Elements of Persuasion

Unlike the two previous solo efforts of Dream Theater’s frontman, Elements of Persuasion is not a very far departure from the singer’s day job. It has all of the technical precision you would expect without the potentially pretentious time changes and extended instrumental interludes that tend to scare off more casual fans. The band is great. Don’t even get me started on the guitarist. Just check out the solo in Pretender. LaBrie is awesome on the heavy stuff, soaring over the crunch and distortion of songs like Alone and Undecided and fantastic with his emotional, ethereal deliveries of the lighter stuff like Lost and Smashed. In short, it’s amazing. --Scott