Dream theater show that they're still going strong even after 20 years with Octavarium.
The album consists of 8 songs all based around a theme of 5 and 8. The album is solid from start to finish and shows a wide spectrum of what Dream Theater can produce with ballads and radio-friendly songs such as "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within", Metal pieces such as "These Walls" and Prog Epics such as the title track "Octavarium" which stands at 24 minutes.
The only downside I see to this album is the lyrics, which are at times a little bland. That aside, this is a brilliant album that is a must for any Dream Theater fan.

With "Systematic Chaos" just around the corner, it will be interesting to see how it measures up to Octavarium, and I have my concerns having heard a couple of tracks already. As for this 2005 release, it is yet another 5-star release by the band largely credited with dragging prog-metal's sorry backside into the nineties and beyond. All tracks are excellent, and it even has the radio-friendly "I Walk Beside You". "The Answer Lies Within" is catchy too, but a very slow track with a simple but effective piano. But your money will be spent on the last 2 tracks. "Sacrificed Sons" is 9/11 all over again, and the radio/tv edits at the beginning are used effectively as DT do on SFAM. The title track, though, is a masterpiece and a mini SDOIT. Absolutely love it, and if Systematic Chaos turns out to be as good, the boys will have done it again.