Distance Over Time review

Dream Theater

Rating: 5 out of 5

A dream return from the prog titans?

The respect DT have earned with their reputation is pretty much unassailable at this point, Portnoy-shaped drama and all. But, and this is a reluctant but, 2016’s The Astonishing was a progressive band changing things up big time on a two hour and 10-minute post-apocalyptic musical of two acts and 34 tracks. And the results were more divisive than perhaps anything else they’ve done – some said brave and ambitious storytelling (there was also a book) and others would say the self-indulgence line was crossed. Two years later, Dream Theater respond to the critics confidently and clearly here; they play to their strengths. And then some.

By the closing strains of tour de force sci-fi closer ‘Pale Blue Dot’ it’s hard to argue against this as their strongest post-Portnoy record since Mike Mangini took the stool. Very much the band you may recognise from Images And Words and Awake – living and working together during Distance Over Time’s creation seems to have galvanised the band as a whole. And we say galvanised in a metal sense too; because the riffs from legato lord John Petrucci are going to make fans very happy. ‘Paralyzed’ is DT playing hooky downtuned metal that feels focused and fresh again in their hands, while ‘Room 137’ and ‘S2N’ are thunderously groovy. The more open and anthemic ‘Barstool Warrior’ nods to the influence of Rush with some melodic 70s flavours and finds Mangini’s dynamic range showcased superbly. On the stunning ‘At Wit’s End’ he’s part of a bonafide piece of modern classic Dream Theater, locking in with Petrucci and bassist John Myung on the song’s tightly syncopated passages before a wonderfully majestic outro.

This band have high standards but the mix of heaviness and groove with their brand of technical flair here is so consistently strong it surely can’t fail to please the faithful, and perhaps even newcomers, alike. [DH]

Download: ‘At Wit’s End’