Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Black Clouds & Silver Linings is a fulfilling work on which Dream Theater bundles complex, precise construction, outstanding playing and dramatic vocal melody on a grand scale. Though just six songs, each is long and fully engaging. It is the last studio work of this period the founding drummer Mike Portnoy belonged — an extremely important record. Even in long songs, the scene changes are many, and tension and release arrive powerfully many times. From the grand 16-minute opener “A Nightmare to Remember” and the speeding popular “A Rite of Passage” to a cut like “Wither,” every song is engaging, while “The Shattered Fortress,” the conclusion of the suite themed on Portnoy’s sobriety, the moving epic “The Best of Times” and the 19-minute “The Count of Tuscany” convey the work’s fullness. In particular, “The Best of Times,” dedicated to his late father, is moving content. A record on which the showcases of outstanding technique are certainly many, yet each is deftly built into the flow of a big story. You can fully enjoy both the grandeur of progressive metal and its deep emotional range at once. A powerful, engaging masterpiece that capped one great era — one arrival point of the band.