Finally! It was a lot of fun doing up this list ,and it will be fun to look back on in a year and see if I still feel the same way about my picks. My top pick of the year is from one of my fave bands. #1 - Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events.
I've been a fan of Dream Theater for a while now, and have enjoyed their past few releases even moreso than the earlier ones (excl. Scenes...one of my desert isle albums). I've always had Prog Rock in my collection, and include Rush, Genesis and Yes as some of my fave bands. For those of you who don't know, DT are the giants of the current Prog Rock/Metal scene. Tricky arrangements, time sigs, and just flat out awesome musicianship are why these guys rock my world.
In the past 18 months or so, founder/drummer/lyricist Mike Portnoy left the band after one of their most successful albums and tours. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, because you don't just replace a Mike Portnoy ,but they did with new drummer Mike Mangini (the perfect replacement) and recorded another brilliant album.
If you are a fan of DT, you'll love this record. 9 tracks, with 4 over 10 minutes in length, with all the classic sounds you'd expect. Words I would use to describe this album would be: Fresh, Uplifting, Complex, Intricate, and not quite as Metal as the past few releases. I liked the record on spin number 1, but by spin 5, I couldn't stop listening to it. Alot of great music to take in. Fave tracks are the epic Bridges In The Sky, the proggy Lost, Not Forgotten ,and the closer, a ballad called Beneath The Surface.
Vocalist James LaBrie has never sounded better, and his bandmates Myung, Petrucci and Rudess continue to be a step above all of their comtemporaries. I'm glad they decided to continue on in the face of losing a founding member. I eagerly await your return to Western Canada guys. Here is the clip from the opening track, On The Backs Of Angels.
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