A Change of Seasons just takes the biscuit. Dream Theater do welll all across the board of genres as they have changed their style little by little from the mid 80s to the present day, and they have a brilliant knack for combining amazing musical talent with really good writing, thoughtful songs, and, most importantly, a beautiful sound that get's one's arms covered in goosebumps. This just does all that, but takes it to another level. It deserved a whole release to itself, it would have made the rest of any album look pretty mediocre to be honest.

The four remaining tracks comprise live covers of 13 classic rock peices. Very nice, but sadly dwarfed by the song to dwarf all songs.
The track is composed of seven sub-songs, which cover a large number of musical feelings and colours, while maintaining a progressive rock style. In all, the track lasts over 20 minutes, making it an EP not a single. These subsongs take you on mental and emotional journey that justifies the… more »

A Change of Seasons just takes the biscuit. Dream Theater do welll all across the board of genres as they have changed their style little by little from the mid 80s to the present day, and they have a brilliant knack for combining amazing musical talent with really good writing, thoughtful songs, and, most importantly, a beautiful sound that get's one's arms covered in goosebumps. This just does all that, but takes it to another level. It deserved a whole release to itself, it would have made the rest of any album look pretty mediocre to be honest.

The four remaining tracks comprise live covers of 13 classic rock peices. Very nice, but sadly dwarfed by the song to dwarf all songs.
The track is composed of seven sub-songs, which cover a large number of musical feelings and colours, while maintaining a progressive rock style. In all, the track lasts over 20 minutes, making it an EP not a single. These subsongs take you on mental and emotional journey that justifies the title.
I - The Crimson Sunrise is a beautiful little instrumental that ratchets up the tension and gets you listening from the beginning, very beautiful and undyingly cryingly uplifting.
II - Innocence continues with this feeling of loveliness, but then suddenly manages to make a downturn towards dispair, while not really changing the music at all, it must be the lyrics that do it, I think.
III - Cape Diem is a mournful ballad of despair and loss that is quite difficult to cope with, beware of interesting feelings at this point, don't play it at parties, everyone will probably take up self-harm.
IV - The Darkest of Winters is an instrumental of true Dream Theater virtuosity, and expresses anger and anguish in a brutal metal peice that is quite a favourite as a song all by itself at gigs.
V - Another World is my favourite section, the brutality of the previous section is suddenly expended, and in the same way as, if you are really angry and getting really het up really badly, you can suddenly run out of anger and just collapse into abject misery, this falling away leaves you struggling for breath, and it doesn't get anyway as the most haunting and mournful peice of music I have ever come across gets underway. After a few minutes of abject misery, a new resolve is found in the subject, and the tide of the piece begins to turn upwards.
VI - The Inevitable Summer, is an instrumental that faces the future, moves on from the darkness of previous sections, and seems to have got over the majority of the pain felt from whatever tragedy so inturrupted the original pure unspoilt beauty of Crimson Sunrise and the first part of Innocence, however, there is no sweet naivety here (I dunno how you spell that,) the teeth of the instrumental are still gritted, and the eyes are still red with the tears of Another World.
VII - The Crimson Sunset returns to many of the musical themes as in the Crimson Sunrise, but with a different approach, you can tell that the piece is older and wiser as a result of the tragedy that has occured since those days, and faces the future with new eyes and a more haunting look in its eyes. This peice finishes with the exact guitar riff that began Crimson Sunrise, in what seems another life all of 23 minutes ago.

How a peice of music manages to do all that is completely beyond me, but it just does. Such emotion has never, and probably never again will, be expressed in sound, or, indeed, in any way. If all art of any form but one peice were to be wiped from the world, this one would have to be the one saved. I'm a virgin, but a friend who is not has expressed feelings that sex is the best feeling one can possibly have. If it beats listening to this I'll give God a medal when I get to heaven.