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Track Listing: On the Backs of Angels Build Me Up, Break Me Down Lost Not Forgotten This Is The Life Bridges in the Sky Outcry Far from Heaven Breaking All Illusions Beneath the Surface

After the much talked-about recent departure of drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy, progressive metal masters Dream Theater are back with their 11th studio album, which ironically enough, is titled "A Dramatic Turn Of Events". The album not only marks the debut of new drummer Mike Mangini, but for the first time features keyboardist Jordan Rudess, vocalist James LaBrie and bassist John Myung in songwriting roles much more prominent than ever before. To say that I was eager to find out how the band would fare without Portnoy would be stating the obvious, and after listening to this album repeatedly for quite a few times, I can safely say that the music speaks for itself and should prove to be successful in laying down all of that tabloid talk to rest.

"On The Backs Of Angels" gives the album a terrific start, and manages to capture the listener's complete, undivided attention right from the outset. It's a quintessential Dream Theater tune in terms of the musical structure but is more keyboard-oriented than most of their previous work, which is an aspect I'm really enjoying throughout this album. Epic vocals, heavy guitar riffs, great guitar and keyboard solos, nimble bass licks and crafty drum fills, this song has it all, and expresses itself within a duration of 9 minutes. "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" is an even heavier and epic-sounding follow-up, the first half of which is carried largely by LaBrie's vocals and Rudess' symphony on the keyboards. A haunting interlude follows this verse-chorus-verse section, which then leads into a sweet guitar solo by Petrucci before closing out with another verse-chrous segment and a keyboard outro. I love the way the tune ebbs and flows, giving every member complete opportunity to display his skills, and it's amazing just how much they've been able to encapsulate in a song that turns out to be one of the shortest tracks on the album.

As if the first two tracks hadn't done enough already, "Lost Not Forgotten" takes it to a whole new level and even though it follows a pattern similar to the previous two tracks, this one has the Petrucci stamp all over it, with solos galore. Because of its sheer musical wealth, this tune is a bit more drawn out, but quite justifiably so. It has 'instant classic' written all over it, and even though I'm loving the whole album right now, this one might turn out to be my favorite track in the long run. Things slow down a tad with the next song "This Is The Life", a song which boasts of a powerful melody created by the masterful unison of Petrucci, LaBrie and Rudess, and despite the lack of speed, it's just about as gripping as any of the other tracks on here. It definitely succeeds in forming an ambience of its own, and has quite a magical impact on me as I find myself totally immersed in it. The next track "Bridges In The Sky" has a contrastingly dark and heavy sound to begin with, and does a great job of snapping me out of that blissful abyss. This is another tune that contains so much that if I begin to make an attempt at describing its music, it would take me the whole night. No amount of words can do justice to its brilliance. Besides the usual elements, some of the keyboard solos and samples add an exotic touch to it.

"Outcry" keeps the album going with yet more great musicianship. It's noticeable that every song on the album has its own identity, and offers something that's unique to it. This song is no exception to that pattern, as it treats the listener to a piece of Jordan Rudess wizardry. His keyboard solo very much takes center-stage here and the trade-off with Petrucci's solos is simply awe-inspiring. To wow the listener further, there is a little trade-off with John Myung as well. Quite simply put, the song defies belief and leaves the listener speechless. "Far From Heaven", the shortest piece on the album, comes next and as the title suggests, it's lyrically a sad tune presented aptly by the combination LaBrie's crooning vocals and Rudess' thought-provoking keyboards. From the shortest tune to the longest we go as "Breaking All Illusions" quickly picks up the tempo and mood again, at least with its first few minutes. From then on it turns into a breathtaking exhibition of music that again leaves me lost for words. "Beneath The Surface" brings the album to an intriguing end, a track that almost sounds like it's a build-up to track #1 rather than the last song on the album, which is great because that pretty much compels me to go over and listen to the album again.

Ever since I started listening to Dream Theater, I have been noticing that the band has always had critics and haters, who must have thought that with Portnoy no longer at the helm, the band would quickly fade away. Well, I have some very bad news for these people. Dream Theater sans Portnoy have successfully accepted the mantle and come up with a stunningly brilliant album. Every time I listen to this album, I ponder in disbelief because of how great it is. At first I thought the opening track is a near-perfect song, but the next track sounds even better. This trend continues throughout the album, and by the time "Breaking All Illusions" comes along, my only thought is, "You have got to be kidding me."

Every song is so complete in itself that it's totally impossible for me to pick the best one or even pick a favorite. This album marks the beginning of a glorious new chapter in the band's career, and certainly betters the past few albums. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it's their best album in more than a decade. The month of September is blessed with quite a few progressive metal releases, including the new album by Dream Theater's label mates Opeth. I have listened to each album thoroughly by now, and If I was asked to compare all of them, I would definitely rate "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" as the best of the lot. 77 minutes of pure musical bliss!

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