Warthur Dream Theater might have thought that their triple live album schtick was starting to wear thin after Live Scenes, Budokan, and Score, because for Chaos In Motion the triple CD is only actually available with the DVD set (though most of the live album - bar an intro track and a keyboard improvisation - is available streaming). I don't think they need to have worried; this live sampling of the Systematic Chaos tour absolutely cooks.

Naturally, Systematic Chaos itself is well-represented, with all but two of its songs represented (those being Repentance and Prophets of War, the latter of which I considered one of the weaker songs on that album). In the Presence of Enemies is presented as one single 26 minute song, rather than split into two halves on the album, which is interesting in itself. As far as dipping into the band's past goes, honourable mention has to go to the extended version of Surrounded from Images and Words, extending it from a five and a half minute piece to a fifteen minute workout which ends up being a medley incorporating a good chunk of Marillion's Sugar Mice, which is a fantastic interpretation of what is already an incredible song.

It's surprising to find that Dream Theater are still excelling to this level on these triple live releases at a point when you would have thought that these would start getting redundant, but I genuinely think Chaos In Motion is an overlooked and undervalued part of their discography and it's well worth a revisit... just, lads, consider a standalone CD reissue, will ya?

AtomicCrimsonRush Dream Theater's 'Chaos in Motion' is yet another CD package featuring a detailed doco and a live performance, this time by the masters of prog metal themselves. But does it have anything new to offer?

Thankfully it delivers thanks to an incredibly detailed documentary that is one of the best I have seen. The thing that sets it apart is you feel as though you have a backstage pass of access all areas as you are taken into the holy of holies; behind the stage and in the dressing rooms as the band prepare their touring. Portnoy is the main voice and becomes our best friend as he graciously takes us into his own private world and reveals many secrets such as how his personal stage hand works with him during a concert, spraying his hands in between drumming and moving the mike stand for his vocals among other things.

We see Portnoy indulge in his cantankerous tempers, tho that's probably set up, but we hear from each member what they think of other band members and it's candid enough to be compelling on each viewing. We will see what problems occur and how these obstacles are overcome.

We hear from roadies and stage crew and find out what goes into putting on a huge stadium show. More than you might think. It was nice to see Portnoy meet a Make a Wish client who is terminally ill and he gets to drum with his hero, play Rudess trademark keyboard devices and scores a cymbal and some sticks and custom arm bands for his trouble, nice touch.

There is a meet and greet session and the band are quite honest about how they feel about their cult status. The special features are up to standard featuring the cool animations from the show and some music promo clips mainly from 'Systematic Chaos'.

The second DVD is a great concert of the tour and is even better after watching the band preparing in the documentary which really psyches you up to the concert, you feel as though you know what went into the making of the show and then you are treated to the show itself.

The set list is based on the latest album at the time plus some treasures such as 'Lines in the Sand' and a wonderful medley of DT classics. But you can rediscover 'Systematic Chaos' on this DVD and at times these versions are better than the studio versions. Dream Theater blends symphonic prog with heavy guitar effectively.

The concert footage is well edited with the fans enjoying the music and it spans many different venues of the tour. The sound is high quality as usual but there is no booklet with this DVD. Some of the songs have clips with an amusing animation to complement it, similar to 'Octavarium' from the 'Score' DVD.

One of the highlights is the incredible solo from Rudess' showcasing his trademark continuum keyboard gadget. He has as much fun as anyone, but I think the real star on this is LaBrie whose vocals are second to none and he looks great with his new facial hair. The light show is incidental to the actual music but it is sufficient as a background to the show. As a special feature the photos show the band bowing at many venues and its interesting to see where the band toured. Overall, this is an excellent package with a lot to offer on this awesome band, from conception of ideas for the tour to the actual show, this is a great DVD to indulge in.

Nightfly Whether we need yet another Dream Theater live DVD or not is open to debate but more than likely it will sell by the bucket load to the legions of die hard fans of the band who need to have everything they release. The cynical amongst you may just see this as a money making exercise, Dream Theater being well aware of the loyalty of their fans. To be fair though, this package does offer excellent value for money, consisting of 2 DVD's and also available as a 2 DVD/3 CD version which includes audio versions of the live material.

The first cd is the one that most fans will keep returning to, the live footage. Where this one differs to previous live DVD releases is that it's not one show but made up of recordings from half a dozen different shows around the world. The logistics to do this may have lead to shoddy results but in the main the picture and sound quality is very good and despite coming from different locations it all holds together pretty well. One minor annoyance is that at the end of some of the live sequences, it's broken by short pieces of chat by the band which is not needed as there's plenty of that on disc 2.

The total length of the live disc is 3 hours and the material is well chosen, in the main not re-treading ground covered by previously DVD's, in a large part down to the fact that it draws heavily from their most recent (at time of release) studio album, Systematic Chaos. The musicianship as expected is impeccable and the band put on dynamic performances throughout. Particularly pleasing is In The Presence Of Enemies which despite being split in 2 for the Systematic Chaos album is played as one piece here as it was originally intended.

Disc 2 is largely taken up with interview footage, as well as talking to band members the road crew and management also have an input and is full of facts and the logistics of keeping a band like Dream Theater on the road and running smoothly. There's also a stage and backstage tour from Mike Portnoy, going through each band members equipment and the set up backstage. Interesting, but not the stuff of repeated plays.

There's also Promo video's for Constant Motion, Forsaken and The Dark Eternal Night which are a welcome bonus and also a photo gallery, all in all offering a great and varied package.

If you haven't already been turned onto Dream Theater's brand of Prog Metal then this package is not going to change your mind but for any fans of the band, even if you already own all their previous DVD's, this one's well worth adding to your collection.