Dream Theater are clearly sitting on a big album if the first two singles from A View From The Top Of The World are anything to go by. New song Invisible Monsters finds them in catchy and concise DT mode (well six and a half minutes is pretty concise for them) and the band on sharp form.
John Petrucci is channelling some Malmsteen neoclassical vibes in the solo, while we're enjoying James LeBrie's lower register on this song. Mike Mangini's drums sound especially on-point here and Jordan Rudess even has a harpsichord moment.
“It was written after we’d written a bunch of material," explains Petrucci. "A lot of the music was super energetic and upbeat tempo-wise. Mike suggested we do something a little different though. So, we started working on a more mid-temp song. The hook, riff, and melody changed so naturally. I equate it to ‘Pull Me Under’ back in the day where we’d just start playing, something would come out, and we’d be like, ‘Whoa, that’s cool’.
"There’s a serendipitous moment where it happens," adds the guitarist. "Lyrically, it’s about how anxiety plagues people. It’s like there’s an invisible monster beating you. You don’t see it, but it’s haunting you all of the time,” explains guitarist John Petrucci.
A View From The Top Of The World is released on October 22.
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Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.
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