This is easily my least favorite Dream Theater album, and it's not hard to see why. It has a much more commercialized feel cto it, from the cover to the songs. You can blame it on the change of management their label went under during the production of Falling Into Infinity. Though the album is by no means bad, some of the songs are much less progressive than normal. Fortunatly, Dream Theater compromised with their label and left on a few gems for us to enjoy.

ART 8/10

The title of the album, Falling into Infinity, if anything seems to be a clever attack at their label and the commercialization behind it. Falling into infinity to me means something along the lines of falling into a void, which infinity is most commonly pictured as. The void could represent anthing from a void of creativity to a void of morals.

The art on the album has a much more pop-like look to it, though I don't mind too much because, frankly, the cover makes me laugh. The art is relevent to the title and gets you thinking a bit, but not for that long. Inside the booklet are a few pictures here and there, with obligatory member shots. Only a few of them, John Petrucci's for example, have a really hollywood heartthrob look to them, which doesn't match the music at all. On the first page is a picture of LaBrie in some sort of thoughtful pose, but it just makes me laugh too.

In a way, if The Barenaked Ladies did this album it wouldn't seem out of place.

SONGS

NEW MILLENIUM 8/10

The songs starts with a techno bit the lingers before the beat comes in. The song is a bit reminicient of Awake, or more specifically 6:00 in the way the vocals are sung. The song is techno-ish in sound with some rock mixed in. The theme is alright, though the meaning is unclear.

YOU NOT ME 5/10

Worst on the album. Desmond Child butchered Petrucci's lyrics and made it into a song you'd expect to be sung by a female punk star. The theme is along of lines of how men say anthing to get into girl's pants. The chorus is sarcastic of course. But since Dream Theater is all-male, it's very out of place. It sounds okay, but would be better without Child and what he did. Get's tiring after a while.

PERUVIAN SKIES 8/10

The song starts out with a nice bassline ala Scarred. Upon first listen one could mistake it for a romance song, until the guitar truly kicks in and delivers a vice nice solo. The theme is about a child Petrucci read about in Peru, and is both compassionate and angry.

HOLLOW YEARS 10/10

This song is one of the reasons I believe Dream Theater was channeling the Barenaked Ladies during this album. It starts with an awesome spanish riff and goes into a beautiful verse about a man who leaves his family. Then the chorus happens. It sounds like so many things, it's hard to describe. It's like a bottle of happiness just opens up in your ears. The theme appears to be about alcholism, and how it feels when you quit.

BURNING MY SOUL 9/10

As started by the title, the song is very heavy, dark, and angry. It progresses from heavy passages to a faster chorus and back again. The use of modified voices adds to the demonic feeling of the song. The theme seems to be about freedom of speech and thought.

HELL'S KITCHEN (Instrumental) 10/10

It starts with some ambient sounds from the end of Burning My Soul, and moves quickly into a repeated melody. Most of the song is a continued solo. It sounds very peaceful, and for some reason, I really want to see my school's dance department do a dance to this song.

LINES IN THE SAND 9/10

It starts with an awesome jazz riff that pops in and out throughout the song with a variety of intruments. It first kicks in out of nowhere, you'll want to hear it again and again. The whole song is very jazzy. It changes melodies many times, but always keeps that slighty rushed feeling, almost as it it were power metal. The theme is about religion is some way, it seems to a criticism.

TAKE AWAY MY PAIN 9/10

Starts with some nice bongos from Portnoy and continues throughout the verses. The song has a nice airy feeling for such a sad topic (being the death and coping with the death of Petrucci Sr.).

JUST LET ME BREATHE 9/10

This is the other folks which reminds me of the Barenaked Ladies. It has such an off-beat feeling to it, with all the time signature changes. Overall a nice song to crank on your car stereo. Personally I'm surprised that Dream Theater's label let them keep this song, since it openly attack MTV culture. I'm glad it's on there though.

ANNA LEE 8/10

Don't know what to say about this one. Yes, it sounds nice, yes, you'd picture it as labrie on stage with a grand piano and a microphone. Not very progressive but a nice song none-the-less.

TRIAL OF TEARS 10/10

A worthy conclusion to the album. The song is so abound in imagery that you'd imagine yourself on the streets of New York City with rain splashing down around you. It starts with such ambient sounds you get lulled into a false peace. Then, like an animal calling for a mate, the guitar kicks in, and it joined by the other instruments and the song starts. The chorus in part one is so much like old time rock you'll find yourself singing it all day. Part two is a nice interlude that continues the melody of part one. Then part three starts, like an old western, or more like a futuristic desert movie. The wasteland, you can picture youself there. Alltogether a great song.

TOTAL 8/10

Has a few really good songs, and a few okay ones. Don't rush out to get it, but don't be without it.