 Like Dream Theater's previous studio release, "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence," this album is stylisticly all over the map. "Train of Thought" is an appropriate name, as many songs suddenly go in unexpected directions.
This is one of Dream Theater's heavier albums, which I find pleasing, since many bands get continually more mellow as the members of the band get older. Fortunately, the Dream Theater guys show that they can still crank it. There's only one "soft" song on the album and it's less than three minutes. Compare that with the rest of the songs that are mostly well over ten minutes in length.
If you're used to songs that are structured in the standard "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus" format, you may find yourself a little lost while listening to this CD. There are some songs that took me a few listens to even figure out where the chorus was. Most tracks are characterized by random and unexpected changes in flow, tempo, and meter. While this is not unusual for Dream Theater, this album is especially random, which is probably why they entitled it "Train of Thought."
While the unconventional structuring of the songs keeps them interesting, it also makes the melodies less memorable. Since I am admittedly a fan of catchy melodies, I would have liked to have heard a bit more flow within the songs. That being said, the technical quality of the songs is amazing, and any musician would be impressed with level of talent required to produce this music. If you like long, heavy, artistic instrumentals, there are plenty of them in this album.
"Train of Thought" is more musical than lyrical, but the words are still deep with meaning, like most Dream Theater music. The theme is mainly frustration with violence in the world and confusion with the way people act. Dream Theater has a unique way of using lyrical imagery to make a point without coming across as self-righteous or sanctimonious.
The production on this album is solid, as the keyboards, bass, and guitar all flow together, while each part is easily distinguishable from the others. It is incredible how tight the band is with such difficult music. Even though they often change key, tempo, and meter, they stay together perfectly, keeping the musical flow.
"Train of Thought" is a great album if you like technical, artistic music. The instrumentals are incredible displays of quality musicianship and creative expression. However, if you like more traditional verse-chorus music, you might find the songs to be rather difficult to follow. |
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