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DREAM THEATER
‘A View From The Top’
Album Review

(22nd October 2021)

Review by Chris Reid

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At this stage of their career Dream Theater should need no introduction – The 5 piece arguably define the genre of progressive metal.  The band’s fifteenth studio album, A View From The Top Of The World is released today, on October 22nd via leading prog metal label Inside Out.

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The context to the making of this album is considerably different to its predecessor (2019’s Distance Over Time). Last time around Dream Theater had a point to prove after 2016’s double disk rock opera ‘The Astonishing’ received a lukewarm reception form sections of their fanbase.  However, given that Distance Over Time was widely regarded as a return to form I would assume the band could approach this album with less external pressure on the creative process. The other element that cannot be dismissed in summarising the context to this album is the COVID-19 pandemic –  The band were in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release when COVID changed the world for professional touring musicians. The pandemic inflicted hiatus on touring was used to write the album from scratch in their newly constructed DT HQ facility.

The Album gets underway with The Alien, which was also the first single released from the album. The Alien is a Prototypical Dream Theater album opener;  laden with hooks, riffs and melody, and containing technical proficiency in spades. I believe James LaBrie’s inspiration for the lyrics was an Elon Musk & Joe Rogan podcast, however you’d be forgiven for assuming The Alien is a reference to Mike Mangini whose work being the skins is particularly dexterous and head turning on this track.

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Answering The Call is the next cab of the rank and I’m on board from the opening riff that sees Petrucci’s shreddy guitar line carry the epic chord progression with style.  The vocals are strong and the musicianship is of course world class. The 2nd half of the track is a somewhat bluesy jam vibe that throws back to the the middle section from Beyond This Life (track four from Metropolis Part 2 : Scenes from a Memory) –  Given the band were mid-way through a tour that was celebrating the 20th anniversary of Scenes when COVID struck, I’m assuming this could have been the legitimate influence.

The 3rd track on the release is the 2nd single from the album; Invisible Monster. I really enjoy this track, its got everything you want from a Dream Theater song, including an extremely hooky chorus. The lyrical content references Anxiety (the invisible monster), which obviously holds some relevance against a backdrop of a global pandemic. Whilst this is arguably the most straight forward track on the album, it’s still got plenty to offer for prog/shred fans.

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Sleeping Giant has a run time of just over 10 minutes, and there’s no doubt its a mini epic of sorts. Founded on a  Slinky, off-kilter riff this song is far from straight forward; It contains plenty  of the virtuosic instrumental meandering that the band are famous for.  James Labrie sounds great on this track and that’s the case throughout the entire album. The often maligned front man proves yet again that his studio output is as good as anyone in the business.

Transcending Time is a fantastic track with a real nostalgic 1980’s vibe.  I get subtle flavours of Rush & Mr Big with the usual Dream Theater tropes thrown in for good measure. In the absence of no straight out ballad style tracks on the album this track stands out for being a point of difference.

John Petrucci has been talking about using his signature 8 string guitar in a DT track for some time, and the track in question is now revealed; Awaken The Master. To compare this to past DT tracks I’d say Awaken the Master is like a love child of Dark Eternal Night and Bridges In the Sky. It’s a brilliant track.

I really enjoy Jordan Rudess’ playing, tone selection and orchestration on this album. As usual his prodigious talent is clearly on display, however I feel like at certain times he uses some more restraint than usual; taking a back seat to play less intricate parts that allow the guitar riffs to dominate when needed. I’ve heard the band speak about wanting to channel the magic of A Change of Seasons on this album, and there’s no doubt that at times the keyboard tones and Riff Orientated approach to the guitar lines make for apt comparison.

The closing track is the 20 minute epic and title track of the album A View From The Top Of The World. The track contains everything you’re looking for from a DT track; Symphonic arrangements, Heavy Riffs, Softer more melodious sections, Catchy vocal sections, extended instrumental sections and plenty of time signature change ups.  It’s a beast of a track yet a relatively smooth and easy listen for its 20 minute run time – in years to come it is likely to be held in similar regard to A Change of Seasons and Illumination Theory.

The short hand review of this album is that it’s a incredibly strong release that hits on all of the hallmarks of the Dream Theater sound. Its staggering to hear a band’s 15th release that sounds so vital. It’s unashamedly true to the Dream Theater sound that we’ve come to know very well by this stage of their career, but the execution and song writing is as good as any of their releases to my ears.  Speaking of ears – Andy  Sneap has done a great job with the mix.

In lieu of a traditional ‘best-of’ Dream Theater album, I’d have no issues handing this release to a new fan with the confidence that the album essentially summarises their career to date. A View From The Top Of The World is destined to be a modern day Dream Theater classic.

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Follow DREAM THEATER
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

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About
“A VIEW FROM THE TOP”

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A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD is Dream Theater at its musical finest expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The 7-song album also marks the second studio album with InsideOutMusic / Sony Music. The artwork was created by long-time cover collaborator Hugh Syme (Rush, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour). A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.

Dream Theater – comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini – was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release DISTANCE OVER TIME and the 20th anniversary of SCENES FROM A MEMORY when a global pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the United States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) —a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via ZOOM on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.

“We just love to play our instruments,” observes Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”

“We approach every album like it’s our first,” adds LaBrie. “It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”

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A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD
Tracklisting:

The Alien (9:32)
Answering The Call (7:35)
Invisible Monster (6:31)
Sleeping Giant (10:05)
Transcending Time (6:25)
Awaken The Master (9:47)
A View From The Top Of The World (20:24)

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About Dream Theater:

Progressive metal pioneers Dream Theater— James LaBrie (Vocals), John Petrucci (Guitars), Jordan Rudess (Keyboards), John Myung (Bass), and Mike Mangini (Drums) — share a unique bond with one of the most passionate fan bases around the globe as evidenced by their two GRAMMY® Award nominations and 15 million records sold worldwide. The 1992 opus IMAGES & WORDS received a Gold certification and landed on Rolling Stone’s coveted “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All-Time.” Guitar World placed the follow-up AWAKE at #1 on “Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994.” 1996’s A CHANGE OF SEASONS notably soundtracked NBC’s coverage of Downhill Skiing at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Fans voted the 1999 METROPOLIS PT. 2: SCENES FROM A MEMORY the “Number One All-Time Progressive Rock Album” in a 2012 Rolling Stone poll. Not to mention, it ranked as the “15th Greatest Concept Album” by Classic Rock.  2009 saw BLACK CLOUDS & SILVER LININGS crash the Billboard Top 200 at #6 as A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS [2011] and DREAM THEATER [2013] maintained a three-peat in the chart’s Top 10. Consequence of Sound dubbed 2016’s THE ASTONISHING, “An absolutely unique experience.” Beyond three Platinum and two Gold videos, the group was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2019, the band continued to expand its audience when they released DISTANCE OVER TIME to critical and commercial acclaim. On their 15th full-length and second studio release for InsideOutMusic / Sony Music, A VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD, the band continue to challenge themselves and push their musical envelope – something they have done for over 30-years performing together.

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Stats and accolades:

– GRAMMY® nomination for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance 2011.
– GRAMMY® nomination for Best Metal Performance 2013.
– More than 12 million albums sold globally.
– Rolling Stone’s Readers Poll placed Dream Theater among the Top 10 best prog rock bands of all time

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AMNPLIFY – DB