Dream Theater – A Change of Seasons (1995)

Is this an…? I mean, uh, is this really an…?

Ah well, never mind. Yep, this is an EP, and yep, it features some pretty fuckin’ bad cover art that’s typical of Dream Theater. As of today, 11 June ’18, I’ve read dozens of comments on Kanye West’s latest string of albums, all clocking in at under 25 minutes, with people going “shouldn’t they be EPs”? If anything, the mere existence of A Change of Seasons, or stuff such as Car Seat Headrest’s How to Leave Town, pretty much invalidates any and all complaints.

Truth be told, however, the reason why this EP didn’t go the Art of Life route and have one kick-ass >20 minutes long song is because… well, because the band wanted to tack on some cover songs. And, oh boy, are they wank.

Listenable wank, don’t get me wrong. The four tracks feature covers by Elton John, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and a medley of a whole bunch of classic rock songs in that order, and they are played in the cover style I hate the most: virtuoso wank. It’s like one of those YouTube guitarist “Watch me cover Kendrick Lamar on an 8-string” kind of videos, only half as interesting. Each song is stretched out to incredible lengths because… they can play guitar well? I must have said this a thousand times but technical skill a good song does not write.

However, despite my grumbling, the very fact that an incredible amount of guitar virtuosity is displayed makes these pretty fascinating, if in no way engaging. They are perfectly acceptable as background listening, so they earn a point from me for that, and the vocals are at the very least halfway decent at all times. The best part of it all is probably the band’s interpretations of “Carry on Wayward Son” followed by “Bohemian Rhapsody” as those performances are quite energetic.

What this EP is known for, however, is the title track, aptly placed at the beginning. Now, I am in no way renowned for being a good critic when it comes to Metal, or Progressive Metal for that matter, but I can safely say that this song kicks ass. I get the people who say that this is the best track the band has ever done, but I can’t deny that, as a 23-minute multi-part song, it does feel a bit dragged out and forgettable at times. If you have way more time than I do, I imagine you could listen to this dozens and dozens of times until you learn every nuance, but I can’t afford to do that simply because this isn’t the type of music I would that go gaga for. I personally prefer my Progressive music to be a bit more daring, aggressive and grand (see Art of Life).

When I hear those keyboards and insane, uplifting riffing, however, I do think that maybe I can fall in love with this. I’ll definitely revisit this track whenever I can. And you should, too, if only to remind yourself of how inept you are at guitar.

Oh, and if they did the right thing and did not include all those covers, I’m pretty sure that the EP would be regarded by most (me included) as one of the best Metal EPs ever recorded, atrocious cover and all.

Key Track: “A Change of Seasons”

Adrian

When I’m not busy being a corporate drone, you’ll find me writing reviews and essays about music, video games, films and other nerd stuff encompassing all eras.