Band:	Dream Theater
Album:	Train Of Thought
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	September 11, 2003
Guest review by:	Arian Totalis

01. As I Am
02. This Dying Soul
    1 - IV. Reflections of Reality (Revisited)
    2 - V. Release
03. Endless Sacrifice
04. Honor Thy Father
05. Vacant
06. Stream Of Consciousness
07. In The Name Of God

You know, I fail to see what the problem is that everyone has with this album. Most people say that it is bad for one reason or other. For example, some might say that the fact they took two weeks to write all the music and lyrics somehow impacted on the sound. While under normal circumstances I might agree, however this is Dream Theater, they can do things like that and actually make it work. For the god's sake, the first track on Liquid Tension Experiment was just a huge improvised jam. Some might also say that Dream Theater don't do the whole angry/heavy thing well. Once more, I disagree, this album does well with both aspects.

The guitar for this album is quite good. The opening riffs to "As I Am" and "Honor Thy Father" are particularly heavy compared to their past work. The solos are insane, especially on the ending track "In The Name Of God" which is incredibly fast and is played with a nice, solid Latin rhythm behind it. The vocal work is also great of course, because Labrie's fantastic voice never fails to captivate the audience. One thing that IS sort of annoying about the vocal aspect, however, is the fact that he uses megaphones and various vocal effects, which interferes with the pureness of his voice. The master Mike Portnoy of course delivers with memorable fills and cymbal work. Once more, the song "Honor Thy father" is opened up with a really aggressive fill. The keys follow a unique little pattern of synthesising through a rhythm and then Rudess and Petrucci switch off solos. Often one can not distinguish one instrument from another. Lastly, the bass lines in this album are good and tight, keeping the music together, doing it's job.

Lyrically this album covers a wide range of things. The opening "As I Am" covers the subject of people not being able to accept others for who they are, and I personally take a deep relation to this song, as I have personally had to deal with that in my lifetime. The lyrics to the song "Honor Thy Father" deal with the idea of an abusive and blameful father who can't take responsibility for his own actions. The song "Vacant" is about having to deal with the loss of a loved one. Lastly, the song "In The Name Of God" deals with the blind and foolish ideals behind organized religion and the corruption it retains. So you see, the lyrics to this album cover everything from personal struggle to religious ignorance. I love every word that is printed in the booklet.

This album, while not their greatest contribution, certainly isn't horrible. It's a worthy investment, and I would pick it up some time in the future were I the average Progressive Metal fan.

Album highlights: As I Am, Honor Thy Father, In The Name Of God.