I waited almost a year to get Suspended Animation, and it was worth the wait. John really delivers on this one, providing evidence that he is in fact God wanking on a guitar.The album has 5 solid songs that send shivers down your spine, 2 mediocre detours and one big fat musical joke.

The album art is honestly the best I've ever seen, but then again I'm partial to that combination of colours. Cover and back are suberb, and inside you are greeted with some very cool pictures of John and his beautiful guitars. Don't gab too long, you have a disc to put in!

The album opens with a very heavy track called Jaws Of life. 7-string chopping never sounded so good. Drumming is solid and doesn't take up too much attention, which is how is should be for John's solo album. This piece deserves some seriour headbanging.

The second track is just happiness through and through. Glasgow kiss is very reminiscent of Fife and Drum from An Evening With, and shines. My second favorite off the album.

Tunnel Vision is proof that not all techno sucks, as John switchs to an electronica vibe here. The pounding bass makes you want to dance, which is the first I cn say of any prog song.

Track 4 is a mystery to me. The first time I heard it I thought Bryan Adams had slipped a song onto the album. The first 5 minutes are a cross between Adams and the ending song to a japanese video game. The whole song gives telling evidence that John should stay the fuck away from Mary J. I'm pretty sure the song is a joke track, because it eventually picks up into a decent funk jam. If it didn't I would've snapped the disc in half.

Damage Control starts heavy and shifts around quite a bit, going from rhythmic to melodic to sappy to just awesome. A great song.

The next two songs I think of as the so-so lead ups to the main course. Curve is a long jam over the IV and V chords, which actually gets old after a while. Lost Without You is a sweet jazzy number that never picks up.

And finally, Animate-Inanimate: Greatest Song Ever. I may be a bit biased, seeing as how the song includes every one of my favorite scales, but this song rocks. It starts with the world's greatist riff, mixed to sound like the guitar is still in the recording studio, then erupts into multi-guitar harmony, moves into minor scale runs and beautiful arpeggios. This song is the longest on the album for a good reason. Don't miss it.

This album is a must for any fan of Petrucci (if you can stand track 4, which will not be named) or Dream Theater.