Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Cover art by Dung Hoang
Studio album by Dream Theater
Released	January 29, 2002
Recorded	March-August 2001 at BearTracks Studios, New York
Genre	Progressive metal
Length	96:13
Label	Elektra Records
Producer	Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone (Favorable)link Sea of Tranquility link ProgArchives link Sputnikmusic link Artist Direct link Metal Storm link Entertainment Weekly (B) link
Dream Theater chronology
Live Scenes from New York (2001) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) Train of Thought (2003)

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is the sixth full-length studio album by progressive metal band Dream Theater. It was released as a double-disc album on January 29, 2002 by Elektra Records.

Influences

Influences for the album's writing and recording, according to the authors, include Metallica's Master of Puppets, Tool's Ænima, Radiohead's OK Computer (and also a Radiohead bootleg Mike brought in), Pantera's Far Beyond Driven and Mouth for War^[1], Megadeth's song Holy Wars... The Punishment Due^[1], U2's Achtung Baby, Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral, Soundgarden's Superunknown, Alice in Chains' Dirt, Kevin Gilbert's Thud, King's X's Faith Hope Love and Galactic Cowboys' Space in Your Face a Béla Bartók CD, Rage Against the Machine's The Battle of Los Angeles, Maria Tipo's Chopin Nocturnes.^[2]

Concept

The recording is a type of concept album wherein the five songs which comprise the first disc explore different themes of lifetime struggle, such as Alcoholism, Loss of Faith and Death. The sixth song — that is, the 42-minute song occupying the second disc, separated into eight parts — explores the stories of six individuals suffering from various mental illnesses. Particularly represented are bipolar, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, post-partum depression, autism, and dissociative personality disorder. Furthermore, the title of the album may also allude to the fact that each song on the album could be seen as a different form of inner turbulence, with the six tracks making another reference to the six degrees.

The musical styles of each section of the title track are direct reflections of the band's large variety of influences. Indeed, classical, folk and metal styles combine effortlessly within the track. Additionally, certain parts of the track are direct nods to specific songs from influential artists. The main theme, which appears in the "Overture", at the end of "Goodnight Kiss," and in the "Grand Finale," bears an unquestionable resemblance to Kansas's "The Wall" from their Leftoverture album. "Solitary Shell" is a nod to Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" both in name and in musical style. Also, parts of "Solitary Shell" bear strong resistance to Billy Joel's song "The Entertainer," mainly due to the unique synth-organ which sounds alike in both songs, played over acoustic guitar.

Songs

• The first track of the album, "The Glass Prison," is the beginning of the Twelve-step Suite, dealing with Mike Portnoy's story of rehabilitation from alcoholism, continued in tracks on the next albums ("This Dying Soul" on Train of Thought, "The Root of All Evil" on Octavarium, "Repentance" on Systematic Chaos and "The Shattered Fortress" on Black Clouds & Silver Linings). "The Glass Prison" is composed of three parts, mirroring the first three of the twelve steps of the AA program by Bill W. for rehabilitation of alcoholics. Furthermore, it begins with the white noise that ended Scenes from a Memory, while the last track, Losing Time/Grand Finale ends with a long chord played by (synthesized) strings, which was also used as the intro to their next studio album, Train of Thought.

• The Great Debate is a non-partisan song dealing with the topic of stem-cell research. It was originally titled "Conflict at Ground Zero", and "Disappear" was originally titled "Move On".^[3]

• In the song "Misunderstood," John Petrucci wrote and played the guitar solo, and then reversed it. He then learned how to play this reversed sound, and after recording it reversed it once more. This resulted in a solo that sounded like his original solo but with a unique twist to the way the notes played.^[4] This technique was originally developed by George Harrison, on the Beatles song "I'm Only Sleeping".

Track listing

Disc one

Disc two

Chart performance

Billboard 200:

• Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - #46

Billboard Top Internet Albums:

• Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - #1

Personnel

• James LaBrie – lead vocals
• John Myung – bass
• John Petrucci – guitar, backing vocals
• Mike Portnoy – drums, backing vocals
• Jordan Rudess – keyboards

References

External links

• The Making of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Part I
• The Making of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Part II
• The Making of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence Part III