Train of Thought

Train of Thought is a fulfilling seventh album on which Dream Theater, using low, heavy guitar, precise rhythm and technical keyboards, built a far harder, darker progressive metal than before. Turning from the previous work’s variety, it foregrounds its heavy side to the limit. Even in long songs, the tension never breaks, and each part’s outstanding technique pushes up its aggression all the more powerfully. The band’s heaviest record. From the power of the speeding popular opener “As I Am” and the suite-like “This Dying Soul” to a cut like “Endless Sacrifice,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Honor Thy Father” and the over-24-minute grand epic “In the Name of God” convey the work’s fullness. On the instrumental “Stream of Consciousness,” its virtuosity is in full bloom. A record on which, even within its overwhelming complexity, singable melody is firmly kept, by no means ending as mere ferocity of playing. Metal’s sure weight and progressive intelligence are united at an extremely high level. A powerful, engaging masterpiece that strongly and strikingly inscribed the band’s heavy side — a record where the band’s aggression shines.