"The second disc (the actual "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance Suite") is a masterpiece. Musically it's on par with Scenes from a Memory, and I like the fact that it's more concise.
The first disc, while still awesome, is more of a mixed bag though. It contains masterpiece long tracks, but also some "fillers" on a really high level. Frankly, I think they should have published the album as a one disc release with the suite plus Glass Prison and Great Debate, and the rest as a bonus disc / deluxe edition."
""Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" is an album that I do not listen to very often. It is not that I do not like it, and it is not that it is not as good as the other releases by the band. It just never caght on with me for whatever reason.
That album itself is probably Dream Theater's most extreme album - not in terms of extreme metal - but in terms of taking everything as far as possible. The tracks are extremely long, the longest one - the epic title track - clocks in at 42 minutes, and the shortest one clocks in at almost 7 minutes. Musically, the tracks are probably equally as technical and complex as on previous Dream Theater albums, but in terms of heaviness, this album is heavier than anything else released by the band previously.
I think this album would appeal to fans of progressive metal who are not afraid of heavy music, and it might also appeals to fans of heavier types of metal music who are not afraid of complex music.
(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"