Black Clouds & Silver Linings (Special Edition) by Dream Theater (CD, Jun-2009, 3 Discs, Roadrunner Records USA)

This 3 cd new release is a 6 outta 5 stars! I can't get over just how good this new material is. Six new songs of prog/metal nirvana with the last song "The Count of Tuscany" being just shy of 20 minutes in length. Dream Theater is a band that just keeps getting better and better and how many bands that have been around as long as them can you actually say that about? Disk 2 is amazing! As far as I know a couple of these songs have never been covered by any other band from the originals and I am not sure how many bands would be able to pull off such a technically precise cover of some of these classic songs. "Stargazer" originally a song by Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow kicks off disk 2 and is followed by a rare/obscure early Queen song "Tenemant Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley", then onto an instrumental of the classic Dixie Dregs/Steve Morse song "Odyssey", onward D.T. picks it back up with an outstanding cover of Zebra's "Take Your Fingers From My Hair" then into (perhaps my favorite track) the King Crimson classic "Larks Tongues in Aspic" onward to the ending, finishing with an outstanding cover of one of my favorite Iron Maiden tunes "To Tame a Land". As you can see, this new material along with the classic progressive rock covers make this easily one of the best new releases in recent memory. If you love Dream Theater you may just feel like me when I say this: Dream Theater rocks and nobody is better than them in the genre of progressive/metal! Period! Buy this set I guarantee you won't regret it!

The cover disc is incredible!! The new material is very solid as well, but when they cover Zebra and King Crimson - blows you mind!!!!!!

No.1 band of the world

Every albums still great performance.
some band when reaching too many albums the quality have change,
but Dream theater keeping their quality perfect.

Two Thumbs all the way ups + excellent work!!

I love how all the songs on this album come together to tell a story of dark subjects. it flows from a 16 minute song about a car crash "A Nightmare to Remember", to another heavy song about free masonry "A Rite of Passage", than the impacting song "Wither" is next, which is a ballad and is one of their best to date. "The Shattered Fortress" is the final song in drummer Mike Portnoy's 12 Step Suite about his recovery with alcohol. "The Best of Times" is about Portnoys father passing away, and all the fun times they had together. His father got the chance to hear the song completed, before he passed. Lastly, the album is finnished off by the 19 minute epic "The Count of Tuscany", which is about guitarist John Petrucci's stay in Tuscany, and how he'll never forget it. I recommend this album to any Progressive Metal fan, or anyone who is intressted in Dream Theater.

Great Band & Great Album!!! Back again to São Paulo - Brazil in this tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An excellent album. DT has outdone themselves with their latest offering. I would recommend this recording for any prog-metal enthusiast who would like to hear how the genre should be presented.

Nice digipak, includes 3 disks of masterpiece, really enjoyed this CD. I think better to buy this digipack edition instead one disk.

I was frozen at first by listening to the album, i didn't like it since i compared it to the old ones, but you get used to it. It's the tenth studio album of this progressive metal band Dream Theater. The album was produced by drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci, and mixed by Paul Northfield. The 3-disc Special Edition with instrumental mixes. Dream Theater’s finest and most balanced album in a decade. It's still an archetypal Dream Theater album; one that's unlikely to broaden their audience all that much, but is conversely guaranteed to thrill their hardcore converts with its renewed devotion to the most exigent and stimulating facets of the band's chosen musical domain.

The album debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 selling 40,285 copies. It was the first time in the band's history that they have cracked the Top 10 on that chart, and is currently the bands highest single week sales of an album. The album also debuted at #1 on Billboard Top Internet Albums, and #2 on Billboard Top Rock Albums.