HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Train Of Thought – Dream Theater

Determining which DREAM THEATER album is considered the best is the ideal fuel for sparking a great debate, especially considering they now have FIFTEEN albums under their belts (which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the plethora of live/bootleg albums, DVD’s and Blu-rays they have at their disposal). 2003’s Train Of Thought album didn’t break any records but was very gratefully received by their Scandanavian fan base if chart positioning is anything to go by. It did, however, open the door for the creation of heavier, darker material. A tool which has continued to prove fruitful as their catalogue has expanded, particularly during the era of Black Clouds And Silver Linings that followed in 2009.

Train Of Thought is comprised of large portions of satisfying, hefty riffing as well as a truckload of the wildly innovative performances we have all come to know and love, a quick scour of the internet highlights that this release is still highly thought of multiple decades later. A contributing factor may have been that this release was deemed to be less ‘cheesy’ and focused more on offering a solid slab of accessible metal.

Despite the album clocking in at a whopping 69 minutes it took the band only 3 weeks to compose, considering the collective talent responsible this may not come as a surprise. Train Of Thought commences with the only single from this release, As I Am, which immediately sets the tone for this release with the sharp retort of “Don’t tell me what’s in, tell me how to write”. This remark was in response to QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Mike Stone trying to give the already god-like guitarist John Petrucci some helpful pointers. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out where he told him to stick them! The chorus is more of an ode to the fans who have stuck by them and not demanded they change their style to satiate the mass markets, appreciating their loyalty and devotion over the years.

Train Of Thought also harbours a pivotal track in the history of DREAM THEATER in the shape of This Dying Soul, a component of Mike Portnoy‘s ‘Twelve-Step Suite’ which spanned across five albums (starting with the iconic The Glass Prison from Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002) and concluding with The Shattered Fortress) depicting his battle with alcoholism and drug abuse. After 13 years of impeccable service from drumming virtuoso Mike Mangini, it was recently confirmed that the end of level drum beast is now back behind the kit so we may finally bear witness to the first performance of the entire suite under the banner of DREAM THEATER.

The deeply personal narratives certainly didn’t stop there. Honor Thy Father tackles the lack of parental guardianship provided to Portnoy by his stepfather whilst proceeding track Vacant is a powerful ballad written during a time when James Labrie‘s daughter encountered an unfortunate seizure which led to her falling into a coma. The penultimate 11-minute masterclass Stream Of Consciousness still continues to be DREAM THEATER‘s longest instrumental piece two decades later.

If that wasn’t enough to make your brains seep out of your ears, the closing piece In The Name Of God provides a mammoth 14-minute progressive epic to bring this vast effort to a close. It has become apparent since the album release that Portnoy chose to leave somewhat of a ‘secret message’ on this track which took a sharp-eared fan to unearth after many an intense discussion on message boards. He managed to stow away a morse code message which was translated into his iconic catchphrase “eat my ass and balls”. This also managed to sneak its way into various live performances in support of Train Of Thought replacing the original lyrics. Nice to see that the Berklee educated musicians don’t take themselves too seriously!

As I Am continues to be a firm fan favourite, racking up the streams, but over the years barring Endless Sacrifice, it seems the other tracks from Train Of Thought has been allocated a back seat when it comes to setlist construction with many of the songs not seeing the light of day for quite some time. Now the iconic quintet have finally reconvened once more, it may be an appropriate time to go venturing back into their vast catalogue and start bringing these classics back to the forefront.

Train Of Thought was originally released on November 11 2003 via Elektra Records.

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