Liquid Tension Experiment

LTE3 (InsideOut Music)

Prog metal maestros restate the art of self-indulgence As soon as opening track ‘Hypersonic’ swings into action, you’re caught in a virtuoso maelstrom. All the musicians here – guitarist John Petrucci, keyboard player Jordan Rudess, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Mike Portnoy – let rip in an astonishing show of instrumental masturbation. This sets the tone for the supergroup’s first album in 22 years. It’s exhausting yet uplifting. The four revel in playing off one another. They draw from jazz, classical and metal with a joyous abandon that accentuates this as a labour of love. At times, such as ‘Beating The Odds’, LTE stray into melodic territory. ‘Liquid Evolution’ takes them into tribal realms while ‘Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey’ is... well, bizarre. They’ve even done an interpretation of George Gershwin’s jazz classic ‘Rhapsody In Blue’, which works remarkably well. One for those who enjoy unrestrained musical excellence.

Rating: 7 out of 10

For fans of: Dream Theater, King Crimson, Transatlantic

—Malcolm Dome