During the final years of the 20th century, then Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy founded an instrumental prog rock supergroup with guitarist/bandmate John Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan Rudess (then of Dixie Dregs), and King Crimson bassist/Chapman Stick master Tony Levin. They issued two highly acclaimed studio outings and toured through 2008. Apparently, the mandatory downtime imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic provided the individuals with the necessary scheduling space to write and record together for the first time in 22 years. Socially distanced in a New York studio, the band composed and recorded LTE3 in July 2020. Opener Hypersonic was the last cut recorded. It is also the closest aesthetically to what appeared on Liquid Tension Experiments earlier records. The first 30 seconds deliver a dazzling, knotty sprint through angular twists and turns. It reminds us just what LTE are capable of, but also serves as an introduction to the expansive musical journey that ensues. Petrucci careens through sharp, meaty metal riffs as Portnoy buoys him with some of his most intense drumming since leaving Dream Theater. Levin and Rudess engage in savvy fusion interplay before the quartet come together and lift off amid an orgy of tempo and key changes. Beating the Odds is an adrenaline-fueled rocker. Centered on a syncopated four-note guitar and bass riff, it showcases the bands ability to turn a hip vamp inside out and expand it in a straight but ever-evolving line to attain the majestic. It is arguably the finest showcase for Petruccis incendiary playing here. As evidenced by the all-too-brief Liquid Evolution, LTE dont merely engage in super-chopping excess. The tracks languid pace, complex harmonic structure, and glorious keyboard and guitar interplay combine to offer a kind of new age 21st century prog. Rudess pianism almost steals the show on The Passage of Time. His consummate melodic invention weds jazz, rock, blues, and classical tenets. Petrucci indulges a winding, expansive solo appended by driving fills from Portnoy and Levin, but Rudess anchors the song, offering the guitarist an advanced tonal palette to play off. Two duets -- Chris & Kevins Amazing Odyssey between Levin and Portnoy, and Shades of Hope for Petrucci and Rudess later on -- break up the episodic prog mayhem; theyre pleasant, but could easily have been left off the set. A 13-minute read of George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue is resurrected from the bands last tour. Gershwins episodic pomp and circumstance is followed to the letter, but LTE punctuate it with maniacal shredding, angular countermelodies, circus prog time changes, and a hard-grooving funk interlude. The episodic, suite-like closer Key to the Imagination places Petrucci up front, but Rudess piano and keyboards provide a sonic template for expansive harmonics and knotty key changes as the band explore the prog metal stratosphere guided by Portnoys break-laden beats. Its breathtaking. Ultimately, LTE3 doesnt register the same degree of awe the earlier outings did, but it may be the most musical in the bunch, and therefore, well worth the wait. ~ Thom Jurek

Rovi