Falling into Infinity
Artist: Dream Theater
Label: Eastwest Records 1997
Despite a rather lame cover, this is a first rate album. Like the
cover, the first track ("New Millennium") opens with a nondescript synthesizer
riff which grows more interesting as the remainder of the band joins in
and develops the theme into a driving metal-edged rock song with shifting
rhythms and time signatures. While Dream Theater uses some tired and overused
chord sequences, the band manages to make them sound fresh and new with
imaginative instrumentation, clever rhythmic variations, and substantial
texturing of vocals, guitars, and keyboards. So much so that this album
defies any categorization. At times the sound is metal, then bluesy, a
bit jazzy, then a bit fusion. While James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci
(guitars), and Derek Sherinian (keyboards) are marvelous at their respective
instruments, Mike Portnoy does an amazing job on percussion, driving this
band with the force of a sledgehammer (ably assisted on bass by John Myung),
yet with subtle twists and excellent technique that shines without detracting
from the music. Most rock drummers wish they could play this well. The
band is not afraid to follow themes to a logical conclusion (three tracks
run over eight minutes), and on "Lines in the Sand" they deliver a killer
cut, a superb blend of power rock, blues, and fusion. With so many vapid
lyrics in the world, Dream Theater manages to turn out some original and
thoughtful words, though I had to frequently refer to the liner notes to
catch them all. "Peruvian Skies" is perhaps the best lyrically, a song
that opens with a haunting guitar theme and ends with a double-barrelled
blast. "Burning My Soul" and "Just Let Me Breath" just plain kick with
enough energy to launch half a dozen space shuttles. Only "Anna Lee" seems
out of place on this album, a bit too melancholy, a bit too drab.
The production and engineering is excellent, Falling into Infinity
best served up on a big system with an equally big subwoofer.-----Don Lloyd
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