Dream Theater: The progressive metal veterans come back stronger than before

Dream Theater might very well be the first name anyone thinks of when they hear the term ‘progressive metal’ as they are perhaps the best known in that genre. Known for their instrumental prowess and long songs, the band is an icon of the prog world and is a classic in the progressive metal community alongside other bands such as Fates Warning, Queensryche, Shadow Gallery, Death, Opeth, Symphony X, Voivod etc.

What separates them from so many other bands in the same genre is the fact that they are among the few bands who have indeed managed to garner mainstream attention while performing a style of music most people don’t look up to too fondly.

Formed in 1988, Dream Theater have been going strong ever since their second album, the 1992 hit ‘Images and Words’, and is known for its various classics such as ‘Awake’, ‘Metropolis pt 2: Scenes from a Memory’, ‘Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence’, ‘Octavarium’, ‘Systematic Chaos’, ‘Black Clouds and Silver Linings’ etc.

The American progressive metal giant released their fifteenth studio album ‘A View from the Top of the World’ on October 22. Initially scheduled for release in April 20, 2020 the album saw several delays due to Covid 19 and since their 2013 self titled album, it is the band’s first album to have little more than seven tracks.

Totalling over seventy minutes in length, ‘A View from the Top of the World’ is more original in comparison to the 2019 album ‘Distance over Time’ as the latter was more akin to a generic progressive metal album which was little more than a display of the band’s technical skill. Though certainly good, it lacked the essence of the creative freshness that has exemplified Dream Theater’s long career and their ever evolving sound, an originality which was regained in ‘A View from the Top of the World’.

Packing a heavy sound and having many interesting songs, while the direction and sound for some may not differ much from your standard Dream Theater sound which is mainly heavy and technical guitar riffs, the lengthy guitar and keyboard solos, grooving basslines, complex drumming and high-pitched vocals, with repeat listens one may begin to like this album.

While it certainly doesn’t break any barriers or introduce something new altogether, ‘A View from the Top of the World’ is a lot more interesting than its predecessor and is primarily focused more on songwriting rather than just instrumental showmanship.

Production on the album just like most DT records is brilliant with all the instruments showing up clearly, the bass is clean and groovy, the guitar is heavy while the drums don’t bury the whole sound and the keyboards certainly hold out while the vocals are strong and don’t sound constrained and are given their due place from both a songwriting place and a production angle.

All in all, this is very consistent with Dream Theater’s standard sound and not bringing anything new to the table. So while it may disappoint some listeners who can say that the prog veterans are now past their prime, fresh out of ideas and unable to bring anything new to the table, that is not true at all.

This is one fine album that Dream Theater has put out as you need not always bring out a fresh piece or restructure yourself altogether to create something good. And while it may not be their finest, it is still a solid and more likely than naught to impress its listeners, fans, prog lovers and metalheads alike.

Rating: 8.5/10