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Train of Thought is the seventh album by Dream Theater released November 11, 2003. The album is known to be Dream Theater's heaviest album by far, being somewhat controversial for this fact. The heavy nature of the album created a rift to form between the "metal" Dream Theater fans and the "prog" Dream Theater fans that persists to this day. The album also continues a theme from the previous album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, being the seventh album and having seven songs.

Personnel

Tracklist

1. As I Am (Petrucci) 7:47

2. This Dying Soul (Portnoy) 11:28

3. Endless Sacrifice (Petrucci) 11:23

4. Honor Thy Father (Portnoy) 10:14

5. Vacant (LaBrie) 2:58

6. Stream of Consciousness (instrumental) 11:16

7. In the Name of God (Petrucci) 14:16

Creation

During the tour to promote Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Dream Theater did special shows where they covered classic the classic metal albums Master of Puppets and Number of the Beast. Doing these covers inspired the band to write their own classic metal album, the result of which is Train of Thought.

Written and recorded in a very small amount of time, Train of Thought was also the last album the band recorded at Bear Tracks Studios. The album was created to be heavy, something the band knew would be controversial, and it remains to be their heaviest album to date.

It is also worth noting that this album continued the "meta-album" concept started with Scenes from a Memory. The album's lead-off track "As I Am" begins with the same note that ended "Losing Time/Grand Finale" from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

Release

Train of thought was released to success, though it didn't share it's predecessor's chart position or album sales. A pre-release radio single for "As I Am" got plenty of attention, and was scrutinized by fans, who wondered if it would represent the sound of the album. Portnoy considered shooting a video for "As I Am" and releasing a single, though neither happened as he thought there was very little point, as mainstream stations such as MTV and VH1 would not play the video.

The tour to support Train of Thought is known for being very diverse in terms of setlist, and for very long shows. The band once again covered Number of the Beast on the tour. The final show in Japan, played at the Nippon Budokan Center was recorded and filmed for the release of Live at Budokan, which was also released on DVD.

Also worth noting is the lack of a pre-release leak. After the very early leak of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, the band and label worked extra hard to ensure the album did not leak nearly as early, and it only showed up on the internet a few days before release, which the band considered a success.

Reception

Critical reaction was positive, as the album was praised for it's tight sound, consice themes and being more focused than it's predecessor. Fans however had very mixed reactions, with a rift appearing between the "metal" Dream Theater fans, who loved the album and said it was one of the best they've released, and the "prog" Dream Theater fans, who hated the album and cited it as their worst. One example of this can be seen in the book Lifting Shadows, in which Rich Wilson loses his objectivity when speaking about Train of Thought, criticising it to the point that it's clear from the text that the author cannot see anybody enjoying the album.

The negative reaction from some fans has calmed considerably through time, something that started with the tour, where fans found the seemingly too-heavy songs flowed well with Dream Theater's previous catalogue, and this day the album is mostly looked on fondly by fans, though there are still some that feel it is too heavy and not progressive enough.

Tone and Lyrics

As a very heavy metallica album, Train of Thought also has a dark tone not unlike that of Awwake. Out of the four tenets of Dream Theater's sound (progressive, metal, melodic and pop) the band mostly utilizes the metal sound, with only "Vacant" not having it at all and "Endless Sacrifice" being very melodic. The album also contains plenty of the progressive sound, though the pop sound is almost completely absent.

The lyrics are also similar to Awake, though not as abstract, and also some shades of Falling Into Infinity are apparent. One such example is "As I Am" which is about frustration at being told what to write and play in terms of music. Petrucci claims the song was aimed at Queensryche, who attempted to give him direction on the previous tour. "Endless Sacrifice" is a rare Dream Theater loe song, which Petrucci wrote for his wife. Familial ties are also present on "Honor Thy Father" and "Vacant", the former being about Portnoy's stepfather and the latter being about LaBrie's daughter, who suffered a siezure. "In the Name of God" is the only non-personal song on the album, being about religious cults who commit atrocities.

Continuing The AA Saga, "This Dying Soul" presents the next two parts, representing steps four and five. The song was notable for quoting The Glass Prison as well as The Mirror, which Portnoy revealed he wrote about his struggles with alcohol, and is seen by many as being a "prequel" to the saga.

Cover art

The rather striking cover art is from a series of unusual photographs by Jerry Uelsmann, where several images are put together to create a unique image. The interior art of the album also reflects this. The art also has the smallest instance of The Majesty Symbol which can just barely be seen in the eye.

Legacy

Train of Thought is an infamous album with fans, sometimes even more so than Falling Into Infinity. The album is responsible for the current rift in fans, some of whom identify Dream Theater as a progressive metal band, and that they should play metal that is progressive, and those who would prefer a sound close to that of Images and Words. Many fans have compared more recent albums to Train of Thought, though in different ways depending on their opinion of the album.

Re-releaess and alternate versions

MP4 Productions, through Portnoy's website has released Drums of Thought, a DVD containing footage of Portnoy recording his parts of Train of Thought.

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