Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3
Release Date: 16th April 2021
Label: Inside Out Music
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Dream Theater, King Crimson, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Porcupine Tree, Devin Townsend Band.
Review By: Jason Fisher
It took 22 years and a global pandemic to bring Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, Sons of Apollo), John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) back together to record Liquid Tension Experiment 3. This project has always been a merging of three creative streams originally bringing the solid core of Dream Theater in Portnoy and Petrucci and blending in Rudess and Levin. The dynamics have slightly altered with the outside influences coming now from Portnoy and Levin. However, calling Liquid Tension Experiment a derivative or a blending is to do it a disservice. Together these artists, at the pinnacle of their field, are something uniquely their own.
For fans of the first two albums, the self-titled Liquid Tension Experiment (1998) and Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (1999), this album, Liquid Tension Experiment 3, offers a comforting and familiar structure. For the newer initiate, the album is approachable and serves as a beautiful introduction to what these master musicians can create when left to their own devices, making the dive into the back catalog a pleasant ride. From the blistering guitar riffs of the opening track Hypersonic to the soaring, complex, and sometimes arabesque, Key to the Imagination which brings the collection to a close, the band shows they haven’t lost a step since they were last together. In fact, they have stepped up their game.
Track Highlights: In addition to the solid compositions you would expect from this band, the album contains two duets providing all the members with moments to shine. Chris and Kevin continue their musical rhythm section wanderings in Chris & Kevin’s Amazing Odyssey. In this track, Levin demonstrates his mastery of the Chapman Stick and Portnoy brings creative tempo and effects taking us on a special new installment of the journey. (Is that percussion track augmented by a phaser effect? I think so.) Rudess and Petrucci also deliver a beautiful duet in Shades of Hope. Amazingly, the duo recorded the song in a single take in the studio. A true gem of the album is the artful interpretation of the classic Rhapsody in Blue. The band played around with this familiar piece in live performance during the late 1990s but never took it into the studio for the full treatment. The synthesis of experimentation, a guitar solo interlude, and the strains of a familiar standard, make this a great addition to the album.
In the 22 years since their last album, there have been a number of advances in production techniques and technology. Liquid Tension Experiment 3 takes full advantage and delivers a beautiful palette of tones. Their mastery of the stereo space creates a musical blanket that wraps the listener. In the end, this album is an outstanding addition to the catalog and history of Liquid Tension Experiment and a must listen for Progressive Rock/Progressive Metal fans in 2021.
(4.5 / 5)
