By Rob Thompson
And so, Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie releases a digital EP, I Will Not Break, on 06 January 2014 in Europe and on 14 January 2014 in North America through Inside Out Music. This is a follow-up to his album, Impermanent Resonance, which was generally well received.
Right up front I’ll say that I found this to be a baffling and somewhat frustrating record as effectively it is more of a collection of previously released tracks either in their original formats or alternate versions. If you’re a fan of LaBrie then you’ll likely already have the vast majority of these songs in one form or another. 'I Will Not Break' is from Impermanent Resonance, 'Unraveling' and 'Why' were previously only available via the physical digipak as bonus tracks or on the Japanese version of the album Static Impulse. 'Coming Home' is an alternative mix to a familiar song and 'Jekyll Or Hyde' and 'Just Watch Me' are demo versions. The last three songs on the EP are remixes: DJs Mutrix and NeonGenesis create dubstep / electronica renditions of Static Impulse songs: 'I Tried (Jason Miller Remix)', 'Over The Edge (Mutrix Remix)' and 'Euphoric (NeonGenesis Remix)'.
For me, the EP lacked cohesiveness: no sooner had your ears become tuned to the heavy songs then a demo appeared closely followed by some meandering electronica. At its best this EP uses elements of melodic death metal with progressive flourishes: Trivium-like screams complement the clean vocals supported by keyboards and a tight rhythm section. I was personally blown away by the opening song, 'I Will Not Break' which fades in, has an infuriatingly catchy chorus and sounds spookily like Metallica’s 'Battery'. If this had been the general style of all of the tracks, and if the majority of the songs were unreleased, then this EP would have been excellent. However, what you end up with is a real mixed bag. If I were a fan then I’d be disappointed but as someone who’d not heard any of his previous material outside of Dream Theater then it was an entertaining but somewhat baffling listen. For me, there needs to be more focus on channeling the energy of metal as opposed to digressions into dubstep territory.
At the end of the EP I was left musing just what the objective was behind this release? Familiar tracks, remixes, demos and alternate mixes previously not available digitally. Hmm, I’m not sure. For sure, I Will Not Break …. into my wallet to purchase this but if you’re a more open-minded prog fan then perhaps you’d disagree and feel it worthy of your cash?
