O3 a Trilogy, Pt. 3

Longtime fans of Dream Theater will remember Charlie Dominici from their 1989 debut, When Dream and Day Unite, which turned out to be his only album with the progressive metal band. Dream Theater fired Dominici, allegedly because his vocal style was "too pop." Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was quoted as saying that Dominici's presence in Dream Theater "was like having Billy Joel singing in Queensrÿche" — in other words, Portnoy acknowledged that Dominici was a skillful vocalist but felt he wasn't right for Dream Theater. Dominici, however, didn't abandon progressive metal, and he resurfaced in the 2000s with his 03 trilogy. Listening to the third part of the trilogy, it is hard to imagine why someone would think that Dominici wasn't metal enough; there is plenty of metal bravado on 03 a Trilogy, Pt. 3, an epic concept album about a terrorist sleeper cell that comes to the United States hell-bent for death and destruction but ends up falling in love with the country instead. The prog factor is quite strong on this 2007 recording, but so is the metal factor; in fact, a few parts of the 56-minute CD even venture a bit into thrash metal territory, which is unusual for progressive metal. 03 a Trilogy, Pt. 3 achieves a healthy balance of aggression and nuance, and Dominici (who turned 57 in 2008) certainly doesn't sound like someone who is inappropriate for metal (more like a headbanger who enjoys Yes, ELP, and Rush as much as he enjoys Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, and Judas Priest). More than a few Dominici fans have argued that this album is the most inspired part of his 03 trilogy; it's hard to argue with them.