UMUR "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is the 11th full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Dream Theater. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2011. This is the first Dream Theater album not to feature drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy who left the band in September 2010. He is replaced here by Mike Mangini (Annihilator, Extreme, Steve Vai).

Despite the quite significant lineup change (In addition to his drumming duties Mike Portnoy was active in the band´s songwriting as well as co-producing several of the group´s albums) not much have actually changed since "Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009"). Dream Theater still produce top notch progressive metal involving outstanding musicianship and well written material. What they fail to do on this album and actually haven´t done for a while is challenge their audience. "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is more or less Dream Theater by the numbers and at this point I really wish they would break out of the stylistic monotony they´ve been in for now too long. There are literally no surprises on this album and frankly I expect more from the world´s leading progressive metal act. After all the word "progressive" (in this context) means that you push boundaries and create something new/unheard of.

With that out of the way "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is of course still a high quality release on almost every other parameter and as such the album opens pretty strong with the trio of tracks "On the Backs of Angels", "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" and "Lost Not Forgotten". But from "This is the Life" and onwards my attention begins to wander. Especially some of the longer tracks like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Outcry" are rather tedious to my ears, but of course things aren´t helped along either with the inclusion of the saccarine and forgettable ballad "Far From Heaven". I don´t know why they keep insisting on including tracks like that on their albums ("This is the Life" also falls under that catagory).

The sound production is decent but the drums have an odd sound. Maybe they are not high enough in the mix or something like that. I can´t put my finger on it, but there is some kind of issue with them. Regarding the drums it´s interesting to note that Mike Mangini more or less completely imitates the playing of Mike Portnoy. I´ve read somewhere that the drum parts for the tracks were already written when Mangini entered the lineup, so maybe it´s not so strange. It´ll be interesting to see if he can bring his own style to the table on the next release if he decides to stay with the band.

Now I can understand that hardcore fans of Dream Theater find "A Dramatic Turn of Events" to be a great release but I simply have to point out what I see as weaknesses and potential signs of a band that have given up developing their music. To me "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is a kinda "middle of the road" album by Dream Theater and it´s far from the best output by the band. Sometime in the future when talking about Dream Theater´s discography this album will not be mentioned. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

dtguitarfan Another milestone album, both for Metal and Progressive music. This album is quite possibly the most important album in the history of Progressive Metal - kind of a game changer, genre-defining album. For me, this is a personal milestone as I feel I began to truly understand what Progressive music was all about through this album. I had already started getting into Dream Theater, and had a couple of their other albums when I started listening to this one. I remember HATING Metropolis Pt. 1 - absolutely loathed it. I don't remember why, but I did. But a funny thing happened - part of the instrumental section got lodged within my brain and I could not shake it loose. It would repeat over and over again. So I decided to listen to the song again. I loathed it a little less, and this time I thought "hmm, there's something interesting going on there, but I don't know what." I had to listen to this song again now, and did so a few more times and then I had an epiphany. I began to understand how the band was switching time signatures (compound time), and though I didn't understand fully, thought they might even be layering different time signatures on top of each other. This is when I began to truly appreciate and understand what Progressive music was about, and also probably the point at which Dream Theater became my favorite band.

The Angry Scotsman "Systematic Chaos" seems to be one of the least popular DT albums, and I understand why. It's more metal oriented, like "Train of Thought", which appears to be an automatic turn off to many fans. However, unlike "Train of Thought", this album is a bit commercial sounding, which of course is a turn of to fans of prog rock and metal in general. I'll admit, I used to be in that latter camp, but many years later I've re-listened and "Systematic Chaos" is a pretty decent album.

I feel a bit foolish taking the "accessible" pill, because it sometimes comes across like this is pop rock, which is quite obviously not true. There are certainly accessible, (or modern, as Portnoy tried to sugar coat) moments but this is actually a very heavy, technical album for DT.

Maybe it's a tad less progressive than standard DT, but it's still prog and really it becomes an issue of splitting hairs... So if you are one who gets caught on the "less progressive" thing, or demand your DT be more melodic in nature, well don't even bother with this one.

"In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1" is the first part of a 25 minute song that book ends the album. It starts off, awesome. Real awesome: a heavy, progressive intro, intense drumming, lots of bass and keyboard and a frantic climax. After your mind is blown it moves to a slower, melodic section. The first 5 minutes are a killer intro. The song then alternates between a heavy wall of chords and spidery riff. The bass is pretty prominent, finally!, and there's a good dose of keyboard. Maybe the wall of chords is "accessible" but damn, call me a metal head: I like it! At least in small doses like this. Song can get a bit stale, but it's real solid and a great opener. Lots of intensity and technicality.

"Forsaken" is sadly quite bland, and I really don't like it.

"Constant Motion" is back to riff based prof metal, and damn are there some great riffs. The song is packed with them, and some are quite groovy. A real progressive song, again loaded with great melodies, riffs and technicality. Again, the bass is nice and audible, which still floors me since you can never hear Myung. Good song, and the few accessible sections don't hang around too long.

"The Dark Eternal Night" now this one is a trip. Some major off tempo grooving and thrashing right off the start. Unfortunately they use those distorted "evil" sounding vocals at times which kind of bug me. Still, gotta love that groove. There's a lengthy middle section that is insane and all over the place, it's awesome. A tornado of music. This kicks into a flat out thrash metal part, and it's pretty intense. That's what I'm talking about...some DT that kicks your ass! This song rocks.

"Repentance" gives us a break, and a pretty nice one. The next part in the twelve step suite, this a pretty mellow, spacey song. Dare I say, Pink Floyd esque? Well why not? Portnoy said so, really it's a pretty accurate description. It's a nice song, real drifty, somber but not too bleak. Featured are several spoken word contributions from some big names, apologizing or repenting to people they have wronged.

"Prophets of War" is a straightforward and riffy, mid tempo song. It's not bad but kind of drags on. A not too aggressively anti Iraq war song, complete with fan group cries. Alright but a little boring.

"The Ministry of Lost Souls" is a long, slower and melodic song. Well, it starts that way, picks up a bit at times and really kicks into high gear in the middle. Then follows some DT w**kery with many guitar and key solos. A bit DT by the numbers, but it's not a bad song. The slower parts can be nice but also drag at times. Nice ending, overall not too shabby.

The album ends with "In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 2" because every prog band needs an album with Pink Floyd style book ends. It picks where the opener left off, and slowly builds to peaks and valleys, before reaching the shreddery. Another DT song that is fine, I'd say even good, but leaves me a bit cold. Can't knock it though, has everything you'd expect and is well done. I'm sure some will knock the cheese factor, but as usual I say just take that cheese and make a pizza with it. This is prog metal.

So after some listens, this turned out to be a pleasantly surprising album. Not spectacular, but pretty good. If you can get over the "accessible" and "more metal" hurdles you should find it a fine album. Heavy, (very heavy) technical, progressive and intense. It has all you want, and done very well, including lots of bass! "The Dark Eternal Night" is killer, as is "Repentance" just in a different way. Stand out tracks in my book.

Three and a Half Stars.

The Angry Scotsman This album seems to be one of the lesser liked in the Dream Theater discog, but I love it. In fact, it's my favorite DT album.

When I first heard "Train of Thought" I only knew the classic DT albums: 6 Degrees, Metropolis, I&W and Awake. So I was pretty shocked by this albums heaviness and profanity, (not that I care at all, but for DT it raised an eyebrow). "Train of Thought" is certainly more "metal" than most DT albums. It's heavier and bit less progressive than most of the band's output, but it is still progressive. A bit more riff based than standard DT, and there are some epic riffs to be found. There are plenty of blazing guitar and keyboard solos, a pretty good drumming display and fine vocals. While they never really wow me (and can sometimes grate), it seems I don't dislike LaBrie nearly as much as I used to.

"As I Am" is a bit straightforward, but a good metal song. Some cool riffs and moments.

"This Dying Soul" is more intense and progressive. Pretty cool song, though I don't like the distorted vocals that are used at times. Second half is pretty crazy and has some classic DT madness.

Then we get to the best 2 songs of the album.

"Endless Sacrifice" is an awesome song, heavy and progressive. The main riff/chorus part makes me rock so hard. The middle section is awesome, and topped off with doses of epic shreddery and technicality. Great song, and it leads into my favorite from the album:

"Honor Thy Father" Now this is some brutal prog metal. Heavy, groovy, intense, progressive, filled with epic riffs and melodies. Hefty doses of technicality, off tempo, solos and even keyboards are thrown around, and some pretty good drumming to boot. The song really moves and is hard to not groove or thrash around to.

"Vacant" gives us a breather with a somber keyboard and bass piece, with some cello too. Pretty but also quite melancholy, especially when taken with the lyrics about LaBrie watching his young daughter fall into a coma...some heavy stuff.

"Stream of Consciousness" is an 11 minute instrumental. Turn the volume up, because I love when the first riff hits you. Like any good prog epic it takes you on quite a journey, and you'll hear a bit of everything. Lots of keyboard, more than the previous songs as well as more of that famed DT wizardry then we've seen thus far. Not the best prog instrumental I've heard but a pretty damn good song for sure.

"In the Name of God" finishes the album with its longest song, at 14 minutes. It drags a bit at times, and for the first time on ToT LaBrie's singing kind of bugs me, (but it's not terrible) and is a good song still. With the rest of the album there are some sweet riffs, grooves and melodies throughout. A good song, but actually could've use a bit of trimming. "Stream of Consciousness" would've been a better finale in my opinion, especially since it fits with "Train of Thought" as an idea but ah well.

So after all these years I still love the more riffy, heavy DT. Some fans seem to be displeased with the more metal, less proggy sound but if you like metal, and if you like prog then I really don't see why you wouldn't like "Train of Thought". It's some heavy, dark and still progressive prog metal, what's not to love?

Four and a Half Stars

dtguitarfan I have been a long time Dream Theater fan,as my username might suggest. Dream Theater, for me, is the band that expanded my way of thinking about music, caused the Progressive Rock addiction in me, and made me realize I was no longer interested in pop music. For over 10 years, my favorite Dream Theater album was Metropolis Part 2: Scene From A Memory. While I loved their albums that came after, nothing came close to the quality of this album,in my mind. During this time, I also believed that Images and Words was a very, very close 2nd place. I say this to show you that it is not a fickle statement for me to say that A Dramatic Turn of Events is now my favorite Dream Theater album. While I immediately, upon first listen, knew the album was amazing, I had to listen to the album, and the other two I have mentioned, repeatedly (and over the period of 8 months) to come to this decision. I truly believe this to be a necessary part in the collection of a Progressive Rock or Progressive Metal fan.

Dellinger Even though this release consists of two different DVDs, they are very much alike and both suffer from just about the same problems.

First, they mix the concert with interviews and videos of them fooling around and promotional videos of their songs. That really distracts from the attention of the concert experience and won't allow me to enjoy it. Sure, those extra features would be great if added as bonus material. Second, they chose almost none on the songs that I really liked from the albums that had already been released up to that point.

On Live in Tokio, the only songs I like are Wait for Sleep, which is too short to rescue this video; Pull me Under, which is much more enjoyable on the original album (there are some really horrible patented LaBrie screaming added to this version); and Ytse Jam, which has some added extra-long drum solo that makes it really hard to fully enjoy it. From the videos, once again the only I really like is Pull me Under, but this is an edited version, and I really miss the deleted minutes. The rest of the songs are OK, but nothing too memorable for me, and some awful LaBrie screams keep on ruining them. Sure enough there are some interesting points on this video, mainly to see Dream Theater play, whatever songs they are playing, is very entertaining, and being such an early DT performance is also cool, specially because it includes Kevin Moore in the Line-Up.

As for 5 Years in a Livetime, it's not even one concert, but a collection of songs performed live during the years in which Derek Sherinian was part of the band. Once again, few of the songs performed here are among those I like. Mainly I like Lifting Shadows Off A Dream, which even if it isn't among my very favourite ones, it's a very enjoyanbe soft song, and it's performed quiet nicely. Also, Peruvian skies is pretty good, and it sounds kind of more energetic than the studio version... also, in this case they add some solos from Pink Floyds' Have a Cigar and Metallica's Enter Sandman, which is rather a nice surprise (though it makes me wish they had played those songs completley). On the other hand, they also play Metropolis, Learning to Live, and A Change of Seasons (the final part only) which are all songs that I really love from the band... but they are played incomplete, which makes it more frustrating than enjoyable.

They also have some covers, like Battery from Metallica (which i never really liked anyway, and even less with growiling, though the perfromance from the band did sound somewhat better than I remember from the original song), Easter from Marillion, which I didn't previously know, the Wurm part from Starship Trooper (once again, not having the complete version is rather frustrating), and a patchy Perfect strangers, which starts with a BBC recording (with Bruce Dickinson on vocals) and abruptly changes to a live performance of the group, in which the instruments are swapped, so that none is playing the instrument they really know how to play).

Strangely enough, the most pleasant surprise for me in this video were a pair of songs that were not officially released: Cover my Eyes and Just Let me Breathe. Both are very soft songs, but I really enjoyed them (and I usually don't enjoy Dream Theater's soft songs).

I would give this videos 3 stars if it were only for the concerts (even though they didn't play most of my favorite songs, none are so bad as to not making it enjoyable), however, I take one more star because of the interviews and promotional song videos mixed with the concert.

Andyman1125 What live should always be. Dream Theater really hit a home run with this DVD. Recorded on the last show of the band's 20th anniversary tour along with an entire orchestra (named the "Octavarium Orchestra" and led by well known conductor Jamsheid Sharifi), the concert, lasting for over 2 hours, was shot in Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The band opened with a couple of their hits of the new album before going through each and every studio album and playing one track from each, and most of them not the ones you would think they would play (No Pull me Under!!). The band is at their complete best, with extreme energy, chemistry, and great stage presence. Even in the massive Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence the band keeps going and going and going and going with the same energy as the first track-- which is highly impressive! The whole DVD is a blast to watch, especially watching each member do his part and the whole band functioning as a whole. A great buy! 5 stars.

Stooge This is a special release for me, as it is my first true music DVD that I purchased myself (unless you count Spinal Tap). It was around a year since attending my first Dream Theater show, and memories from the show were beginning to fade. Luckily, this DVD re-assured me that my admiration of the Dream Theater live show was well justified.

The heart of this DVD has Dream Theater performing their 1999 album, Metropolis Part II: Scenes From A Memory, in its entirety. That album probably ranks around third place in my favorite Dream Theater albums, and they have video releases that are technically better edited, but I have yet to witness a DVD of theirs that I prefer more than this. The timing of this concert was a bright patch in their career where they decided to take full creative control and make less commercial compromises. The band seems very at ease on the stage, looking like they’ve been playing with keyboardist Jordan Ruddess for years, and their execution is spot on.

The bonus features are a very notable aspect of this release, especially the additional concert material. This is highlighted by the performance of their 25-minute “A Change Of Seasons”. Through the song’s instrumental passages, you can get a taste of the Dream Theater live experience as they throw in quotes of “The Simpsons” theme, and the sporting event classic “Charge!”. Combining this with the main feature, the “A Mind Beside Itself” suite, and “Learning To Live”, you have a stunning song selection that is sure to please fans of progressive metal. The only upsetting aspect is that more songs are included on the CD version of this concert, but I suppose it makes sense from a business perspective. The documentary is a nice touch, and their band commentary, while I’ve only listened to it once, makes me wish that more bands would add such insight to their videos.

You will not regret buying this DVD!