j o n b

Those wacky Magna Carta guys are at it again, with another great marketing ploy to promote their label. After the slew of tribute albums ran their course, the label started setting up all-star prog lineups, coming together for one time only (that was the initial idea, at least). The second of these projects is Liquid Tension Experiment, bringing together members of Dream Theater, the Dixie Dregs, and King Crimson for a short period of jamming and recording. Exceptional musicians all, but this disc fails to show their true potential, I figure. One thing that is obvious to anyone who listens to this disc is that the guys can play their respective asses off (although I'd like to hear a little more prominence for Tony Levin, personally), laying monster licks all over the place. Unfortunately, too often it seems that chops are the only thing really going for these guys. It's not that the song writing itself is bad, per se, it just lacks some depth and musicality. That's probably a result of the short time spent writing and recording. Stylistically, a lot of this album is probably what Dream Theater fans wish Falling Into Infinity sounded more like. Lots of funky rhythms and time signatures providing a base for the heavy guitars of John Petrucci. This is a guitar driven album, mainly, with the keys providing another solo voice and the occasional musical foundation for the tunes. Highlights for me are "Paradigm Shift", the opener which leaves no doubt as to the tone of the record, and "Freedom of Speech", which starts off with nice piano work and builds to great climax and is obviously one of the more well developed tracks on the album. There were few major disappointments, to be fair. The short tracks "The Stretch" and "Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure" seem more like filler than anything else (just because a CD can hold 76 minutes of music doesn't mean you have to fill it up!). The sprawling half-hour "Three Minute Warning" (spread over four tracks for no apparent reason) was completely improvised, and sounds like it. A great display of playing, it shows little or no focus and just goes on and on (so far that the tape machine ran out of tape in the studio!). A nice idea, but overdone, I think. In the end, it's hard not to say that this is a good album, as the playing almost single-handedly makes it worth listening to. However, without a great deal of musical development, I can't see myself listening to it again and again. The guys are getting together to do this again, however, and maybe this time they'll take the time to really do it right. review by Jon Byrne — undated —

b o b

The main complaint I hear about this disc is that it's a bunch of "soulless wanking" and a competition to see which musician can play the fastest. Makes me wonder if people who describe the disc that way bothered to listen past the first two minutes, or if they just heard the opening blast of speed/prog metal and assumed the rest of the disc was going to be more of the same. The "soulless" and "high speed" descriptions certainly don't apply to the beautiful and atmospheric "Osmosis" (probably my favorite song on the album) or "State of Grace". To me the music sounds like a more impressive version of Dream Theater, with tasteful bass added by Tony Levin, amazing keyboard work from Jordan Rudess and thankfully none of the shrieking metal vocals that usually go with Dream Theater's music. I also like the half-hour jam that closes the disc. It might go on a little long (although it always seems to go by in much less than a half an hour when I listen to it) but it's more interesting than I thought it would be. Right after buying the album I popped it in the car CD player and ended up flying down the Pennsylvania turnpike with my jaw on the floor. Unfortunately, the follow-up CD LTE II seems like kind of a half-hearted affair. It seems a little more "composed", and does feature some good music (mostly in the first half), but eventually falls flat to my ears. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

s e a n

This super-group effort from Magna Carta will certainly be of interest to some fans of progressive metal. I, however, am likely not in this target audience. The album is over 70 minutes of incredible instrumental shredding, which occasional moments of music. While it is certainly impressive to witness such a dizzying array of chops, the unfortunate thing is that these pieces are seldom combined into a coherent whole, but stay rather as a storm of chaos that the listener has to wade through. While this may be fine with more esoteric forms of prog, the fact is that here we are dealing with a rather limited palette; there's an electric guitar, a bass, keys and drums all playing in about the same style the whole way through. While only the last 30-minute track was improvised, at times it seems like the whole thing was. To those who wish that Dream Theater would play out a bit more, this is the band for you. Fans of Yngwie Malmsteen will be drooling over this. Personally, I could have gone with some more songwriting. review by Sean McFee — undated —

e r i c

The boys don't waste time smacking you in the face with the opening "Paradigm Shift", which sounds like a very heavy Dregs piece of music. This heavy riffing is followed by an atmospheric section; where does the bus stop so I can get off and take a breath? "Osmosis" then completely shifts gears to a new agey keyboard based sound. Levin's bass work stands out here, and Petrucci's volume swells are a nice touch. Levin is fairly quiet throughout in comparison to the furious instrumental assaults that the others provide. Petrucci shows that he may play the fastest licks in the West but also adds some tasty fluid melodic soloing in here as well. Rudess also shows what he is made of, as he trades ferocious licks back and forth with Petrucci. The 28 minute "Three Minute Warning" from a musicians point of view may leave many envious of the technical skills on display, but I also enjoy the piece from a listeners perspective. Fusion-rock of the heaviest caliber. A really great listen. Does anyone want to buy a guitar? review by Eric Porter — undated —

b r a n d o n

A good instrumental release. This is one of those infamous "supergroups", featuring random really good performers getting together and throwing up an album. After hearing the pure shit of Asia, I have always been skeptical of these things, but LTE just might change my mind. Featuring John Petrucci (Dream Theater) on guitar, Tony Levin (King Crimson and just about every other band on the face of the planet) on bass and stick and NS upright electric, Jordan Rudess (Dixie Dregs) on keyboards, and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums, this is a solid album with 45 minutes of compositions and a 30-minute improvisation. The pre-composed music is excellent, although complaints abound about Petrucci and Rudess playing way too many notes, pointless really fast scales, and sophomoric "I can play faster than you" stuff. This is true to quite an extent - especially on the opening and closing track (#1 and #8) - but for some reason it doesn't bother me too much. The compositions are actually pretty good IMHO, too. The improv, in any case, is what really caught me; it's simply amazing. A half hour jam can be pretty damn boring at worst, but this thing is quite good and, ironically, the least self-indulgent piece on the disc. I can easily listen to it straight through, no problems, finding something new every time. That jam is worth the price of admission alone. Recommended. review by Brandon Wu — undated —