Black Clouds & Silver Linings

I pre-ordered Black Clouds & Silver Linings so I ended up getting it a day after it was released...*shaking fist in air* I've now had a chance to listen to it more than a few times and I'm gonna give it 3 out of 5 stars. It is definitely a Dream Theater album...long songs, odd time signatures, amazing technical ability, etc.

"A Nightmare to Remember" starts out fast and heavy. The lyrics are okay - but not great. Overall it's a decent song. One thing that this song could do without is Jordan's whiny wails (14:15-15:12) I'm 90% sure he's using a Continuum - it's a damn cool instrument - but shouldn't be used in excess.

"A Rite of Passage" is probably the most 'radio-friendly' song on the album (despite clocking in at 8:36). The chorus has great harmonies and the solos don't disappoint.

"Wither" is the power ballad of the album. It's excellent instrumentally; but again, some of the lyrics just don't do it for me...

"The Shattered Fortress" is the last in the 5-song Twelve-step suite written by Mike Portnoy about his experience with alcoholism. As with the other songs - it borrows from previous songs both lyrically and musically. This is by far my favorite track from the album.

"The Best of Times" was written as a tribute to Howard Portnoy (Mike's Father) who passed during the making of the album. It starts out with a piano & violin then moves into an upbeat/uptempo number. Some of the lyrics are cheesy, but given the circumstances we'll forgive that. Maybe it's just me - but I swear I've heard the main melody elsewhere - just can't put my finger on it at this time.

"The Count of Tuscany" is the last song on the album and it's almost 20 minutes long. I had great expectations of this track to be an epic masterpiece like "A Change of Seasons" and "Octavarium" but sadly it's not. It starts out pretty cool (I really think they need to look into scoring sci-fi or fantasy movies/video games) then goes into a head-bangin' torrent and quickly goes downhill from there. The lyrics are just awful!

The 2nd disc is cover songs and most are pretty good - but I think this is where they shot themselves in the foot - they should have spent more time focusing on their own material... The 3rd disc is instrumental versions of the album.