Jordan Rudess plays horror movie piano in "Forsaken" before John Petrucci’s wicked guitar sinks its teeth into the mix. The soft picking of the guitar in between the crushing riffs, mixed with the dark bass and punctuating drums give this song a rich diversity of sound. John Petrucci’s lyrics in this tune work great within the heavy metal progressive sound of the band. This track is actually tremendously catchy and will latch onto your jugular vein like a vampire bat.

For my money the big killer tune off this disc is "Constant Motion." I double dare you to not move your feet, head or hands while listening to this third offering. The ghost of Metallica floats thru this ripping, active track. Besides John Petrucci’s awesome juggernaut of guitar riffs, Mike Portnoy’s Hall of Fame Percussion and background vocals stand out. James LaBrie’s vocals and John Myung’s bass are insanely good. Petrucci’s solo is constructed and played brilliantly and then he hands off the solo baton to Jordan Rudess who whips out a frenzy of keyboard madness that blends wonderfully with the heavy riffage. Best song I’ve heard from any album this year!

"The Dark Eternal Night" is the heaviest track DT has recorded so far. It’s totally mosh material that will get your head banging to the thrashing guitars and wicked double bass drums. It’s important to note the band retains their trademark ability to capture melody within the thick riffs and distorted vocals. The solo section within this nearly nine-minute track is done with speedy fingers and pounding percussion.

Ten minutes of somberness is captured in "Repentance." This fifth track has a reflective Pink Floyd mood and features the vocal guest appearances of Mikael Akerfeldt, Jon Anderson, David Ellefson, Daniel Gildenlow, Steve Hogarth, Chris Jericho, Neal Morse, Joe Satriani, Corey Taylor, Steve Vai and Steven Wilson.

"Prophets of War" has really cool build up which starts out kind of soft, slowly building. Mike Portnoy & John Petrucci’s background vocals are done in Queen-like fashion. The HUGE vocal chant the band recorded with invited fans really pumps up the tune’s power. Mike Portnoy speaks the truth in the middle of the tune and it completely works. James LaBrie’s lyrics are strong and make you think twice about the current mess our country is involved overseas.

I love the dark tinge of "The Ministry of Lost Souls." Petrucci’s meloncoly guitar chords sound cool. The vocal exchange between lead and background vocals play a big part in the first part of this fifteen-minute epic. John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, MikePortnoy and John Myung do some remarkable things in the solo section before bringing everything back down to finish up the tune.

DT let’s thing happen naturally in "In The Presence of Enemies – Part II." Jordan Rudess’ gentle piano and John Myung’s bass usher the band into the wickedness that begins with John Petrucci’s fiendish guitar 3 minutes in. Petrucci’s lyrics delve into horror film territory. The energy in this track is contagious as the band takes off after the large crowd chants in FRANKENSTEIN fashion. Rudess delves into some funky keyboard sounds after the ten-minute mark before John Petrucci rips the flesh off his guitar eleven minutes in. The lightning fast abbreviated arpeggios interspaced are sweet. Rudess and Petrucci then go into "Flight of the Bumble Bee" mode once again to bring the album full circle. Rudess’ main rhythm in the high pitched screaming notes is nothing short of awesome.

This Special Edition comes with a 90-minute documentary Chaos in Progress: The making of Systematic Chaos Directed by Mike Portnoy. This is a one of a kind behind the scenes look at this album from beginning to end. I really like how Portnoy choose to tell the story over the course of the songs playing in album order. It’s unique how Portnoy arranged the audio sections to be an assortment of different tracks, quite often using single instrument tracks to give us a chance to hear those elements alone. This made the listening experience much different than the CD and special indeed. The audio mix of this DVD will have your Surround Sound System grinning ear to ear with happiness.