Search - Dream Theater :: Black Clouds & Silver Linings-Special ed

Spoilt by Portnoys increasing delusions of grandeur

I. J. Sloan | Rossendale, Lancs United Kingdom | 05/08/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I don't have a Dream Theater T shirt, but I like their stuff and listen to them a lot. However, unlike most die-hard fans, if I was parachuted onto any of the dozen or so DT "planets" that inhabit their solar system, I would be hard pressed to know which planet I was on.... They are all pretty much the same, and it is only familiarity that might tell you which one is which.



However, there does seem to be a worrying trend, and this CD demonstrates it in spades .... First of all, on this "planet" Mike "turn me up to 11" Portnoy insists on playing lead drums throughout... no that is not an error .... I seriously think that his delusions of percussionistic grandeur have grown to the point where he feels he is the reason that people buy DT music. Far too high in the mix, far too bombastic, totally unsubtle with precious little respite.



Secondly, he feels he can now sing !! .. this has been a horrible development in the last few albums, and I suspect that fact that the reworking of all the tracks without James Labrie singing on them is an indication that they recognise that most DT fans would love to see the back of him and much prefer it when he is "unrequired", but I have a horrible feeling that MP feels he can take over with his death metal, roadkill vocals.



As for lyrics .... Baahauhahaha ... they make Sammy Hagar sound like Neil Peart !



Having said that , DT as musicians are phenomenal ... there are passages in Live at the Budokan I can play every day of the week and just step back in amazement ... and indeed, there are some nice moments on disc one .. including, I have to admit, some decent James Labrie singing .... But it is marred by Portnoy thumping away unrelentingly like some demented halfwit ( which he most certainly isn't ! ) who has found he can make loud banging noises with sticks whilst at the same time snarling in the background! Jeez, just take a back seat occasionally Mike ... you have two guys in Jordan and John (Myung) who rarely get a look in and in the past, when they have had their 15 seconds of fame, have proven they can add colour and variation which is sadly lacking in this album. It makes me really sad to hear Jordan reduced to "strange noises off" rather than playing "proper music" ... his playing on "Beyond this life" on LatB was just jaw dropping.



What more to say ? The covers are OK ... but why do a cover of something like Odyssey which is something that was sublime to start with and cannot be changed and interpreted ( well ... DT don't .. its more or less note for note ) .. I just don't see the point. .... And lastly, any record that repeats itself without the singing says two things ... they think they are wonderful .. and that their singer isn't ..... its just plain simple ridiculous.



I played Dweezil Zappa after this ... "Have a bad day" .. to cheer me up ... proper, fun rock music that doesn't take itself seriously .. totally unlike DT.

"

An interactive production

Rosalina Martinez Gonzalez | Madrid, España | 04/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dream Theater can be as special and brilliant to take his own songs, give them a turn or two, remake them and create a new masterpiece. This is just what they do in Black Clouds and Silver Linings a production where every song is a déja vù of other past works, without being repetitive. An example of this can be the initial guitar in The Prince of Tuscany that remembers a lot at the initial one in New Millenium from Falling to infinity; also the intention in the story telling is too much familiar to the style of Metropolis II: Scenes from a memory: "Sometimes you got to be wrong, and learn from mistakes..."- The root of all evil, Octavarium.

That interest in the esoteric themes that had characterized the band since the begining continues here in the transition to death and the inmortality and the fragility of human being facing the turns of the mind, the dreams and the nightmares. Rite of Passage, its first single tells about step another level of conciousness. The experiment with the death metal where Portnoy do the deep, dark voices remembers a lot to any song of Dany Filth and Co. and Prince of Tuscany its a beautiful epic song of a vampires who don't want be remembered. Definetively another brilliant masterpiece!

"

Aptly titled

Altjungr | 05/14/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As always, Dream Theater is musically solid with great riffs and musical virtuosity, but this album is a let-down in many respects. For one thing, the lyrics are decidedly sub-par. For example, I just don't buy "Wither" and "Count of Tuscany". If you are a strong and confident person, why do you need to "give up" to write a good song and why would you be afraid of some mincey count? And something seems wrong to me about singing "by the grace of God above everyone survived" in a death metal growl! I thought I could avoid this pitfall of an otherwise decent album by listening to the instrumental version, but they mixed out the guitar solos, a choice so baffling to me that I destroyed the third disk in a fit of rage. Also, the last Bill W. track was anticlimactic and made me glad to be rid of them. Many of the tracks seem to lack the same level of emotion that their previous work exhibits and almost seems artificial: like someone trying to sound like Dream Theater but not quite succeeding. The second album is some very interesting and well-done covers (there are some songs I never liked until I heard the Dream Theater version) but the whole thing smacks of Metallica's Reload/Garage inc. phase. All in all, this may be their worst overall album, but since Dream Theater is such a good band in general, this isn't saying much.



Dream Theater is in a dangerous place as a band. After being around for so long and having a fair degree of success, they seem to be running out of critics telling them to try harder. I think the places where this album is lacking may be due to people (fans and promoters alike) pushing them to release new albums without polishing them. In the end, they get 3 stars because of "A Rite of Passage" which musically glorifies the ancient tradition of initiation. (It has great music and lyrics-one of Dream Theaters best songs for my money... Why can't the rest of the album be like that?) If you are a fan, splurge for the 3-disk. If you like this one, check out their older stuff: its even better."