Here's the wacky instrumental crew back for the second Liquid Tension Experiment CD! Consisting of award winning drummer Mike Portnoy, guitar extraordinaire John Petrucci (both of Dream Theater); prodigal keyboardist Jordan Rudess (who would later join DT); and one of the greatest bass players ever, Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel); the quartet creates an 8-song, 74 minute INSTRUMENTAL album (with 3 IMPROVISED songs ) that is mind-blowing in range, scope, virtuosity, creativity, and vision. 1. Acid Rain (6:35): A crazy opener that opens the flood gates on this album. This is what I guess you would call 'speed/thrash-prog'! Its progressive at its finest played at 100 miles an hour! The main riff by Petrucci is a fast percussive attack that grabs on and won't let go. The highlight is when Petrucci jams overtop of a classic Levin bass groove, one of the coolest moments on the disc. However, it does lose some focus at the end. (9.7/10) 2. Biaxident (7:40): One of the most solid instrumentals on here. For the most part, everyone restrains themselves (to a degree) on this song, with the exception of Jordan's jazz piano solos which must be impossible to play! Jordan kicks the piece off with a great piano melody, with some mellow moments captured very well by Tony's fretless bass. The solo section features Petrucci with some jazzy solos and Rudess with some of his own. A classic track! (10/10) 3. 914 (4:01): This is their first improvised piece. This song is centred on Tony Levin's bass grooves, and Portnoy's drumming really adapts to suit his basslines. No Petrucci here, and Rudess takes the forefront, with some really nice, calm leads mixed with blistering solos. This blows me away that stuff of this calibre came from recorded jams! (9.5/10) 4. Another Dimension (9:50): This mixes the regular LTE style with a HEAVY main riff as well as some cool Latin vibes! A standout here is John P., he mixes up his fast solos and heavy riffs with a Latin solo spot! A very solid track! (9.9/10) 5. When the Water Breaks (16:58): Here's the EPIC. Holy &%^$, is it long, especially since there are no vocals! This one tends to be fairly focused despite its loose structure. There are some standout Petrucci solos, and the chords he uses are freakin' genius! There is even a big drum solo and an accordion solo! Again Levin keeps all the madness in check, he's a real stalwart on the bass, leading a Cm jam with a great groove! Inspired by JP's child that was born during the writing of LTE2. (10/10) 6. Chewbacca (13:35): There next improv piece, and what a mammoth! It starts off with a staggering riff and some virtuostic guitar work, although it does get a bit unfocused and 'atmospheric' in the middle section, before an awesome ending. Again, this is genius work coming solely from an improv jam! (9.5/10) 7. Liquid Dreams (10:48): Their final improv song, and a BEAUTY! Jordan's piano work is beautiful, complex, and its hard to believe it just flowed out of him onto the piano! There's some awesome laid back guitar playing by Petrucci, and even when the bass and drums comes in, the piece is Jordan Rudess-led and laid back the whole way through. At the end, Mike's drumming is INCREDIBLY restrained as Tony Levin plays one of the coolest basslines I have ever heard. An awesome, awesome song! (10/10) 8. Hourglass (4:28): This piece is a stunning acoustic guitar/piano duet that is more like a classical or jazz piece. This is very beautiful song that shows that they can be very emotional and restrained, as well as extremely talented. (10/10) Overall: 98/100 An amazing piece of work, but its not for everyone. You need to have a large attention span, as well as an appreciation for other styles of music. Everyone, though, should try Hourglass. It’s a simple but beautiful song that everyone should be able to appreciate.
Aw, man; I have to check that out. B) I tried looking for full songs to download by them, but the search turned up empty, so methinks samples will do for now.
Yeah thats one HELL of a song! I gotta say my fav is When The Water Breaks or Hourglass though! You should get Winmx to download those songs, you can find them pretty easily!
I bought Opeth's Damnation today, and it's pretty damn good, Odaton. I guess I'll try some LTE. Wouldn't hurt, eh?
Glad you like it, Casey! It really grew on me! Yeah, try the official website, its in this thread. Go there and try the samples!