American progressive metal band Dream Theater needs no introduction. As of 2018, they had sold over 12 million records worldwide, and received two Grammy Award nominations. DT is not only one of the creators of progressive metal but also still one of the most popular bands in the genre. Distance over Time is the fourteenth studio album and already the fourth with Mike Mangini on drums.
The album opener “Untethered Angel” was the first single and from the get-go we know that DT is back to the early 90's sound. It's a guitar driven song, full of cool riffs (some remind me of "The Mirror") and an engaging chorus. Another video single, "Paralyzed" has one of the coolest instrumental intros I have heard in quite some time. It's a heavy fantastic song that brings me back to the Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence era. The third song and single "Fall Into the Light", like many other songs in Distance Over Time, is a very guitar-riff-driven song with a lot going on in just seven minutes. From the super heavy riffs to the mellow section in the middle, it is classic Petrucci paying homage to Metallica. Another highlight of the album. "Barstool Warrior" brings down the heaviness and speed, it's a mid-tempo progressive track that works well. It brings additional diversity to the middle section of the album. But soon the heavy riffs are back with the modern sounding "Room 137" which features the coolest guitar solo on the album. With "S2N" John Myung brings the bass to the foreground which is really interesting. It is another Six Degrees moment with a hint of Rush during the solo section. It's another example that you don't need super long songs to be progressive, there's a lot going on here as well. The last third of Distance Over Time starts with its longest track "At Wit's End". It features instrumental sections a la Liquid Tension Experiment, melodic verses and a very catchy chorus. Very good song with an epic guitar solo at the end. The mellow ballad "Out Of Reach" is saved by the guitar solo which reminds me of Satriani, probably influenced by the Petrucci touring with G3. But other than the solo, it's a pretty skippable song. The album closer "Pale Blue Dot", which is a cool title for a song, brings back the guitar riffs and that Awake vibe to close the album in a high note.
It's always difficult to review my favorite bands because I have high expectations and I'm usually more demanding on those bands. In sum, it's a very good album but not perfect by any means. While the instrumental parts, specially the guitars, really shine in this album, most of the song structures are quite simplistic for DT standards. Additionally, verses and choruses are very short hence why this is the DT album with the lowest song length average* of 6:20 (for contrast, note that the debut album was 6:30 and the self titled 7:40). It's not necessarily a bad thing, since I do spot a lot of progressiveness even in "short" tracks. But for a DT album, it's kind of disappointing. Leaving that aside, the album ticks like a clock. The pristine production delivers very dynamic songs and the mix allows you to listen to all instruments. All in all, Distance Over Time is one of the easiest DT albums to digest, probably a natural reaction to The Awakening which is quite the opposite. In that sense it also moves 180 degrees from that operatic experiment to a very guitar driven and direct album combining elements of their best albums: Images and Words, Awake, and Six Degrees but at the same time still sounding like DT from the Maginni/Rudness era. Fans will dig this, to what degree it will depend on personal preferences. But it's certainly very nice to see the NY quintet back to form.
SCORE: 81/100
* excluding The Awakening
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