A View from the Top of the World: Dream Theater's New Album Once Again Shows They Deserve To be On Rocks Mount Everest.

Dream Theater released their 15th studio album titled "A View from Top of the World" on the Inside Out Music label. The album started in November 2020 while four of the five members of the band wrote together while James Labrie (Lead Singer) zoomed in from his home in Canada. It wasn't until March of 2021 when James traveled to New York to finish recording his vocals for the album. 

The label had three significant dates for pre-release. The label teased the album on July 26th of 2021, then released two singles; The Alien on August 13th, 2021, and Invisible Monster in September 2021. The album's release is on October 22nd, 2021. 

Illustration by Hugh Syme

The Album

The album features seven tracks. The alien is a mature Dream Theater track. The band lays out the parts methodically, and the transitions between riffs are effortless. Answering the call is a track that produces a lot of motion, especially with Rudess's different arpeggiations. The guitar also pushes the song along with Petrucci's complex rhythmic palm muting. Invisible monster brings memories of the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence album with the harmonic structure and the lush piano parts. Sleeping Giant takes some inspiration from Black Clouds and Silver Linings, with a scary piano around 2:00 and some gothic influence throughout the track. Transcending Time has a very distinct Rush (The Band) feel, and why not. Dream Theater is an anointed progressive metal band. But if you are looking for heavy riffs, more towards the metal side, Awaken the Master is all that and more. Complex guitar and bass rhythms, and classic synths and organs, round out the feel of this track. Finally, A view from the Top of the World is the title track of this album. It's a 20-minute epic that is everything Dream Theater. The opening 1:00 snare and drums harken to Scene Two from Metropolis Pt 2. Right after the intro, we are hit with Rudess' wondrous string parts, reminding us of The Astonishing and firmly planting us into a typical Dream Theater extravaganza of musicality. 

Photo by Rayon Richards

The Performance.

The album is neo-Dream Theater, from the album art to the themes running through the album both musically and lyrically. The album art by Hugh Syme continues on its surrealist themes as with the previous records. 

The vocals are noticeably more robust than previous Dream Theater albums. The overall musical key of the album ranges about 1.5 half steps down. This fact puts most of the vocals in a very comfortable and powerful range for James Labrie. In previous years, James would push the upper limits of his vocal range, which he could do with lots of breath support. However, the shift to some lower keys provides a much more complex tone and great energy. When he does go high, he nails the parts because he strategically places them within the song rather than belting them the entire time. It's all the parts we love of James' voice without the strain.

As reliable as their use of deceptive cadences, Petrucci's guitar tone has remained consistent over the years. However, there are some new tones in the track A View from the Top of the World. A low pass filter gives the guitar a mellow sound, especially in the second half solo. This texture provides a enjoyable variance to the characteristic metal sound he would typically use. 

The musicality of Jordan Rudess is undeniable. His use of harmony, texture, and part writing is second to none in the genera. The sounds he creates are unique. Even as he reaches for previous sounds from older songs in the Dream Theater catalog, there is a slight shift sonically in them, which gives them a fresh sound. An example of this shift is putting in some extra harmonics in the more orchestral and flute sounds. The slight change in harmonic structure gives a fresh perspective to the music. There is no doubt that Jordan is a master at his craft. 

John Myung is a master at the bass. His ability to hold down the rhythm along with the drum parts is pretty unique. He harmonizes guitar parts while supporting the kick parts on bass, developing a brilliant rhythmic pocket. Myung’s parts are complicated yet provide the right balance to the often hyperactive guitar and drum parts. 

Mike Mangini's melodic kick parts are probably the unsurpassed part of his playing on this album. The drum parts of Mangini’s previous albums with Dream Theater teased both duet and counterpoint to the rhythmic portions of the album. The drums in this album create an ostinato to the album's bass, guitar, and keyboard parts rather than a counterpoint. 

Production

James Meslin and Andy Sneap engineered this album. Sneap also mixed and mastered the album. Dream Theater produced its previous albums in different recording studios throughout NYC and upstate NY. As the COVID-19 pandemic provided less opportunity for the band to get together and write, I believe this did affect their sound to no fault of the engineers or band. 

The album's overall sound is isolated and dry as evidence of recording the instruments in separate spaces. In behind-the-scenes footage from the "systematic chaos" DVD, the band usually rehearses and records in the main live room, such as The Power Station (previously Avitar). This gives the engineers opportunity to capture the live reverb in the room rather than produce it artificially. In this album, we can hear a mechanical short and medium reflection of the reverb trail while a lack of complexity in the reverb itself. The result is the reverb sounding the same across all parts and instruments. However, suppose you listened to the tracks on some previous albums (Octavarium, Train of Thought, Systematic Chaos). In that case, the reverb of each instrument is complex. It blends differently with the other reverb of other instruments, creating lush intricacies in the space. 

      Mix-wise, the album is guitar forward and kick heavy. The vocals sit well in the mix, but the bass and the synth parts sometimes struggle to get beyond the masking of the guitars. Since the album A Dramatic Turn of Events, loud guitar parts often mask the other instruments in Dream Theater's mixes. The bass often can't get past the 7th (or 8th) string of Petrucci's Earnie Ball guitar. The mix is well balanced in terms of stereo panning and never tilt to one side of the stage or the other. The mix translates well across most platforms and never clips or distorts even in earbuds or smartphone speakers. 

           Considering all this, I like the album. Sneap and Meslin do an excellent job engineering and mixing the project given the circumstances of COVID-19. The music is poignant and tells several stories as any Dream Theater album would. A View from the Top of the World showcases the band’s talent and musical maturity. From a musicianship perspective, the members of Dream Theater are certainly on the Mt. Everest of skill and craft.