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The first thing to say about this album is that any person who claims to like rock music should buy it. Buy it now. This is one of the most important releases of the new millennium, and definitely much better than any other recently released mainstream contemporary rock album around, save Tool's "Lateralus." Even though this album is of a genre most young people don't listen to, this release has something to offer for everyone.
In the late 60's, the music scene began to experience a new form of rock known as "progressive" (or simply "art"). Characterized by seamless shifts in meter, emphasis on instrumental experimentation and though-provoking lyrics, prog introduced an entire territory of music previous artists were afraid to treat on. The first band to come around to really establish itself as a prog-rock act was King Crimson in 1969, and important names such as Rush, Yes, Genesis and Marillion were to follow. Prog fell relatively underground with the emergence of arena rock and later hair metal in the late 70's and 80's, but it was still around, thanks greatly to the unstoppable force known as Pink Floyd.
Today, prog is almost never heard on the radio, prog acts rarely play award shows or make the headlines of the style section of the Washington Post, and most people can't name any 90's prog artists, apart perhaps from Queensryche. However, fans interested in non-mainstream rock have without a doubt heard of the name Dream Theater.
Dream Theater can best be described as a cross between Metallica and Pink Floyd, with Van Halenesque guitar shredding coupled with Yngwie Malmsteen technical proficiency, and sporting hard-hitting yet often melodic and serene vocals. Famous for legendary guitarist John Petrucci's lightning-fast soloing that leaves any contendor in the dust, Dream Theater made a name for itself early on with its long, extended compositions including a blend of spacey keyboard sounds, deep and emotional vocals, and out-of-this-world guitar and drum skills. Early albums "Images and Words" and "Awake" are without comparison.
Prog-rock artists are big fans of concept albums and complicated musical projects (see Pink Floyd's "The Wall"), and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" is Dream Theater's second concept album. Spanning two discs, the first containing five songs and the second of which is one mammoth opus divided into eight tracks, the album deals with the despair, confusion, uncertainty, loss and madness controlling "Inner Turbulence." The album cannot be considered a rock opera like The Who's "Tommy" or Styx's "Kilroy Was Here," because there is no real main character or evolution in story line. However, "Six Degrees" qualifies as a rock symphony, with its epic songs, constant changes in rhythm, piercingly emotional vocals and unparalleled musicianship. The shortest song on the album is just under seven minutes long, and since they all boast amazing talent, each song qualifies as an epic, by other artists' standards.
Both discs are excellent examples of just how far a band can go with music. Disc one contains one of Dream Theater's best songs to date, "The Glass Prison." It begins with a creepy yet melodic intro, and then the drums and guitars kick in with the Dream Theater trademark "heavy but classical" sound. The solos in "Glass Prison" rank among the best Petrucci has ever spit out, and Mike Portnoy's drumming is top-notch as well. There's also a pretty cool Scandinavian classical keyboard bit that sounds like it belongs in a fantasy story complete with wizards and dragons. These keyboard parts are also not uncommon in Dream Theater or other heavy metal bands' music (anyone familiar with bands in the "Scandinavian metal" category such as Stratovarius and Dimmu Borgir will understand). "Glass Prison" is divided into three "acts," and the message of each one fits in perfectly with the accompanying music. The first four minutes of this song blow the entire Limp Bizkit or Blink 182 catalog out of the water.
The other songs on the first disc are each different from one another and unique in their one ways, but all come together to make the disc a first-rate melodic hard rock CD. The intro to "Blind Faith" sounds like it belongs on a newage soundtrack, then it feels weightless and even depressed, only to start into a heavy chorus that still retains the mood of the lyrics. The song also contains a great SRV-like solo, followed by another one more reminiscent of the unrelenting Eddie Van Halen. "Misunderstood" opens like it's a pop love song, but any fear of that is soon quelled. "Misunderstood" is the most mainstream-sounding song on the first disc; if it weren't for the weird space-rock keyboards and a few other small Dream Theater intricacies, it would sound exactly like something Incubus would release. That's not to be taken in a bad way, however, as the song is still good and bliss to listen to.
"The Great Debate" approaches the subject of determining humanity and its limits, and whether it is acceptable to take "life to save life." The chorus of the song sounds like Linkin Park and not Dream Theater, because James LaBrie's usually melodic vocals are instead reduced to a simple growl. Apart from this though, the song supports an awesome bass line, and riffs that remind listeners of Dream Theater's thrash roots. The final song, "Disappear," is a fine rock ballad about dealing with loss. It more than anything else on the album sounds like Floyd, and it's moody and beautiful. Disc one is prog-rock at its finest.
Disc two covers the entire scope of Dream Theater's skills. There are a couple extremely hard and heavy songs, and then there are slower, pop-sounding ones. Although the slower ones are of a higher quality than most other hard rock bands' attempts at catchy pop songs, Dream Theater is, as usual, at its best with the heavy songs. None of the songs match the heaviness or intricacy of earlier staples such as "Ytse Jam" or "The Dance of Eternity," but the first half of disc two definitely puts up a good fight, especially with "The Test That Stumped Them All." The second half of the disc is more arena-rock formulaic, and the band sounds like it belongs in the early 80's. When given a good listen, however, the music is simply great.
The disc opens with an instrumental, "Overture." This track is fantastic. It's at times playful, heart-throbbingly heavy, and intoxicatingly slow. Wonderful. The other highlights include "War Inside My Head," a short (only two minutes!) but good song revisiting trash's anarchistic music, and "Goodnight Kiss," an irresistible ballad. There is just one negative comment to make about disc two. "Solitary Shell" is one of the softer songs, and it frankly sounds like it belongs on the Lion King soundtrack. It redeems itself with some nice Spanish classical guitar and jazz piano in the end, but the first four minutes leave listeners wondering where Dream Theater went. Apart from this slight recession, however, the disc is great.
Rarely has a band to emerge in the 90's been so artistically consistent as Dream Theater. "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" is their sixth studio album, and it delivers the goods. It was an ambitious idea: both a double-album and a concept album, but it's pulled off almost without a hitch. Radio and MTV will still continue to avoid prog, but hopefully Dream Theater will still continue to release ass-kicking music.
Written by Anthony Wagenseil, staff writer for The Flat Hat
Dream Theater - "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence"
***** (five stars)