Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

From a certain height you can see the whole of creation that stretches ahead of you, and what you left behind with clarity; no longer stuck between a rock and a hard place, A View From The Top Of The World is the vantage point where all can make sense, or at least seem that way as you balance belief and argument in one hand, and in the other you offer your soul to the winds and the music exploding out of ever sinew and muscle.

 A View From The Top Of The World is in itself tinged with the remarkable experience, the vision afforded the bearer of observation is greeted with perception, and that rock you were once caught between as the hard edges of life rubbed against, perhaps peeling your skin, revealing the fabric of your essence, now becomes the force in which the heavens and the Hell beneath are applauded.

For one of the kings of Progressive Metal, Dream Theater, the view has maybe not always been clear, but of late has been straight forward, not exactly cloudless, but certainly appealing, even at times spectacular. That fascination with the drawing out of certain stylistic persuasion was hugely impressive on the band’s previous epic encounter with the listener, and where Distance Over Time and The Astonishing set the view and the bar high, this latest recording, produced by John Petrucci, and mixed and mastered by the indomitable Andy Sneap, sees the clouds dissipate and the scene become unhindered.

Aurally panoramic, sonically scenic, the music that haunts and graces A View From The Top Of The World is broad and encompassing, and captures the detail with a gladdening eye, and across the huge tracks, such as Answering The Call, Sleeping Giant, Transcending Time, Awake The Master, and the unstoppable, majestic, and almost monster like in its depth and imagination, the album’s title track of A View From The Top Of The World, sees James LaBrie, John Petrucci, John Myung, Jordan Rudess and Mike Mangini open up the background, and invite all to witness the outlook before them.

An album of great drama, more than just a caress of observation, it is an examination of musical belief and creative energy laid bare. A View From The Top Of The World never sounded so good.

Ian D. Hall