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Liquid Tension Experiment 3

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Liquid Tension Experiment 3
Studio album by
Liquid Tension Experiment
ReleasedApril 16, 2021 (2021-04-16)
RecordedJuly–August 2020
StudioDTHQ (Long Island)
GenreInstrumental rock, progressive metal[1]
Length117:31
LabelInside Out Music
ProducerLiquid Tension Experiment
Liquid Tension Experiment chronology
When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in Chicago
(2009) 		Liquid Tension Experiment 3
(2021)
Singles from Liquid Tension Experiment 3
  1. "The Passage of Time"
    Released: January 22, 2021
  2. "Beating the Odds"
    Released: February 26, 2021
  3. "Hypersonic"
    Released: March 24, 2021
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blabbermouth.net8/10[3]
Metal Hammer[4]
Metal Injection8/10[5]
Record Collector[6]

Liquid Tension Experiment 3 is the third studio album by the American instrumental progressive metal super group Liquid Tension Experiment. Released on April 16, 2021,[1] it is their first studio effort since 1999's Liquid Tension Experiment 2.[7]

The regular edition of the album contains eight tracks, including two duets, one "on-the-fly jam" and one "meticulously arranged cover"; the bonus disc comes with almost one hour of improvisations. It was released in digital, CD, LP and Blu-ray formats, including a limited 2CD+Blu-ray artbook edition and a limited deluxe hot pink box set.[7]

A video for the song "The Passage of Time", their first composition in 22 years, was released on January 22, 2021.[7][8] This was followed up by a video for "Beating the Odds" on February 26, 2021,[9][10] and then by a video for "Hypersonic" on March 24, 2021.[11]

Background and writing

[edit]

On December 14, 2020, band members Tony Levin (bass), John Petrucci (guitars), Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and Mike Portnoy (drums) released a series of posts on social media (pictures of themselves wearing surgical masks spelling out "LTE 3") teasing a third Liquid Tension Experiment album; a picture of the four of them together with the same masks was posted the following day.[12] On December 17, 2020, it was formally announced that Liquid Tension Experiment 3 would be released by Inside Out Music in the second quarter of 2021.[13] The date, later announced to be March 26, has since been delayed to April 16, 2021, due to printing errors by the manufacturer.[1]

The album had been recorded secretly in August 2020,[14] at the Dream Theater studio named DTHQ.[15] Portnoy had previously recorded drums for Petrucci's solo album Terminal Velocity at the studio, their first release together since 2009's Black Clouds & Silver Linings (with Dream Theater);[16] the band would re-use the studio for the LTE sessions. Portnoy and Rudess also had performed together during a Cruise to the Edge a few years before.[17] The drummer said that the "insanity of 2020" allowed them some time to reunite.[17]

Also according to Portnoy, all members plus two studio professionals quarantined and took COVID-19 tests before the album's sessions.[17]

Like Liquid Tension Experiment 2, each song is described by the band in detail within the liner notes.

The track "Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey" is a follow-up to "Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure" (from Liquid Tension Experiment) and "Chris & Kevin's Bogus Journey" (from Spontaneous Combustion); Chris and Kevin is how a photographer mistakenly called Mike and Tony during photo sessions for the first album, and that has since remained a recurring internal joke and is used to title duets between the drummer and the bassist.[17] It is a drum-and-bass duet featuring Levin on the electric upright bass.[18]

"Rhapsody in Blue", composed by George Gershwin, was arranged and performed by the band during their 2008 tour; the band would record a studio version of the arrangement for the album.[18] The middle section of the band's 2008 arrangement was inspiration for the middle section of "The Count of Tuscany" off Black Clouds & Silver Linings; also, the standard clarinet introduction was played by Levin on the Chapman Stick.[19]

Track listing

[edit]

All music is written and arranged by Liquid Tension Experiment (Tony Levin, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess); except for "Rhapsody in Blue" written by George Gershwin, arrangement by Liquid Tension Experiment.[20]

CD 1: "LTE3"
No.TitleLength
1."Hypersonic"8:22
2."Beating the Odds"6:09
3."Liquid Evolution"3:23
4."The Passage of Time"7:32
5."Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey"5:04
6."Rhapsody in Blue" (music: George Gershwin)13:16
7."Shades of Hope"4:42
8."Key to the Imagination"13:14
Total length:61:42[7][16]
CD 2: “A Night at the Improv”
No.TitleLength
1."Blink of an Eye"10:28
2."Solid Resolution Theory"10:02
3."View from the Mountaintop"5:24
4."Your Beard is Good"14:31
5."Ya Mon"15:24
Total length:55:49

Personnel

[edit]

All credits sourced from liner notes.[20]

Band

[edit]

Additional personnel

[edit]
  • James "Jimmy T" Meslin – recording
  • Rich Mouser – mixing, mastering
  • Bouchra Azizy – additional digital editing
  • Matthew "Maddi" Schieferstein – band and studio coordinator
  • Sean M. Smith / Echodesignlab – design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Liquid Tension Experiment 3
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 82
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 53
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 15
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 5
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 82
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 7
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 9
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[30] 30
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 25
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 88
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[36] 5
US Billboard 200[37] 109

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Stenzel, Friedrich (April 1, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3 (Album Review)". Sonic Perspectives. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Jurek, Thom. "LTE3 - Liquid Tension Experiment". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Roche, Jason (13 April 2021). "CD Reviews - Liquid Tension Experiment 3 Liquid Tension Experiment". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Dome, Malcolm (March 22, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment's LTE3: instrumental prog metal masturbation – and proud of it". Metal Hammer. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Blum, Jordan (April 14, 2021). "Album Review: LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT Liquid Tension Experiment 3". Metal Injection. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Tucker, John (April 2021). "Progressive supergroup reunite for third album". Record Collector. No. 517. p. 125.
  7. ^ a b c d "Watch LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT Video for Epic First Single 'The Passage of Time' From Upcoming Studio Album "LTE3"". Sonic Perspectives. January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  8. ^ Ewing, Jerry (January 11, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment reveal artwork and tracklisting for new album". Louder Sound.
  9. ^ Maxwell, Jackson (February 26, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment, John Petrucci's Prog Supergroup, Premiere New Song, "Beating The Odds"". Guitar Player. Future US. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  10. ^ Maxwell, Jackson (February 26, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment, featuring John Petrucci, release new song, Beating The Odds". Guitar World. Future US. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Ewing, Jerry (March 24, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment release new video for breakneck Hypersonic". Prog. Future plc. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Axl (15 December 2020). "Liquid Tension Experiment Working on First New Album Since 1999". Metal Sucks. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  13. ^ Maxwell, Jackson (March 31, 2021). "John Petrucci's Prog Supergroup, Liquid Tension Experiment, Have Reunited". Guitar Player. Future US. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "Liquid Tension Experiment". INSIDE OUT MUSIC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  15. ^ "John Petrucci Reacts to Mike Portnoy Wanting to Hire Dimebag Darrell Over Him for LTE, Reflects on Meeting King Crimson Legend". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b Divita, Joe (January 11, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment Announce First New Album in 22 Years 'LTE3′". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d Bienstock, Richard (February 9, 2021). "Liquid Tension Experiment: How COVID "Insanity" Led Supergroup to Prog-Metal Gold". Revolver. Project M Group LLC. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Burgess, Mick (April 2021). "TONY LEVIN ( LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT): "["Rhapsody In Blue"] is the gateway drug to use to slowly draw people into the band"". Metal Express Radio. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  19. ^ Portnoy, Mike. "Two facts about RiB that people keep incorrectly commenting on". Twitter. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  20. ^ a b Liquid Tension Experiment 3 (CD booklet). Liquid Tension Experiment. Inside Out Music. 2021. 19439837732.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  25. ^ "Albumit 16/2021" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Top Albums (Week 16, 2021)". SNEP. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  28. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  29. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2021-04-26" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  30. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  32. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  33. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 16" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  34. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  35. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  37. ^ @billboardcharts (April 26, 2021). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (2/2)..." (Tweet). Retrieved April 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
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