Liquid Tension Experiment (or LTE for short) are an instrumental progressive rock super group consisting of guitarist John Petrucci, drummer Mike Portnoy, keyboardist Jordan Rudess and bassist Tony Levin. Fans of progressive metal band Dream Theater will no doubt recognise those first three names. All four of these virtuoso musicians know exactly what they're doing on their own instrument of choice - but can they hold a tune together? One of the most frequent complaints I hear about Dream Theater are James LaBrie's vocals. Many listeners say that they cannot abide his unique vocal style and much prefer listening to the purely instrumental sections of Dream ...  Read the complete review

Liquid Tension Experiment is the instrumental side project of members of Dream Theater (the majority of the band) with King Crimson's Tony Levin providing impressive bass guitar that's nevertheless mostly drowned out by the guitar and keyboard work of John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess respectively. Not to say that these two individuals represent the peak of instrumental virtuosity - in fact, a lot of what they do really isn't up my street - but they impressively manage to lead the way for an entire album and rarely become boring. The style is a mixture of full-pelt noodling and slower, tranquil melodies, demonstrated most in the shift from the frantic, Pac Man ...  Read the complete review