After 'Distance Over Time' from 2019 and the series of concerts released in 2020 and 2021 (see below), 'Dream Theater' fans were eagerly awaiting the new album 'A View From The Top Of The World'. And, as with every release, we try to compare with the previous albums and, in the end, we realize that they are incomparable because they all bring their own personality and this latest opus is still the proof, the only constant being that the qualifier of progressive is still in place and embarks us on a new rich and dense journey (70 minutes all the same) which, as with any good album of this style requires repeated listenings to get all the substance.
And to begin with, 'The Alien' (see video above) welcomes us with a first long development, in multi-layers, which puts forward all the know-how of 'Dream Theater': the introduction with the heavy and powerful riffing typical in progressive metal is transformed after one minute, in a total fluidity, into a memorable melody and the title continues with new melodic and rhythmic disgressions which are all remarkable, the listener that I am remaining scotched throughout the 9 minutes during which there is always something happening. This is followed by 'Answering The Call' which is another condensed piece of inventive progressive metal which, between the melodic vocal parts, leaves a nice space for instrumental parts in which 'John Petrucci' and 'Jordan Rudess' delight our ears with remarkable accompaniments. With the magnificent mid-tempo 'Invisible Monster' (see the video here), more direct, the Americans offer us metal with new addictive melodic lines and in the second part of the track, a sparse break in crescendo leading to a magical solo by Mr. 'John Petrucci'. We continue our journey with the 10-minute 'Sleeping Giant', another remarkable piece of the album, which presents a patchwork of different moods, even sketching a Latin rhythm around the 7-minute mark which is followed by two keyboard and guitar solos and ends in epic fashion with a memorable new melody that may remind one of some of the tracks on 'The Astonishing'. With 'Transcending Time', the atmosphere is more measured and even leans towards progressive rock taking us back to the carefree 80's, then, we return to pure 'Dream Theater' with 'Awaken the Master' (see the video here), which is much more elaborate in construction and puts side by side quite different soundscapes taking us to more murky lands. But the highlight of the album is undoubtedly the 20 minutes of the eponymous track that embarks us in a saga of inventive progressive with a quiet central part endowed with an addictive melody and a 'Floydian' guitar solo surrounded by two much more energetic parts highlighting all the creativity of the American combo and which offers a magnificent epic and grandiose finale..
In summary, with this latest album 'A View From The Top Of The World', 'Dream Theater' offers us once again rich and dense compositions that alternate all sorts of atmospheres that we discover little by little as we listen to it over and over again. 'A View From The Top Of The World' is yet another album that should join the ideal record library of any fan of progressive music in general, all styles included...
Live from 'Dream Theater' released in 2020 and 2021
'Distant Memories - Live in London' (chronique myprogmusic ici)
'Lost Not Forgotten Archives: Images and Words – Live in Japan, 2017 (chronique myprogmusic ici)
'Lost Not Forgotten Archives : A Dramatic Tour of Events - Select Board Mixes'
'Lost Not Forgotten Archives : Train of Thought Instrumental Demos (2003)'
'Lost not forgotten archives: Master of puppets - Live in Barcelona 2002' | |
