Prog metal gods Dream Theater posted a track from their upcoming album, A Dramatic Turn of Events to YouTube.
On the Backs of Angels gives us our first glance into the Mike Mangini era of Dream Theater, and I think it’s a sign of good things to come. Mangini assumed Mike Portnoy’s throne on drums, and maintained Portnoy’s style, while throwing in hints of his own flair. It works.
It’s not their heaviest song, but it sounds great, and it’s full of the technical wizardry that Dream Theater fans expect and love.
The Geek Whisperer 
I agree, it truly is a great song, and one which only gets better with repeated listens (which is the case with most Dream Theater songs). I believe this to actually be one of Dream Theater’s very best song-orientated tracks in their career – and by ‘song-orientated’, I mean a track that is focused upon a consistent structure and layout, rather than a complete jam-fest such as a track like “Beyond This Life” (which is also a mind-blowing track, merely in different aspects).
The song actually reminds me a whole lot of “Pull Me Under”, not just structurally (which, as some have pointed out, is nearly identical), but also stylistically and sound-wise. From the riffing, to the use of keyboards, to the very vocal-driven choruses; both of these songs have a lot in common. And, when it comes down to it, I actually think that I’d have to call “On the Backs of Angels” the better song out of the two. I don’t know whether it’s the fact that this is the first DT song to be released during my fan-hood (yes, it was only about a year ago that I discovered these guys), but never have I just kept wanting to go back and listen to a song repeatedly this much; “OtBoA” has truly sucked me in.
It’s a terrific track, and it gives me reason to believe that Dream Theater are headed in an upward direction.
I have been a fan of DT since the 1999 when “Scenes From a Memory” came out (my favourite album of the band still!).
I think in this song Dream Theater show their progressive side, the one we have seen in Octavarium and Falling Into Infinity. Definitely a band that renews itself in every album without losing its identity.
Nice blog by the way… :-) As Jordan Rudess always says: “see you…on the road!!”
“Scenes From a Memory” is my favorite DT album as well.
Yeah, agreed; it’s also my favourite.
It was also the first DT album that I bought. I loved it from the very first time I heard it, and it hasn’t left my heart since. So it’s great to hear many of the sounds and traits from that album coming through in this song; it gives me high hopes for the rest of ‘A Dramatic Turn of Events’.
And, while DT have returned to their old[er] sounds and stylings, it would seem, it also turns out that John Myung has returned to writing lyrics! (Source: http://theytsetimes.com/?p=1181 )
Each new piece of info released about this album is only making me more and more excited about its release : ).