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Dream Theater: Black Clouds & Silver Linings

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: East-West Records
Released: 2009.06.23
Time:
 75:25
Category: Progressive Rock
Producer(s): John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.dreamtheater.net
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2016
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] A Nightmare to Remember (J.Petrucci/M.Portnoy/J.Myung/J.Rudess) - 16:10
[2] A Rite of Passage (J.Petrucci/M.Portnoy/J.Myung/J.Rudess) - 8:36
[3] Wither (J.Petrucci) - 5:25
[4] The Shattered Fortress (J.Petrucci/M.Portnoy/J.Myung/J.Rudess) - 12:49
       X. Restraint - 5:25
       XI. Receive - 3:58
       XII. Responsible - 3:26
[5] The Best of Times (J.Petrucci/M.Portnoy/J.Myung/J.Rudess) - Portnoy - 13:09
[6] The Count of Tuscany (J.Petrucci/M.Portnoy/J.Myung/J.Rudess) - 19:16

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


James LaBrie - Lead Vocals
John Petrucci - Guitar, Backing Vocals, Producer
Jordan Rudess - Keyboards, Continuum on [1,4], IPhone App Bebot on [2], Lap Steel Guitar on [1]
John Myung - Bass
Mike Portnoy - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals, Co-Lead Vocals on [1,4], Producer

Jerry Goodman - Violin on [5]

Paul Northfield - Engineer, Mixing, Vocal Track Co-Producer
Dr Rick Kwan - Assistant Engineer, Digital Editing
Leon Zervos - Mastering
Hugh Syme - Art Direction, Design, Illustrations
Dan Mandell - Photography
Monte Conner - A&R

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2009 CD Roadrunner Records - RR 7883-2
2009 LP Roadrunner Records - RRCAR 7883-1

Recorded in October 2008 - March 2009 at Avatar Studios in New York City.



After finally running out their 13-year, seven-plus album deal with a poisonously indifferent Atlantic Records via 2005's workmanlike Octavarium, progressive metal standard bearers Dream Theater took advantage of their well earned free agent status to enjoy a heated courtship from several interested labels, before eventually settling on the artistically simpatico Roadrunner. But, ironically, Dream Theater's first album for the label that heavy metal built, 2007's Systematic Chaos, was relatively accessible by the group's standards, complementing every epic and complex composition with a comparatively concise and hooky song, thus leaving it to its 2009 successor, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, to really flex the band's progressive metal muscles to their maximum girth. And in fact, Dream Theater's tenth long-player is about as dense and challenging as any album in their daunting discography (and certainly the darkest of spirit since 2003's Train of Thought), by emphasizing not only the virtuoso members' ever stupefying musicianship, but also their most aggressive and thoroughly metallic songwriting tendencies. Sixteen-minute opener "A Nightmare to Remember" and its half-as-long follow-up, "A Rite of Passage" (later edited further for release as the album's first single), quickly establish this agenda via frequently thrash-paced staccato riffing, some of John Petrucci's most blistering guitar solos ever, and the return of drummer Mike Portnoy's syncopated growls (no doubt inspired by his pal Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth), providing contrast for singer James LaBrie's soaring melodic elegance. Third track "Whither" - a tender ballad and mere babe at five minutes in length - is this album's only concession to commerce (and one of Dream Theater's better stabs at the form it is, too); but after that it's right back to prog rock in excelsis, via the final chapter in the band's "AA Saga," "The Shattered Fortress," which references songs from previous albums such as "The Glass Prison" and "The Root of All Evil," in emulation of the "Conceptual Continuity Clues" method favored by one of Portnoy's heroes, Frank Zappa. Only two, not surprisingly massive song suites remain now, and interestingly, both pay evident tribute to Rush! First up, "The Best of Times" boasts an extremely Alex Lifeson-like lead guitar motif and verse chords that were clearly evolved from "The Spirit of Radio," later showcasing the most versatile and classically steeped performance on this record by keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess. Second, the revealingly named "The Count of Tuscany" (surely a thinly veiled allusion to the Rush's famed instrumental, "La Villa Strangiato") catches Portnoy in the act of outright Neil Peart worship, colluding with Petrucci on their own version of "Xanadu" before leading their bandmates into another heady prog-metal magnum opus brimming with more ideas, notes, and time changes over 19 minutes than most bands bother with over a ten album career. That last bit sound at all familiar? That's because, at the end of the day, one must admit that Black Clouds & Silver Linings, for all its abundantly positive qualities and minor but clear distinctions from prior efforts, is still an archetypal Dream Theater album; one that's unlikely to broaden their audience all that much, but is conversely guaranteed to thrill their hardcore converts with its renewed devotion to the most exigent and stimulating facets of the band's chosen musical domain.

Eduardo Rivadavia - All Music Guide



One doesn't so much listen to Dream Theater as get overrun by them, and ten studio albums in, the band are still pursuing their uber-muscular progressive metal agenda with ruthless dedication. Their undoubted collective instrumental firepower is deployed like a bunch of marauding marines with anger management issues, slipping the leash and swarming over everything in their path. The relative subtleties of their symphonic aspirations laid out in 2005 on Octavarium are pushed aside in favour of six tracks that are mostly of the 'pumped-up, psyched out, hyper-inflated, super-fast, flat-out in yer face' variety. Harsher in tone and texture than 2007's Systematic Chaos, with constantly exploding fusillades of cavernous drumming and snarling guitars that'll slice through steel at 30 yards, there's not much room here for anything too delicate or understated. To get anywhere near that you have to go through four tracks of bombast-heavy bashing before you arrive at The Best Of Times. Even then it's only a matter of minutes (2' 55" to be precise) before the listener is blasted back into the high-octane cut and thrust of it all. True, John Petrucci's souped-up athletic guitar runs are amongst the quickest things you're ever likely to hear. However one person's thrash is another's idea of brash and whilst it's easy to understand the exhilarating sense of momentum such advanced technique affords the group, it's unrelenting nature quickly palls to all but the faithful. Sometimes it's not what you’ve got that counts but how you use it.

Sid Smith, 2009
BBC Review



Dream Theater seem to be out of new tricks, but at least they know how to play to their own strengths. Black Clouds and Silver Linings is their tenth full-length studio album, coming a full 20 years after their poorly distributed, little-noticed debut, When Dream and Day Unite. It was 1992’s Images and Words that put them on the map, with its minor hit “Pull Me Under”. Since that time the band have found a myriad of ways to combine their love of progressive rock and heavy metal with virtuoso playing. They continue to tinker with their established elements, putting them together a little differently each time out. But it’s been a while (specifically, look back to 2003’s dark, heavy Train of Thought) since the band have hit us with anything that sounded fresh.

Black Clouds and Silver Linings opens with “A Nightmare to Remember”, a 16-minute track that seems to announce the band’s intention to follow the album title pretty literally. The lyrics tell the story of a terrible car crash on a rainy night that causes serious injuries to a family, but spares all of their lives. Musically, the song is all apocalyptic heavy riffs on each end, framing a soft, melodic middle section as the narrator drifts in and out of sedation in the hospital. When the song goes back to being heavy, we can hear the influence of more modern metal acts on the band. Drummer Mike Portnoy takes over the vocals from lead singer James LaBrie and does a sort of semi-growl/shout that approximates the cookie-monster vocals that many death metal acts employ, without going overboard.

“Nightmare” is pretty much par for the course for this album. It’s a strong track, but it isn’t among the very best Dream Theater have ever written. The first single, “A Rite of Passage”, is pretty forgettable, while the power ballad “Wither” is good, with some especially nice keyboard/piano work from Jordan Rudess. But again, it’s not at the top of the list of Dream Theater ballads. “The Shattered Fortress” closes out Mike Portnoy’s 12-step program suite, written about his battle with alcoholism. The suite has been in progress for five albums now, and this song comprises movements ten, 11, and 12 of the piece. But there is very little new material among the nearly 13 minutes minutes of music here, making it all seem like a staid rehash. This piece will be very impressive when the band put it all together live, and “The Shattered Fortress” could well be an excellent grand finale, but here, on its own, it seems tiresome.

Things pick up late in the album with “The Best of Times”, a heartfelt, upbeat tribute to Portnoy’s father, who passed away after a battle with cancer in early 2009. This song mines the major-key prog-rock area that Dream Theater often neglect in favor of being heavy. It’s great to hear the band using Rush as a touchstone for a change, and it also brings to mind the bright sounds of the DT side project Liquid Tension Experiment.

The album closes with another epic, “The Count of Tuscany”. Musically, this is a pretty interesting song that throws in a little of everything the band does. It’s slow, it’s fast, it’s heavy, it’s light, and there are epic guitar and keyboard solos and duets. Jordan Rudess indulges his penchant for using downright wacky synth sounds and the group pulls it off because the rest of them play it straight while he’s goofing around. Lyrically, though, this may be the cheesiest story guitarist John Petrucci has ever written for a song, and he’s done some pretty laughable ones. It tells the story of an American in Europe who meets “the Count of Tuscany” and is easily persuaded to go for a ride with him. The ride inevitably ends up at a creepy old castle with the count’s even creepier older brother. The narrator fears for his life with all the frightening things he sees, and then there’s about ten minutes of music. Finally, in the last few minutes of the song, our hero discovers that the Count and his brother were never going to kill him, no! They’re just oddballs and he should “Go and tell the world my story”. As if the count is somehow trapped in the castle, despite meeting our hero in a city and driving him out there.

Black Clouds and Silver Linings is a good album. It’s not great, but it’s their best in a while. This is their second album for Roadrunner Records, who know not only how to promote the band but also how to separate Dream Theater’s hardcore fan base from their money. The band themselves have been doing this for years, with expensive VIP packages available at nearly every show, and $40 T-shirts. But now they have a record label that’s equally on board with this idea. Hence the presence of the three-disc special edition, which includes a disc of cover songs and another disc of instrumental mixes of the main album. I guess the latter is for all those Dream Theater fans who hate James LaBrie but are still into the band enough to buy the special edition? Doesn’t seem like that would be very many people. Regardless, neither of the bonus discs add or subtract anything from the album proper, so unless you are way into listening to Dream Theater cover songs from Queen, King Crimson, and Iron Maiden, it’s eminently skippable.

Rating: 6/10

Chris Conaton, 16 July 2009
© 1999-2016 Popmatters.com



Review Summary: Dream Theater expand their metal influences and deliver a collection of actual songs in the process.

Dream Theater have gained a reputation within the metal community as the kings of musical masturbation. Whenever a negative comment is made about the band it generally includes the fact that they can’t write actual songs and only seem capable of jerking off their instruments and blatantly emulating their influences. Of course, fans know that these accusations are false but even they’d have to admit that actual songwriting doesn’t seem to be as big of a priority as it used to be. There was a time when the band put musical composition first and integrated their need for extended instrumentals into that structure. This formula worked well and resulted in two of the band’s most highly regarded albums - Images & Words and Awake. It wasn’t really until Jordan Rudess joined that the focus seemed to change from songwriting to extended jams. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing since it did result in Scenes from a Memory, but the lack of actual songwriting has still been missed. With the release of Black Clouds and Silver Linings it won’t have to be missed anymore.

Black Clouds sees the band moving back towards songs that are as much complete compositions as they are progressive and technical. A large reason for this is due to the band’s continued push into metal territory. John Petrucci has become much more proficient at writing heavy, memorable riffs that are capable of providing a solid foundation. These riffs dominate most of the songs and help create a sense of consistency that allows the band to go through their various movements while still maintaining an underlying uniform sound. The strength of these riffs as both an outlet for the band’s metal influences as well as a tool to provide stability within constantly changing songs is reinforced by the playing of Mike Portnoy. Mike’s willingness to deliver enough simplified patterns and standard double bass fills is the final element required to completely establish the riffs as a solid, static element in which the songs can remain anchored to despite any number of transitions.

It turns out, though, that Mike isn’t the only one willing to exercise a little bit of restraint when a song calls for it. Dream Theater’s two biggest showoffs have always been Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci, but even they’ve toned it down a little bit. Both of them contribute a large number of melodies and solos that actually fit the songs and don’t just jolt them in totally new directions. This self-control is displayed on every song, but it’s mainly on the more expansive closing songs where it really shines through. In the past, the band’s longer tracks generally suffered from underdeveloped melodies and an overabundance of random soloing turning them into chores to finish. This time John and Jordan provide enough simple, solid melodies that the songs don’t suffer when they inevitably move into something more self-indulgent, and make no mistake, the self-indulgent sections are still present - they’re just fewer.

Another element that is still present is the vocals of James Labrie. In the past, he seemed to occasionally struggle with heavier parts of songs but he seems to finally be comfortable with his voice. He is now just as capable of belting out the metal parts in his Mustaine-inspired rasp as he is the singing that he was originally hired to do over 17 years ago. Mike Portnoy has also continued his effort to provide deeper, harsher vocals to accentuate the heavier sections of each song. As on past albums, his vocals border on cheeseball self-parody and just barely miss ruining the parts he chooses to contribute to. The near-growls that he provides in a few sections aren’t bad, but he either needs to start delivering whole-heartedly or give up because this restrained, spoken word delivery that he does isn’t very good.

What is good is that Dream Theater have finally started exercising their song writing skills again. This makes for an album that is able to deliver great songs that also display the musical showmanship that fans expect. The result is the kind of solid album that the band hasn’t written since Scenes from a Memory combined with songwriting skills that haven’t been this consistent since Awake. Basically, Black Clouds & Silver Linings is an album that continues the band’s increased use of metal riffs combined with extended musical interludes but also brings in strong compositional skills that give the songs the kind of consistency they require in order to be truly memorable and engaging.

Rating: 4/5

Trey Spencer - June 19th, 2009
© Copyright 2005-2016 Sputnikmusic.com



Maintaining their consistent average of a new album every two years, long running New York (U.S.) based progressive metal act Dream Theater are back with their tenth full-length effort Black Clouds & Silver Linings, the long awaited follow up to 2007’s generally well received Systematic Chaos.

Given that Dream Theater generally opts for a different direction with each new release; I was interested to see what the band would come up with on their new album. And while the band aren’t breaking any real new ground throughout Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Dream Theater’s latest release is yet another consistent and strong album for the five piece act.

A Nightmare to Remember, which is based around a car accident guitar John Petrucci was involved in as a child, is certainly one of the heaviest numbers on the album, and gets the album off to a positive start. Mike Portnoy’s relentless double kick drum work throughout the song certainly lends weight to the aggressive nature of the tune; while Petrucci’s weighty riffs/shredding solo efforts are nicely counterbalanced with Jordan Rudess’ atmospheric keyboard fills and solos. The only real flaw within the sixteen minute track is on the vocal front. While James LaBrie usually bares the brunt of criticism, its Portnoy’s cheesy attempt at death growls that otherwise mar what is a great Dream Theater opener.

The first single/promotional video A Rite of Passage (lyrically based on the secret society of Freemasonry) is easily the most straight forward and accessible track on the album with its simplistic and ever present guitar/bass riffs and catchy chorus, while the slower ballad-like Wither (based around Petrucci’s fear of writers block), which could have easily slotted onto 1997’s Falling Into Infinity with its laid back feel, offers a short break around the halfway mark.

There’s an obvious sense of familiarity surrounding The Shattered Fortress, as it concludes Portnoy’s twelve-step Alcoholics Anonymous suite, which began with The Glass Prison on 2002’s Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. With a lot of the melodies and riff structures lifted from the previous four efforts, the song does have a bit of a ‘heard it all before’ feel to it, but thankfully there’s a couple of new ideas thrown in to stop it from sounding like a complete rehash of old ideas and sounds.

Portnoy pays tribute to his late father Howard in The Best of Times, which is for the most part a ballad, but does boast some heavier moments, revealing a definite Rush influence (in particular 1980’s The Spirit of Radio). But what really stands out on this track is Petrucci’s solo work in the last three minutes. Petrucci has always been known as a skilled player, but his performance here is both emotive and heartfelt, and quite possibly his strongest performance ever.

Finishing up the album is the near twenty minute epic The Count of Tuscany, which not unlike the title track on Octavarium (2005), is made up of many different movements with varying tempos, all within the one track. The flow from the hard and aggressive sections to the more ambient moments are done quite smoothly, with Petrucci’s echoed solo toward the latter half and the triumphant ending the real stand out moments.

For diehard Dream Theater fans, Black Clouds & Silver Linings also comes in a deluxe three disc edition, which in all honesty is only worthy if you’re an absolute fan.

The second disc (Entitled Uncovered 2008/2009) is perhaps the best of the two bonus discs, with the disc boasting six cover songs. For the most part, the covers work really well, with the choices from Rainbow (Stargazer), Dixie Dregs (Odyssey), Zebra (Take Your Fingers From My Hair) and King Crimson (Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Pt. 2) sounding custom built for a Dream Theater makeover. But not all of the covers work, with the Queen medley (Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley) and the Iron Maiden effort (To Tame a Land) falling short in the lead vocal department.

The final disc is an instrumental version of Black Clouds & Silver Linings, albeit with the solos removed. Although kind of interesting, it’s a little pointless to the casual fan with its appeal limited purely to Dream Theater collectors and musicians exclusively.

As is the case with most of the band’s previous releases, Black Clouds & Silver Linings takes a while to truly absorb and take in, especially when only two of the six tracks run under the twelve minute mark. But after allowing the album to sink in, Black Clouds & Silver Linings easily overshadows some of Dream Theater’s more recent work, and quite possibly their strongest release since 2003’s Train of Thought.

Justin Donnelly, 12/09/2009
© 2016 The Metal Forge



"This album's a musical and emotional rollercoaster, but most of our albums are," Mike Portnoy says of Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Dream Theater's tenth studio album and second Roadrunner release. Black Clouds & Silver Linings marks another milestone on Dream Theater's iconoclastic musical journey, which began two and a half decades ago and now encompasses a hugely impressive body of music that's established the durable progressive metal outfit as a one-of-a-kind creative force with a fiercely devoted international fan base. The new album - produced by band members Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, who also serve as the group's main lyricists - offers a vibrant manifestation of the world-class musicianship, vivid lyrical scenarios and ambitious, multi-leveled compositions that have established Dream Theater as a uniquely compelling creative force.

Amazon.com



Black Clouds & Silver Linings is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater, released on June 23, 2009 through Roadrunner Records. It is the band's last album to feature drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy before his departure on September 8, 2010. The album was recorded between October 2008 and March 2009 at Avatar Studios in New York City. It was produced by John Petrucci and Portnoy, and was engineered and mixed by Paul Northfield.

Dream Theater began to work on the album in October 2008. Mike Portnoy described Black Clouds & Silver Linings as, "a Dream Theater album with 'A Change of Seasons', 'Octavarium', 'Learning to Live', 'Pull Me Under' and 'The Glass Prison' all on one album." Jordan Rudess said at a NAMM Show that Spectrasonics virtual instruments were used on the album.

The album's lyrics were written by John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy, and all except one concern personal experiences about disturbing or difficult moments of their lives. Though most songs were written by Petrucci, "A Nightmare to Remember" was based on a childhood car incident; "The Count of Tuscany" was about an actual encounter he had in Tuscany; and "Wither" was about the process of songwriting for him. "The Best of Times" was written by Mike Portnoy about his father, who died from cancer. "I just wanted to write something that was a tribute to our life together," said Portnoy, who played the song for his father prior to his death. "The Shattered Fortress" is the final part of Portnoy's Twelve-step Suite, reprising and concluding themes and motifs from the suite that began on 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence album. The remaining song, "A Rite of Passage", concerns Freemasonry; a video of the edited single was released on May 8, 2009.

"Wither" was released as a single on September 15, 2009. In addition to the album version of the song, the single contained an alternate version featuring only a piano and vocals, a demo version with John Petrucci on vocals, and a demo version of "The Best of Times” with Mike Portnoy on vocals. There was also a video to follow it which was released on November 18, 2009.

Initial critical response to Black Clouds & Silver Linings was generally favorable. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 68, based on five reviews. Rich Wilson, author of Lifting Shadows, previewed the album for Metal Hammer, calling the album "Dream Theater’s finest and most balanced album in a decade." Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars writing, "Black Clouds & Silver Linings is still an archetypal Dream Theater album; one that's unlikely to broaden their audience all that much, but is conversely guaranteed to thrill their hardcore converts with its renewed devotion to the most exigent and stimulating facets of the band's chosen musical domain." Similarly David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound, an online music magazine, said: "that this release will not necessarily bring in new fans but will also not disappoint the current flock, and this is very true. There are no improvements, but no sheer letdowns, either." He gave the album four and a half stars out of five. The album was named as one of Classic Rock‘s 10 essential progressive rock albums of the decade.

The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 selling 40,285 copies. It was the first time in the band's history that they had cracked the Top 10 on that chart, and is currently the band's highest single week sales of an album. The album also debuted at #1 on Billboard Top Internet Albums, and #2 on Billboard Top Rock Albums. The album also marked the first time that the band hit the number one spot in Finland.

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