Dream Theater - Octavarium

Dream Theater have never been ones to rest on their laurels. The last four years have seen three studio albums from these dynamos, and they haven’t been just throw-away efforts, toss-offs with no distinction one from the other. Each has been a unique entity, a little different from the others. They’re probably the most famous of all the progressive rock acts of all time. Though that’s not saying much for their number of fans, the fans that they do have are quite a sight to behold. I can say from experience that you don’t just have a passing interest in Dream Theater. At times it’s stronger than at others, but you really have to fall into one of two camps: you either are wowed by them, or you don’t get it.

Octavarium is Dream Theater’s eighth full-length album, and they sound every bit as alive, excited, and mind-bogglingly proficient as ever. At the same time, Octavarium seems a little stale. I don’t think Dream Theater is losing their touch so much as their touch is remaining the same. Yes, they’re masters at their instruments. Yes, they do progressive metal better than just about anybody. Yes, John Petrucci has skills with the guitar that should be reserved for heavenly beings. All this we know. They don’t seem to have gone through the progression that most bands do of playing only passingly in the beginning and then getting better as they grow, eventually reaching excellence. Dream Theater seem to have skipped the “only passingly” part all together, and gone straight to excellence.

Even so, Octavarium has changes in other ways, as their previous albums do. The blackness and anger of Train of Thought is left behind, and it’s replaced by a more even-handed approach. “The Root of All Evil” picks up where Train of Thought left off, making the transition from one musical mode to the next. “The Answer Lies Within” is a little boring and simple-minded, but boring Dream Theater is way better than inspired Nickelback. Then there’s “I Walk Beside You.” This is a pretty odd song for Dream Theater. It’s quick, driving, upbeat, and even radio-friendly. GASP!!! You heard right.

Dream Theater must have thought they had to compensate for their moment of pop, so they did just that. Almost the entire second half of the record is taken up by only two songs; the 10 minute “Sacrificed Sons,” and the 24-minute epic title track. Dream Theater seems to have grown a social conscious, having one song on their last three albums explicitly about an issue facing our contemporary world. This time it’s “Sacrificed Sons,” the subject being 9/11. As far as number of tracks go, this is a very brief album, being only 8 tracks long. However, it’s 75 minutes long, which is almost all that a single CD can hold. Honestly, this is a lot like the classic albums from the 1970s, generally known as the heydays of progressive rock. The final title track, also, contains a section where Dream Theater pulls influence from every progressive source imaginable, from Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple, just to name a few. And this isn’t just my own interpretation; anybody with knowledge of those groups would be able to pick up on it.

Octavarium proves that Dream Theater are not going soft in their old age. They can’t get any sharper, because they’ve already hit the ceiling on that, but they aren’t losing even a miniscule amount of their edge. However, it can’t be too long till they start to… can it?

Prime Cuts:
Octavarium
I Walk Beside You
The Root of All Evil

22 Rating: 13