Review by Adam M on October 27, 2025.

This is a great album that brings Dream Theater to the forefront by driving their new sound forward with full force.  It is definitely one of their better albums in recent times and has a flair for being very involved musically with a lot of complex elements.  There is a feeling that there could be more melody as the songs only offer a lot of intricate aspects.

The musicianship is top notch with a lot of emphasis on the guitars.  There is a feeling that this is more developed than earlier works and a very solid entry into their catalogue.  Vocals are sort of silly as is usual with the band and the drumming is a thing of wizardry.  There is a great deal of interest built up by the instruments as they give one of the better performances of the year.

The flaw to the album lies in its inability to proceed from previous material like Scenes From a Memory into something stellar or altogether noteworthy.  Still, the album does continue to show the band’s talent and how they are able to craft memorable and flashy compositions.  With a little more work, they could be even developed and show a great deal of evolution.

All in all, this is a very solid album and one of the band’s more theatrically interesting recordings.  It is not their best and could be improved upon with more concentration on the finished product.  This is still fun stuff and one of the more entertaining prog metal albums I have heard recently.  Fans of the band will lap it up.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10