Dream Theater

Dream Theater's new album "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" is fabulous, but then I am a great fan of their music. The only missing ingredient is the absence of Mike Portnoy on drums which you can definitely feel. You can hear so many influences in DT's music, early Genesis, Emmerson Lake and Palmer and jam packed full of Gentle Giant. There is even an unashamed rip off of a dance rift aka Riverdance  on one track. .  pure genius.

When it comes to instrumental and vocal technical ability, there has never been a band which, in my opinion, could get anywhere close to the incredible Gentle Giant, particularly as Giant did not have the benefit of today's technology being a band of the 70s / 80's. I have to say though that Dream Theater, vocals apart, are very very close on the instrumental side.