Systematic Chaos is an excellent Dream Theater outing. And while the album is generally heavy and dark, I believe that Systematic Chaos does right what Train of Thought did wrong. Variety is more prevalent on the album, and it has a more progressive feel to it. In my opinion it is musically one of the best DT releases.

The album opens with the amazing In the Presence of Enemies Pt.1. The second part of this song is the closer of the album. The songs are different enough to be separated as such, but also can be played together to great effect. As the band had already closed albums with 20 minute plus songs, and as a 25 minute song is a little too long for an album opener, they decided to split it up and both open and close the album with the song. The song is rather dark, and although fictitious (obviously), ultimately it is about overcoming the demons that reside in all of us. It has one of the coolest intros of all of DT's songs in my opinion. It just has such an awesome progressive feel to it that I somehow identify very closely with. The theme that Petrucci plays (after about two minutes in) is awesome, and later in Pt.2 Rudess brings the theme back to great effect. I think this is some of the best music DT has done. Awesome stuff.

Forsaken is a song about a vampiress visiting a man at night and showing him amazing things, who ultimately takes him away from mortality and into the realm of the undead. A really cool song that has somewhat of a dark romanticism to it, and also satiates my appetite for the fascination I hold with vampires. Petrucci's solo here is amazing.

Constant Motion is about Mike Portnoy's obsessive compulsive disorder, and how his "wheels" are always spinning in "constant motion". The song has a Metallica-esque feel to it (but far better than anything that band has done in my opinion), and rocks throughout. It is the first song I heard on the album as I gave in and downloaded the free MP3 before release. Fortunately, that did not ruin the continuity of the album for me, and I am glad for that.

The Dark Eternal Night is the most puzzling song of the album. It certainly is the heaviest track, but parts of it are weird. I think the lyrics are just kind of dumb, and in a lot of ways shows that the band isn't at its best doing this type of song. There is also a section in the middle of the song that doesn't ultimately fit the overall feel. Rudess begins a sort of old school western bar/silent movie piano section that the band breaks down into some jazzy weirdness. There have been bands that have been able to meld these styles very effectively (namely Cynic), but here it does not fit. And I love jazz, but only in the proper context, and that context is not present here. The song means to be heavy and brutal, and it really should stay that way.

Repentence is a great track and a heartfelt continuation of the Alcoholics Anonymous Suite, furthering the songs by adding a few more steps. I actually cried the first time I heard this song. To anyone who has ever felt the effects of addiction (directly or indirectly), these songs really hit the nail right on the head. Themes are again repeated from previous tracks (namely the opening riff which was taken from This Dying Soul), and Portnoy starts the song with a lyric straight from The Mirror. Portnoy invited various members of other bands or projects to share regrets and thoughts to try and make restitution with others. Great idea. Petrucci has a wonderful heartfelt solo here, too.

Prophets of War may be my favorite song on the album. There are no solos, but it's just so cool. It obviously deals with current happenings in the Middle East and in our nation, and those that may just be profiting from war than fighting for ideal causes, and those that are fighting and dying for those causes. It has an almost techno/dance feel to it, but it rocks nonetheless. My favorite part is when Portnoy does his spoken section in the middle of the song. Powerful words, indeed.

The Ministry of Lost Souls is the most ballady song on the album. It tells a sad tale (one that I am still a little confused about) of a girl whose life was saved by another individual who passed away in the process. The girl is so sorrow stricken and sad that she can't go on with her life. And although very ballady, there is some really cool musicianship from the whole band here. The jam section has some great technicality. Petrucci and Rudess yet again have some excellent unison lines as well as harmonies.

I think this album has some of the most inspired solos and music done by the band in a long time. Petrucci certainly sounds better to me than he has since maybe Scenes. His solos are awesome here. Rudess has some great arpeggiated licks that really kick. Every member just sounds good and seem to be in top form. Well, maybe except for LaBrie who sounds best during the Images and Awake years. Regardless, he still sounds good.

I really like this album. And while I really like the more positive side of Dream Theater, most of the dark aspects here are done right. I really look forward to what the future holds for the band and am really excited to hear Black Clouds and Silver Linings. The band is constantly changing and evolving and will continue to do so as long as the band stays together (fingers crossed).

This has been fun. I have learned a lot in the process. I will probably do another last one of these for the next release which is tomorrow (sweet!!!), but I think that will be it. I have achieved my goal of getting to all of the studio releases before the new album was released. I need to blog about something other than music, and I need to start listening to stuff other than DT!! I think it has been two months of almost pure Dream Theater!! Dream Theater rocks! They arestill my favorite band, and they may always be!

Thanks to all those who comment or will comment. Now where's that new Chickenfoot cd...

Next (sometime in the near future): Black Clouds and Silver Linings