Originally published in Metal Hammer magazine-Loudersound.com · September 2013
Dream Theater (self-titled album) review
By Dream Theater
Review1 min read
Dream Theater
The post-Portnoy age continues in style
By Dave Ling
17 September 2013
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The runaway success of 2011’s A Dramatic Turn Of Events, Dream Theater’s first Grammy-nominated release, overturned a commonly held theory: namely that the US-Canadian band could not exist without the presence of Mike Portnoy, the drummer, songwriter, co-producer and publicity dynamo who had resigned so shockingly a year earlier.
The quintet’s 12th studio album sees Portnoy’s replacement, Mike Mangini, contributing much more than the remarkable percussive skills that were revealed last time out. With the ex-Steve Vai/Extreme/Annihilator man fully integrated into the creative team, its 69 minutes confirm that ...Events was no fluke.
The opening instrumental flurry of ‘False Awakening’ should be featured in a blockbuster adventure movie soundtrack, while standout moments include ‘The Looking Glass’ – with shades of axeman John Petrucci’s heroes Rush – a wonderful slice of introspection titled ‘The Bigger Picture’, and, best of all, the album’s 22-minute swansong. ‘Illumination Theory’ is broken down into five separate suites that include a luscious orchestral segment, a false ending delaying the final, glorious dénouement.