance', 'Prophets of Doom' (a bizzare metal/techno song??), and 'Ministry of Lost Souls.' This triple punch of slower/mellow tunes really lets the air out of the whole experience and ultimately prevents it from living up to Portnoy's promises. Don't get me wrong, they aren't bad songs, but they simply aren't as strong as they should be in light of the earlier tunes (Constant Motion and Dark Eternal Night in particular), and they seem to bog the whole album down a bit.

It's also hard to imagine most DT fans not taking issue with some of the lyrics on this album. DT has been long known for introspective, well-crafted, mature themes. I'm not sure if DT is trying to fit in with some of their new label mates, or simply got lazy, but some of the lyrics (especially on the sprawling 'In the Presence of Enemies) are plain bad if not embarrassing. Petrucci has stated that he wrote a lot of fictional lyrics for this disc, but I thought he meant something along the lines of 'Pull Me Under' or 'Metropolis'. Apparently he meant '1982 Iron Maiden B-sides'. Constant references to the 'Dark Master', vampires, ancient pharoahs are awkward and seem juvenille for a band that delivered such stunning works as the 'Scenes from a Memory' concept album, and songs such as 'Sacrificed Sons' or 'Take Away My Pain'. The usually sobering vocals of LaBrie are almost comical as he sings "Dark Master - I will not serve youuuuuahhh!!!" Cringe-worthy to say the least. It reminded me of an SNL skit where Hetfield and Dickenson duel it out for the sake of melodrama. Not sure what was going on here. I'm all for something new and different, but the lyrics are just bad. No offense to Petrucci (one of my favorite lyricists), but it just doesn't work in the context of DT.

Overall I can't complain much. DT's worst effort is still better than most swill on the market today, but they've delivered so brilliantly in the past that it seems impossible for them to improve. I'll enjoy this one just as much as the others and anticipate what they do next.

Wow, a new DT album already? These guys are busy. In the past 7 years, DT have shown drastic changes between albums. An orchestral, grandoise, and ambitious double album that was virtually a sound collage of prog rock/metal and tons of other music types (6DOIT), a full-on heavy metal assault (Train of Thought), and a softer, more-proggy album (Octavarium). With Systematic Chaos, we see a continuation of the agressive metal found on Train of Thought. However, this album still isn't as heavy as that one, as there's more melody and smoothness to go with it (Forsaken, Prohets of War). Mike Portony continues his Alcoholics Anonymous Suite (which started with The Glass Prison on 6DOIT) with Repentence (Regret and Resitution), and it seems a new song suite might start, with In The Presence of Enemies Pt1 and Pt2. Only time will tell if they'll contiune this.

In an interview, Mike talked about how they wanted to make this album very "dramatic and agressive." And it is both those things in many ways. This album can be though of as a combination of Train of Thought and Images And Words. This is DT's first album to include dramatic ballad-like songs with angry heavy metal songs, along with a few that combine both. That said, this is something quite new for DT.

The only thing that hasn't really changed is the incredible technicality of the group's musicianship. but would we want it any other way? John and Jordan still have jaw-dropping solos, which more than often interwind with each other. One noticeable change is that Jonh Myung's bass is (finally!!!!) more audible. It's really nice to hear him since he's been kind of under the radar in the past.

While Train of Thought and Octavarium were both great albums, there were still a few problems that kept them from being perfect. Train of Thought was a tad too excessive at times, ruining the moment, and on Octavarium, 2 of the songs were a little too poppy and radio-friendly for my tastes. However, on Systematic Chaos, I can't really find anything wrong with it. There are some extremely heavy songs (The Dark Eternal Night) that don't get ruined with excessive playing, and some ballads (Forsaken) that don't get too cheesy. In fact, the only song I've never really been able to listen to all the way through is Repentence, as it gets a bit too tedious at the end, although it's cool hearing guest voices from Corey Taylor (Slipknot [bleh!], Steve Vai, Chris Jericho (wrestler), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Joe Satriani, Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree), Jon Anderson (Yes), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard, Transatlantic), and Daniel Gildenlow (Flower Kings )

My favorite songs off Systematic Chaos are Forsaken (very irrestible chorus), Prophets of War (another song questioning the moves of our government), and The Ministry of Lost Souls, this one being my personal pick for song of the year. The song tells the story of a man who saves a woman from drowning, but he ends up dying in the process. The lyrics revolve around the woman being unable to live her life with the memory. By far one of DT's best songs to date. A great chorus, lots of passion, and quite catchy despite the song's uninviting title. This is also the 2nd longest song off the album, next to In The Presence of enemies Pt 2.

While I thought Train of Thought and Octavarium were great albums, Systematic Chaos is free of the aforementioned flaws that the other 2 had in my opinion. So overall, this is probably my favorite DT album since 6DOIT. I think most DT fans will be pleased with this release, of course, there will always be those annoying, incredibly picky DT fans that can't accept the fact that they can't control DT from traveling into different grounds. Bottom line: If you're a true DT fan, by all means buy this. If you're a whiny purist who's stuck in the '90s still waiting around for another Images & Words, avoid lik the plague.

I have been a DT fan since around 1998, and was familiar with Images And Words, Awake, A Change of Seasons, and Falling Into Infinity before Scenes From A Memory came out... So I know the differences in their body of work pretty well. To me all of their albums have something to offer, perhaps some a little more intense than others, but they all have a very unique tinge to them. When Scenes and 6 Degrees came out, I knew DT's career was hitting it's stride. When Train of Thought came out, it was neat to hear them try something slightly different, with more basic-structured songs while still beating you up with those head-shaking "how'd they do that?" moments... Then came the gorgeous Octavarium which hinted at a much more complex and exciting road ahead... But nothing could have prepared me for Systematic Chaos.

I am stunned at the heart and soul put into this album. It's very fast, very tight, and so well-paced that it's all over before you can even comprehend what just hit you. I must say this has got to be their most powerful statement since Scenes and 6 Degrees... That said, you'll hear past influences of DT albums (most notably the ridiculously awesome time signatures from Scenes From A Memory), along with the typical likes of Pink Floyd, Zappa, Rush, Megadeath, even a little bit of Queen-like vocal layering which fits perfectly... Except on a scale of which only DT can manage to achieve.

The main theme (In The Presence of Enemies, Pt.1) pulls you in quickly and challenges your ears while laying the backdrop for the rest of the album. The slower pieces on this album are equally as entrancing, with unpredictable chord shifts and just the right amount of emotion and ambience. The album climaxes during the unbelievable instrumental on the last track (In The Presence of Enemies, Pt. 2) with such a masterful genius of a sound, you need to hear it to believe it.

This album really does seem to have it all. They're working together awesomely, using the same formula they did back in late 1999 and I am very pleased with the result. Even non-prog fans MUST respect the insanity that is Systematic Chaos.

I'll be honest, when I first heard the singles "Constant Motion" and "The Dark Eternal Night", I thought "Systematic Chaos" was going to be a "Systematic Failure". There are some bands which get worse as they progress, while there are other bands which release albums of similar quality and seem worse because the fan's initial tastes have changed. When I heard the first two singles, I thought that they were solid Dream Theater songs but that I might finally be tired of their progressive style. Today, I heard the rest of the album and was proven wrong. Dream Theater have released another solid album. There's enough new material on "Systematic Chaos" to keep longtime fans of the band at least slightly interested, while fans of the Jordan Ruddess-era material will find little to complain about.

The album opens up with a very progressive bang! From "In the Presence of Enemies pt.1" Those who know of the middle of "Metropolis pt. 1", "The Dance of Eternity", and the part 3 of "Octavarium" know what I'm talking about. After that, the song settles down and turns into something very listenable. The next song, "Forsaken" is another solid song (and a relatively short DT song, for that), and probably one of my favorite on the album. "Constant Motion" and "The Dark Eternal Night" follow, neither of which I'm too fond of. The first song sounds too much like Metallica for me, while the second seems to be a bit too much of a "cut and paste" effort. Also, the lyrics to these songs are horrendously cliched. For example, Constant Motion's chorus "Forever More/Into the Night/Disarray!"

"Repentance", which is the next song, takes the album in an interesting turn. It's certainly the next song in Mike Portnoy's AA saga, and this time it's a slow song. Very nice touch. It seems that the band is beginning to think about how the whole thing is going to work as one big piece of music. But the peice drags on for over 10 minutes without any real musical changes, and the strange narration at the end just ends the song on a very weird and awkward feeling.

"Prophets of War" is interesting at first, and probably the best song on the album lyrically, but the music and vocals are just horrible. This is the worst song on the album, in my opinion, and it's also a shameless attempt at stealing Muse's style (again).

The album turns to a slower pace again for "The Ministry of Lost Souls", a 14 minute epic that I think might be good enough to join the ranks as a "Dream Theater Epic". The only problem is it's a bit too long, and the instrumental section doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song.

"In the Presence of Enemies pt 2" wraps up the album quite nicely. I recommend anyone capable of burning CDs onto computers to set the first and last song as a separate play list so that it can be listened to as one piece. As a whole, "In the Presence of Enemies" is without a doubt the 25 minute epic song that we all thought "Octavarium" was going to be before that album came out. That's not to say "Octavarium" wasn't a great song, but it's nothing in comparison to this one!

Overall, I think this is a better album than "Train of Thought" and "Octavarium". There's fireworks abound, which I would prefer less of at this point in my life, but Dream Theater have seem to become more tasteful about were they place their fireworks. Some songs go overboard in instrumental sections, while others remain more or less "to the point." If you've liked Dream Theater at any point in their career, there's probably something for you on "Systematic Chaos".

I'm giving this album 4 stars because though I'll admit almost half the album is garbage, the other half is really good. And it's still worlds better than anything you'll hear on the radio lately. But in terms of what I think Dream Theater are capable of, this album is probably closer to a three. One would think that the band would learn to utilize their own vocalist properly after 9 studio albums, instead of making him sing the same thrown together vocal parts over and over until they begin to sound awkward and forced. James LaBrie sounds GREAT in every recording of him, side projects included, up until Dream Theater's "Train of Thought". And, he sounds excellent on the Score DVD/CD. Give the man something to work with! Next time, I'd like to see Dream Theater "Take The Time" and give us another well planned album like "Scenes" or "Six Degrees".

This album is a step in the right direction after the past two letdowns, but the band haven't exactly written another masterpiece yet.

One word....BRILLIANT!! I counted down the days for new DT and once again...NO DISAPPOINTMENT! Just like the guys in the band say , not everyone will like as much as the others or love it the best...face it...it's Dream Theater!

Dream Theater is probably the best known and most imitated progressive metal band in the world and if truth be told, they probably pioneered the sub genre and if the didn't pioneer it, they certainly are responsible for bringing the genre to the forefront in the music world. I must have written sixty or seventy reviews of progressive bands and some, maybe a quarter, sound very close to Dream Theater and some of them are very good. I even have a Listmania List on Amazon entitled Know some other bands similar to Dream Theater. In short, they have become the measuring stick for other Progressive metal bands. Or if you want to face reality, Le Brie, Portnoy and company are the kings of Progressive Metal.

So, is Systematic Chaos the best thing Dream Theater ever did. Probably not. After all, they have released around a dozen albums, many of which are classics. But I will say this; Systematic Chaos is probably the best album they have released in this century.

Systematic Chaos

Look for a heavier sound than on their last and least favorite of mine album - Octavarium and surprisingly a hint of ...Pink Floyd. Especially in the slower but brilliant fifth track, `Repentence.'

Overall, Dream Theater after briefly experimenting with new sounds have returned to their roots--a variable speed, sometimes hard driving metal sound, with haunting melodies presented in complex arrangements that was the hallmark of their earlier days. The eight tracks average almost ten minutes a song as the album comes in at just over seventy-eight minutes. Obviously, with Systematic Chaos you get your money's worth.

All in all, this should be a dream come true for Dream Theater fans. Final rating 4.65 stars--BUY IT !

Similar Bands: Dreamscape, DGM, OSI

I had high hopes that on this album Dream Theater would return to the amazing band that brought us the I&W through SFAM albums but I believe this has got to be their worst offering to date. Maybe I am just an old school DT apologist and can't accept the fact that those days are over but I find it hard to figure out how DT fans enjoy this effort over their early work. For one it is a lot of the same recycled riffing, soloing, over dramatic keyboards, chanting, and various other musical stylings that they have used since TOT. If DT thinks they are progressive or intersting anymore I certainly have to disagree. Just because they can throw extended instrumental sections with lighting fast guitar and keyboard solos at different time sigs does not make them progressive. It makes them boring. Enough already with John P and Jordan dueling each other on their respective instruments...PLEASE STOP!!! I can't take it anymore. In know this is cliche to say but damn do I miss Kevin Moore. Never has one keyboard player meant so much to a metal band by what he didn't play. DT is now a train out of control.

So here is my advice...1) go back and study your own catalog of music such as Metropolis, Take the Time, Voices, Scarred, New Millenium, Lines in the Sand, Trial of Tears, Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu, Blind Faith and above all A Change Of Seasons and find out what you did to write those songs because they are what Dream Theater used to be about...great song structure, lyrics, melodies, solos. 2) Put restrictor plates on Jordan's keyboards and John's guitar. Everytime they feel like dueling it out the restrictor will kick in and make them think it out and slow it down a bit rather than running through scale excercises at 240 bpm. 3) Mix in a major key once in a while. 4) Keep Mike P from ever singing or chanting or what ever it is he does on albums these days. There was a time when James layered vocals and it sounded great; go back to that. 5) Stop with the circus music. 6) Stop copying other bands...be DT. and lastly 7) Do not produce your own albums so that you abide by 1 thru 6 above.

So, if it seems like I am being harsh it is only because I love DT but do not like their music much anymore. I find myself really only listening to pre TOT albums because I find the latter tough to enjoy except for certain moments. I could even respect TOT if they had changed gears after that but since then their songs have either been a TOT rehash or a very weak attempt at a more pop rock sound (I Walk Beside You.) It is just not my cup of tea and by a lot of the other negative reviews since TOT a lot of other people seem to feel the same way. But of course because I love DT I will continue to come back to them with every new release hoping that one day they too will return the love to me.