Black Clouds and Silver Linings ... new album by Dream Theater not one of their best

Black Clouds and Silver Linings is the perfect name for Dream Theater's latest album. There are a few silver linings to listen to, but also a few black clouds. Honestly, I expect more from Dream Theater than regurgitated musical and lyrical passages from their prior albums.

That said, there are a few bright spots. "A Rite of Passage" is strong both musically and lyrically. But the real gem is "The Best of Times," a 13-minute mini-epic drummer Mike Portnoy wrote about his father, who recently passed away.

The rest of the album is hit and miss. Other than "Wither," which is as non-Dream Theater-like of a song as anything you can imagine, the rest of the songs have their moments, but it is almost as if each has no real direction. The musicianship is as outstanding as ever, the problem is the songwriting. And I never thought I would say this about a Dream Theater album ...

... and I hope I never say it about any future Dream Theater album.