DREAM THEATER – Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

So in true progressive fashion, Dream Theater delivers a double CD, maybe their most ambitious work to date. I must have said “their most ambitious work” when the last album, the incredible Metropolis II: Scenes From A Memory, came out, too, but I’ll easily say it again. Disc one contains four tracks that clock in at around 10 minutes or more, leaving only the last song, Disappear”, at “normal” length. Anyway, who decides what’s normal and not? “The Glass Prison” takes it all away, a good song with a complex and great riff from maestro John Petrucci. On the other end of the scale, I find myself really disliking a song like “The Great Debate”. Its 14 minutes do absolutely nothing for me. Disc two has the CD’s title track, one song divided into eight parts. It starts off with impressive work by Jordan Rudess, who has already proven that he is a very important part of the band, and reminds for some reason of Christmas music. Maybe Jordan has a future with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra? (Ha ha!) All in all, this work seems to be more for the progressive fan of the 70’s, not for a progressive metalhead from late 80’s and 90’s, like myself. Also, I don’t fancy the recording half as much as “Metropolis…” and “Images And Words”, as the drum sound is really weak at times in my ears. I suppose it’s meant to be that way, and I have heard others say that this is Dream Theater’s finest work to date. I suggest you find out for yourself, as it could be the album of the year if you’re into progressive rock and not so much progressive metal.