Album Review: Dream Theater – Distance Over Time (Inside Out Music)

A welcome surprise for those who’ve never really been on board with Dream Theater’s proggy sound. The band’s 14th studio album leans way more towards a straight up metal sound and is way more palatable because of it. Out now via Inside Out Music.

Don’t panic fans of insane shreds, riffs and solos though as the 9 track album (10 including the bonus track Viper King) more then delivers on those. In fact the speed and intensity of Petrucci’s shedding at times is simply impossible to fathom. The man is inhuman.

Untethered Angel shows Dream Theater’s newer, more metal oriented efforts in energetic style as an opener and it kills. Not just with the guitars either as drummer Mike Mangini plays with earnest intent and James LaBrie soars with vocals that have just the right amount of growl in them.

The combined machine are simply unstoppable juggernauts resulting in such metal epics as Fall into the Light’s thrashiness and At Wit’s End’s powerful guitar shredding. The speed and force in the latter alongside a deep chugging bass/drum combo is Dream Theater at their most interesting.

Often accused of not really knowing when to just call time on a track, that’s going to be less of a criticism on Distance Over Time. Here most tracks are just about the right length even when taking a more thoughtful stance such as on Barstool Warrior, Room 137 and Out of Reach. The former is a great metal ballad while the latter is the most melodic track on the album by some distance. Sickly sweet but moreish as hell.

Finally it’s Pale Blue Dot with spacey ambience, unrivalled drumming and deep, thrilling guitar riffs that ends a pretty great album. That the last track (not including the bonus one) would also see Dream Theater reawaken their love for epic passages and rhythm is no real surprise. It’s still got much of what metal has been sent our way so far but on a grander scale. It’s a top finish.

Fans of the bands proggy previous might find themselves a little frustrated with this album but overall it’s a really good release that covers a lot of interesting bases.

Dream Theater – Distance Over Time Full Track Listing:

1. Untethered Angel
2. Paralysed
3. Fall into the Light
4. Barstool Warrior
5. Room 137
6. S2n
7. At Wit’s End
8. Out of Reach
9. Pale Blue Dot