Having been introduced to Dream Theater through Scenes of a Memory, Images and Words and A Change of Seasons, I was having trouble deciding what sort of album I’d be expecting/wanting next from Dream Theater.

For me, Dream Theater’s style lies in their exceptional instrumental abilities and their well-executed genre of Prog-Metal, and this is why I found myself a bit lost during the first few listens to their new album.

The album’s main bulk of tracks (1 to 7) seemed like a collection of elongated ‘other-band-inspired’ tracks, that didn’t seem to have taken much thought process in writing. It was too easy to draw comparisons between songs and bands such as U2 and Muse. Did I really want a sister album to Seasons? One awesome prog-rock track (more of which later), and the rest of the album filled with popular covers?

However, the more I listened, the more I got. The more I noticed the ridiculous mastery of instruments (and the occasional orchestra) that DT posses. Although the majority of the album isn’t as progressive as, say – Scenes – it shares in its technical brilliance, and – whilst referencing bands such as Muse and U2 (unfortunately running my experience of ‘I Walk Beside You’ by sounding like U2’s more pathetic recent releases) – it still remains Dream Theater’s sound, once you take time to really listen to it.

Of course any doubts are immediately quashed when the truly epic 24 minute last track comes on. The album’s title track is a divine example of everything I believe Dream Theater to be. More impressive than the similarly long ‘A Change of Seasons’, this track simply blows the album out of the water and launches it into the stratosphere. I could go on, emphasising the magnificence of this track, but I couldn’t do it justice without you listening to it. Suffice to say the track is magnificently executed, and is the very essence of modern Prog-Metal.

Overall, the album is great – but not perfect. The opening tracks and Octavarium are spectacular; however tracks 4-6 don’t feel entirely original and are more tribute tracks to the style of other great bands, rather than wholly DT originals. Track 7 – Sacrificed Sons – feels a little unusual. This is purely because of the subject matter of the track, and – for me – when music is pinned down to a particular national sentiment surrounding (in this case) the events of 9/11 – it just loses its universal face and doesn’t seem to be consistent with the rest of the pure sound of the rest of the album.

But that’s just me.

Octavarium may not be as fluid as the likes of Scenes of a Memory, but it is worth the purchase for the last track alone, and there are many great tracks beyond that, and not a particularly bad track in sight. Some just aren’t as great as others.

Standout Tracks:  Octavarium, The Root Of All Evil, The Answer Lies Within.

Overall Score:   8 /10

Octavarium, oddly enough for such a title, is Dream Theater’s 8th studio release in almost 20 years and of course - the burden of fan speculation is high after their last few divisive albums. The question is; does the album live up to expectations?

Album opener “The Root Of All Evil” is the 3rd part in the band’s “alcoholics anonymous” series and its guitar orientated style would have fit in snugly on Train of Thought and even reprises a section of “This Dying Soul”. Throughout the album such as on “Panic Attack” the band meld the heavier side of guitar legend John Petrucci’s skills with James Labrie’s melodic vocals to form an enjoyably mix that, whilst pleasing older fans of Dream Theater, will also make this their most accessible release to date. To the dismay of older fans - there are less of the never ending Guitar and Keyboard solos that typified older albums such as Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. This works to the album’s benefit as the guitars and keyboards now seem more integrated into the songs to provide a more enjoyable, and dare I say it, catchier experience. The most obvious example of the more uplifting experience is in the anthemic “I Walk Beside You” which lyrically speaking is less dark and musically a joyous mix of James Labrie’s soaring vocals, with a simpler yet more effective instrument mix from the other band members. Indeed this could be said to be the album in which James Labrie truly shines, throughout his vocals impress with the range of styles and are best they have sounded since “Images & Words”

Octavarium is not without its low points, which sadly stop it from reaching the same level of quality as previous Dream Theater releases. The ballad, and due to some bizarre decision the second song of the album, “The Answer Lies Within” whilst sounding pleasant enough stops the album flat after the high energy opening and doesn’t really go anywhere worth going. Similarly “Sacrificed Sons” a song mostly about religious intolerance with particular reference to September the 11th whilst also sounding pleasant doesn’t seem so relevant in the year 2005 and you wonder why such a song was not included on their previous album “Train of Thought”. Another wide spread criticism that has been launched at the album even before its release date is that it is plagiaristic, and no-one can deny that “I Walk Besides You” references U2 and the vocals of “Panic Attack” are clearly a homage to Muse’s Matt Bellamy. The only song on which such references infringe on the listeners enjoyment is in the song “Never Enough” which whilst being a high quality song is almost a 6-minute carbon copy of “Stockholm Syndrome”. Whether this annoys the listener or not depends on how much stock they put in “originality” or if they can accept bands will copy each other.

Of course the main focal point of Octavarium is the title track, coming in at 24 minutes, which would make up half of an enjoyable album by most modern artists. It is in this track that Dream Theater show off their move progressive side unlike the (fully enjoyable) conventional tracks that make up the rest of the album. The intro to this song, a shifting and eerie keyboard and guitar duo is the same length as most normal songs artists are releasing today and the song takes over 10 minutes to really “get going”. This is not to the listener’s detriment however and by the time you get to James Labrie’s spat out “Trapped inside this Octavarium!” this song will have shown you that Dream Theater really have not lost their progressive edge.

Therefore although this album does sound like other artists, and yes, at some points does completely rip-off other artists this really is not a criticism due to the high standard of the music shown throughout. This is an album that should be able to please fans of Dream Theater’s heavier music from Train of Thought whilst still retaining a melodic and progressive element to please older fans (unless they truly pine for some real Petrucci solos). Besides the down point of “Sacrificed Sons” this is truly an impressive album and fully deserves the rating I give it. To answer the question I set myself; this album truly does live up to this fans expectations.

Standout Tracks:  Octavarium, I Walk Beside You, Panic Attack.

Overall Score:   8.5 /10

“Octavarium” has been my first major introduction to DREAM THEATER – having heard so much about these prog-metal “legends” curiosity got the better of me. Needless to say, instead of a full DT album I seem to have got myself a rather nifty 24 minute CD single with 7 "tribute/cover songs" tacked on the front. For a first time experience I was hoping for something that was stereotypically “Dream Theater” but that only really happens on the final title track “Octavarium”.

All that precedes it seems to be a very disjointed mix of styles: it goes from a bit of down-tuned Nu-Metal grinding, through to a couple of U2-esque ballads, then onto two shameful Muse rips offs – which to be fair are extremely good - but I listen to Muse for that sort of thing, and quite frankly they do it better themselves. As a first delve into the over-indulgent world of DT this is extremely disappointing - and while I will endeavour to try out material that is more in DT’s own style, after hearing Octavarium – a perfectly acceptable, albeit plagiaristic record - I’m still left wondering what all the fuss is about.

Overall Score:   6.5 /10