When you have, undoubtedly, the most talented band in all of rock, with the likes of superhuman guitarist John Petrucci, the amazingly skilled keyboardist Jordan Rudess, the amazing vocal range and power of James LaBrie, the solid (in every sense of the word) and occasionally brilliant bassist John Myung, and the octopus-like drumming of Mike Portnoy, how can anything go wrong? Well, something went wrong with their sub-par album Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. Petrucci ripped blistering solos and Rudess must have broken the sound barrier with his keyboard playing. However, there was something missing creatively that was present in their masterpiece concept album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, and the earlier albums like Awake and the Dream Theater standard Images & Words. Some thought that the world’s leading progressive rock band was in a permanent decline. Their next album, Train of Thought, being written in 3 weeks and recorded, mixed, and engineered in 5 months caused some speculations that the decline was inevitable. After listening to Train of Thought, however, you can see that’s far from the case. The album is extremely heavy, being influenced by Iron Maiden and Metallica (having done full live covers of IM’s Number of the Beast and Metallica’s Master of Puppets on their last tour), but it also includes a smattering of nu-metal influences; John Petrucci said that Mudvayne was also an influence, and one fast-speaking part in ‘This Dying Soul’ even reminded me of Mike Shinoda’s (Linkin Park) verses in ‘Papercut’. I am going to do a full analysis of each of the seven songs on this album and an overview as well: ‘As I Am’ (7:47)[Lyrics by John Petrucci]: This is the band’s radio single, and the song was made fairly simple musically and structurally to appeal to the mainstream, and from what I’m hearing made an impact on U.S. radio. The starting is the final note of ‘Six Degrees’, but it then leads into a dark interlude and the main riff, which is reminiscent of ‘Enter Sandman’ (Metallica). James LaBrie is great in this song! While he does sound a bit like James Hetfield in the chorus, it still sounds great and the verses have great melody lines. Lyrically, the song ‘made for radio’ is actually a stab at record companies, with mantras like ‘Don’t tell me what’s in, [or] tell me how to write” and ‘I’ve been trying to justify you/In the end I will just defy you’. For the most part, musically everyone is restrained except for when Petrucci rips it out with a mind-blowing shred solo. After that Mike Portnoy does his little solo, but Rudess can only be heard in a few spots. Overall this is a solid song, but just not up to par with the rest of the album. Grade: 9/10 ‘This Dying Soul’ (11:28)[Lyrics by Mike Portnoy]: This song is the sequel to the crushing song ‘The Glass Prison’, and its as heavy as its predecessor, opening with a heavy riff, double bass drums, then a melodic guitar/keyboard part that reminds me of Iron Maiden. The vocals for lots of the song are distorted, including the distorted Linkin Park-ish rap vocals. You can hear in this song especially how high the bass guitar is in the mix, and Myung takes advantage of that with great bass lines. This song like ‘The Glass Prison’ is about alcoholism, and the frustration of addiction is well reflected in the song’s mood. The highlight of this song is the ending: the instrumental section. Featuring a great solo by Rudess, with his new tone that is lower, sounds more like a guitar, and he uses a lot more types of bends, slides, and vibratos. After the Petrucci solo (a bit too ‘shreddy’ maybe) there is an amazing unison run. Unison runs are when instruments play the melody, and Jordan and John P. like to glide up and down the scale on this album with these unison runs. This is crazily fast; they are easily playing 10 notes a second: but it is still amazingly interesting to listen to. Fun bass grooves during that run too! Grade: 9.8/10 ‘Endless Sacrifice’ (11:23)[Lyrics by John Petrucci]: This is classic Dream Theater right here, and different from most the album. It starts out really mellow, with Petrucci playing a lonely melody, being joined by Jordan playing a beautiful (and restrained) keyboard solo. Usually he goes fast, even in slow sections, so this solo was a pleasant surprise! James then comes in with mellow vocals (I really enjoy his mellow singing), with a heavy chorus sporting that harmonic (ending each phrase) that’s used in ‘nu-metal’ a lot. There is a five-minute instrumental break 5 minutes in that may be the best instrumental part that they have ever done. Catchy riffs lead to a unique and definitely awesome keyboard effect ‘display’ and solo, as well as a guitar solo much more solid than in the previous song. There is also a short unison run, and more grooves to top it off! Labrie also has some higher-pitched vocals later in the song, well done! Grade: 10/10 ‘Honor Thy Father’ (10:14)[Lyrics by Mike Portnoy]: Begins furiously with a drum solo and ‘buzz saw’ guitar riff. The vocals are angry, being about an abusive father (Mike wasn’t talking about his relationship, as the person’s referred as ‘her’). The lyrics break down into heavy riffs, and a really neat interlude with movie samples. There are some flashy keys and a solo by Jordan but JP doesn’t solo here! Grade: 10/10 ‘Vacant’ (2:58)[Lyrics by James LaBrie]: This is their short ballad that reminds me of ‘Wait for Sleep’ off of Images & Words. There is only piano, cello, vocals, and a bit of bass guitar in the opening/closing. The lyrics by James LaBrie are a treat. It describes someone losing their wife, with the closing verse: ‘She’s losing control/ What can I do/ Her vacant eyes/ Black Holes/ Am I losing you?’ A very powerful track with a piano/cello ending that segues perfectly with the next track. Grade: 10/10 ‘Stream of Consciousness’ (11:16)[Instrumental]: This monster of an instrumental is the best that they have done, and the standout track on this album. Dream Theater takes the amazing chord progression from ‘Vacant’ and creates a riff full of melancholy, something that only Opeth could match. Then, somehow, Dream Theater fuses this main idea with an irresistible Latin groove provided by Petrucci’s piercing solos and Rudess’s brilliantly crafted piano melodies. More solos and riffs and keyboard melodies help create tension, driven by Mike Portnoy’s hypnotizing rhythms. There is a cool bass line shuffle, and mellower part, before the main riff re-emerges. After one awe-inspiring melodic solo by Petrucci, the climax, and the song winds down. I don’t think my words do this song justice, it is that good…. Grade: 10/10 ‘In The Name of God’ (14:16)[Lyrics by John Petrucci]: Finishing off the best ending stretch by Dream Theater album, or any album for that matter. This song, in terms of pure power, reminds me of ‘Learning To Live’. It deals with killing ‘in the name of god’, and JP’s lyrical talents are at his best. There is a monstrously heavy main riff, and James is singing up in the stratosphere like he was in his early days. The instrumental parts here are top notch, including a unison run that had one reviewer saying that what Petrucci was doing was ‘virtually impossible’, and one technique at the end had experienced music-listeners wondering how he did it, as nobody had heard the technique used before. It finishes brilliantly with the mesmerizing chorus, with amazing drumming by Portnoy, and Jordan finishes it off with a piano melody from heaven. A perfect closer! Grade: 10/10 Overview: I give this 5 stars, without hesitation, and this very may well be my favourite album of ALL TIME. I never expected Dream Theater to come out with such a powerful release. This is the album of the year and people should at least check one of these songs out (Namely ‘Endless Sacrifice’!) The best performance was by Rudess, with a new lead tone and using an abundance of background samples, he was a lot more versatile, in the background, and smarter when it came to solos. Truly magnificent: and people thought these guys were going downhill! Grade: ***** (A+)