I was an early adopter to Dream Theater, having picked up When Dream and Day Unite not long after release. At that time, the band was still working the underground, and various reliable sources were reporting their unique formula of marrying metal with prog. I enjoyed that first album, and snapped up Images and Words when it was released in the summer of 1992. A perfect time and place album for me, it remains one of the more important CDs in my collection. That's a story for another day. Two years later Awake hit the shelves, and again I was there at the beginning. I did like it - I still do - but it didn't capture my imagination like its predecessor. Whether I had moved on, or it just objectively isn't as good, I cannot say. But after that, I was more of a casual fan of Dream Theater. The exception being Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, which once again represents a backdrop of a personal era, and that's the only one of their albums I've ever reviewed. But that was an outlier, and after that my interest in Dream Theater continued to wane. And I didn't own anything by them after 2007.
Until now. Thrift stores are proving to be the perfect opportunity for me to visit what I may (or may not) have missed. Of course I could just hop on YouTube, but that's not satisfying for me. A Dramatic Turn of Events is the first CD I've found from Dream Theater, but given their commodity status, I'm sure I'll find more over time. So what to make of the music? Well it's Dream Theater, that's for sure. It's their patented formula of mixing AORish styled impassioned rock with insane instrumental breaks, played at the most complex and technical level. It was this latter element that I was drawn to in their early career. By A Dramatic Turn of Events it was predictable. I'm not really sure what a band like Dream Theater could do to alter this. I know they've tried to - with mixed results. They aren't classic Yes or Genesis, where the possibility always remained (but never fulfilled) that they could write incredible compositions later in their career. I don't see songwriting as Dream Theater's strength. Instrumental virtuosity is their calling card. Interesting to read the many reviews out there for this album (or any of their albums). Their fan base is generally younger than I (by some years), and they have militant opinions about the band, going back to their own formative years in music. Some will write dissertations as to why their albums aren't any good. I never quite understood that concept - trying hard to convince others why you shouldn't like something. But that's the way of the world. In any case, what do I do with an album such as this? It's very hard to criticize the contents. Were it the first Dream Theater I ever heard, and I didn't know much (or anything) about prog metal, I'm sure I would have loved it on first impact. But that's the problem. They've done this album already. Sure, there's some unique nuances, but it's Dream Theater alright. I think I'll keep it for now - and one day when I'm going through their collection, I'll weed some out. For certain the first 3 and Six Degrees will make the cut. As for the others, I just don't know.
Former ownership: CD: 2011 Roadrunner. Thrift shop buy from last year as noted above. Comes with a nice lyrical booklet with unique art and photos.
5/10/21 (first listen); 1/7/22 (review / new entry); 2/18/24
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