Falling into a great atmosphere... As usual in DT universe, there are too many different opinions about their music and too many hate and expectations toward them, so I learned to live like that in the prog world, but sometimes I feel people just overreacted: there's always "they should...", "they might...", "They would better..." but at the end the music speak for itself and I do find this album, one of the most interesting and underrated in general.

For new fans, or for people not so involved with the prog world this is a good album to start with. Yes, many tracks aren't really Prog Metal but it might be easier than start with something that really can scare you like "Train of Thought" or leave you wondering like “Octavarium” so here you can decide to jump over a strange style... Yes, this album is not as great as Images&Words or Awake... but it manages to show that Dream Theater can make easy songs, short and some kind of mainstream. If you are not looking for the fastest, the toughest, the greatest you can like this one. If you really like those, go to get whatever album from the Jordan Rudess era you'll find that but this particular album is a good place to lay back a little and try to digest this interesting band. And you will find some overlooked worthy material.

The atmosphere is some kind of dark or I might say, blue, that's it. You'll feel the anger of Portnoy in his lyrics but you will like the soft pace mood from Petrucci and some kind of sadness through the album. And the music really works along with the different themes they are talking. I always imagine been alone in an afternoon on an isolated beach when I'm hearing Hell's Kitchen and Lines in the Sand... like you're away and a little sad 'bout something... the songs are really great on their own... but if you expect to be shock or impress by challenging songs, you won't enjoy this album... You just have to aloud yourself to been take by the songs and lead you to a strange reality, try it... it's a good expirience to dive in especially in the most prog songs...

Put attention to "Peruvian Skies", "Hell's Ktichen", "Lines in the Sand" and "Trial of Tears” and you will get it... that strange atmosphere... kind of sad, blue and beautiful... Here's the prove that DT fellows really can make music with sense and emotion... not just fast solos but as a metal fan that’s precisely what you want, try another album, like Metropolis or Systematic Chaos. 3 stars, good, but not essential.

Well... I really have this one album on a special place 'cause it was my first view of the band and I fell in love in first sight really. It's wierd, but back then I was really a dummy about music and this was a shock for me. How a band could be so good? So tight and complex, keeping sense on each song...? I heard 6:00 and I was insane, I'm a keyboard player so, for me to hear the quality of sound and performance of Kevin Moore was unbelievable. Then I didn't know that it wasn't his best album... that was insane.

The voice of Labrie at it’s best... maybe until the Black Clouds & Silver Linnings album. Everything sounds simply great. Portnoy drums have never sounded like in this album, Petrucci is accurate and acrobatic as always, Myung takes a different approach, less moody and sad and more basic and his contribution in this album is vital to the sound and Kevin More was just excellent by the developing of great soundscapes and layering more than acrobatic solos and show off. This was the last album of Moore in the band and for many of their fans, the shadow that his compositions have thrown over the rest of their catalogue is impressive. Even Jordan Rudess has problems to shine over the mastermind of Moore. He leave us a wonderful sad goodbye song: Space Dye Vest. “And I have no more dreams to defend” he said near to the end, weather it was a hidden code or not, it’s one of the most impressive songs of DT.

They share impressive heavy rock riffing, great lead vocals and melodies, many ambience moody keyboards, impressive solos, fresh and innovative drumming and depth original bass lines. The sound is maybe their most professional and great mixed. This is the album to check for sure. Just hear Scarred, 6:00, Space dye vest, The Mirror and Lifting Shadows, but I can’t point at one single “weak” song on here.

They become more metal and this one is their first “more metal than prog” album. For me it’s a masterpiece, very accessible to any metalhead and one my favorites albums of all time. 5 stars.

A masterpiece of Prog Metal. This is an album that has thrown a shadow over almost every single Prog Metal album since it was published. The album feels like that magical time in our life where everything seems to be on its right place. The band shares some of the greatest inspired songs in prog rock and makes a huge a high standard for all their posterior material.

After Metallica and Rush, seems like Dream Theater was the next step in the evolution of music. And the merge of metal and progressive was perfect. This was the album that shakes the ground of prog, forever.

To be honest, the material is just perfect. They kept the right balance between technical acrobatics as well as a lot of strong emotion and even “magic” (with the lack of a better word) with the more “in your face” metal that they showed in songs like Under a Glass Moon or Pull Me Under. Well, I know must of the new fans could say is not that heavy, that fast, that technical but hey, this album is kind of Kevin Moore trying to held the band not so loud and technical and been more emotional and touching... you know, there's no song like Surrounded in all the other albums... it's just beautiful and well composed and Wait For Sleep, you can feel that emotional vibe, that mix of sadness and "give up" feeling. Kevin was the master of songwritting. And if you see, he dominates must of the songs, not playing just fast and loud, but with soul and emotion... almost the half of the album has his leads... He can be fast, check the unisons with Petrucci in the instrumental part of Metropolis or the solo in Take the Time, but he liked to keep it cool and great... Sure will get the tradicional JP amazing solos, the Portnoy intricate performance... Myung presence is more evident and always with a very moody vibe, like in no other material from DT.

The production is not that shinny and the drum triggers that the producer uses were part of a huge controversy between the band and the producer but even with these “flaws”, it remains as the most important achievement for the band. The sound of DT will get better and they will get heavier as the time passes by, but here is where everything starts. Yes, is the second album, but the first one that means something to the audience. 4 stars for metal, 5 for prog metal. Wonderful experience.

The best comeback of the decade.

I have never been fan of Metallica in general and during all my teen years I grow hearing the boring albums of them in the 90's. After St. Anger I really wished they split because it was enough road downhill... but a friend showed me this album and I didn't expect it. Right from the start you know they really were back. It's incredible how they spent more than 10 years doing bad music and suddenly decided that they really wanted to do music again! so, let's see about the album:

The album has everything Metallica is known of. Heavy and creative riffing courtesy of the best riff guitar player of metal, Mr. Hetfield, tight and fast solos by Hammet at top form, even Ulrich sounds like he is a great drummer (he is the most overrated average drummer, but he really plays loud on this) and a lot of instrumental sections, switching time signatures and the best Thrash metal you can get as well as moody melancholic songs. All in all, this album has everything you want if you are a Metallica or are Metal fan in general.

Highlights of the album: Broken, Beat & Scarred, The End of the Line, All Nightmare Long and Unforgiven III (with a nice piano that is always welcome between a too metal mix) but in general all the songs are heavy, tight and somewhat creative, for a metal measure, of course.

The bads: a totally subjective for me, Hetfield's voice is not that great and I don't like it too much and sometimes it really bores me but the music was good enough to keep me interested. The instrumental song (Suicide and Redemption) is a little too metal and is not that great as the rest of the album but it's still good, especially for metalheads. The lyrics are stupid, but they have never been known by their brilliance in the lyric themes, but is not that bad to not appreciate the music.

I'm very pleased about this comeback. It has everything Metal is all about and that's enough for me. Attitude, experience and good compositions. I didn't expect to give 3 masterpieces to them... but they deserved it, for sure.

More of the same. The flow changed, maybe it work for them, but not for me.

Well, this is a back to back album called in a very original way ReLoad. The same thing, lame compositions, just straight metal with short songs and some kind of aggressive sound, but that sounds like a joke if you make a comparison with their old material. As well as with the Load album, the songs are pretty forgettable. If you don't pay too much attention, you can make a headbanging here and there but that's it, really, a forgettable album.

The only song that I really like is Fuel, because is fresh and aggressive but the album end up plain. So, I don't recommend this album. Maybe it work for background music for a party with the boys, but if you pay too much attention you will end up boring. Nothing interesting to talk about. Well, good sound and production maybe, but I always focus in the music, not in the make-up.

1 star is very fair. Nothing save this album of being poor.