Unlike my original intentions, I never got around to listening to the entire Dream Theater album Systematic Chaos until today (which happens to be my first album listen of theirs). While I never actually listened to it from start to finish per say, I had tried to over and over and only got up to "Prophets of War" before stopping (just lost interest by then after hearing the songs so many times). But today while driving I finally got around to listening to the last half of the album and all tracks (and things) considered, it's a solid album. I will say that the first and last two tracks (respectively) are the highlights of the album while the middle tracks don't leave much of an impression. It's a tough call, but I'd say "In the Presence of Enemies Part 1" and "The Ministry of Lost Souls" are fighting for my favorite track on the album.

Score: 3.5/5

I also went and bought an album at FYE today and for the first time since Saving Private Ryan (which I STILL have yet to see), I bought it without having had any prior viewing (or in this case, listening-due to the sample machines not working). What album was I so sure of liking that I just bought regardless? Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath.

Now, the two reasons I bought the CD without any prior listening is because A) I saw Heaven and Hell live in August during the Metal Masters tour and boy did they put on an amazing show (nearly topped Judas Priest for my favorite performance, but Dio was easily the best vocalist of the four acts) and B) the album was relatively cheap for ($9.99, far less than the usualy $13.99-$17.99 of most CDs). That said, I have to mention that I might have made a mistake since this is my first full album listen to Black Sabbath (yup, become a metal fan for a few short years and it isn't until now that I hear an entire Sabbath album, and the one I pick is with Dio on vocals rather than Ozzy). But don't get the wrong idea, I really enjoyed this album and would have to say as far as impressions go, I got a good first album listen of Black Sabbath.

Like Systematic Chaos, it's a tough call for which song I enjoyed the most, but I keep going back and forth between "Children of the Sea" and the title track (maybe after a couple more listens I can come to a verdict on that). The only really weak track on this album in my opinion is "Walk Away", it just sounded too upbeat and different from the rest of the album to make it flow well or sound that great. As it stands though:

Score: 4/5

That'll be it for now.