Dream Theater

As Dream Theater's latest album builds from silence to dramatic onslaught, I could swear these proggers have been listening to Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and even Cradle of Filth. Perhaps the "black" in the title has a double meaning? Don't get me wrong, despite the thunderous wall of organ in "A Nightmare to Remember," Dream Theater haven't become a symphonic black metal band. The extreme metal bombast is more along the lines of Kamelot's collaboration with Dimmu's Shagrath. The rest of the album falls under the reign of Dream Theater's more familiar intricacies and elaborations, which emerge from the heavy barrage of the first song to take centre stage later on. But that dark and intense beginning colours the entire record. The vocals slip into growls, the groove seems a little heavier, the noodling a little more jagged and the lighter melodic reflections overshadowed by the harsher sounds looming on either side. The pattern breaks with "Wither," a breathy ballad placed partway through the record, and the middle tracks start to drag. Things pick up again towards the end, after the chamber music intro to "The Best of Times," which is dominated by violin, piano and classical guitar. The record never returns to the angst it begins with but the final number seems like an attempt to capture all of the band's extremes in one long song: aggressive and catchy prog metal, atmospheric ambience under a contemplative solo, a sing-along chorus and orchestral finale. In the end, once the record stops, it's the heaviness that remains, which says something about my personal taste but also gives a good indication that Silver Linings aren't enough to dispel the best Black Clouds.