I think we should start with a little background on Mullmuzzler for those who don't know the band. James LaBrie, lead vocalist for Dream Theater, began a side project about two years ago with the idea of putting out great music, without his rock prodigy pals from his full-time band. What resulted was an amazing mesh of progressive rock,
pop, and even some jazz. After aptly naming the band Mullmuzzler (to silence one's thought before it can be expressed) because of the hectic scheduling problems and personal conflicts between members of the band, they finally released their first album titled, Keep It To Yourself in 1999. LaBrie has now returned with a follow up to his debut masterpiece.

Being a huge Dream Theater fan, this album was high on my review list. As soon as I popped it in, I knew it was going to satisfy my expectations. From the very beginning, I was overcome by the sheer power of the music. Just as I expected, James has managed to
crumble the wall of Keep It To Yourself with the release of Mullmuzzler 2. Pushing the envelope even further than his previous effort, LaBrie’s amazing arrangement of songs are near perfect. With tracks such as "Venice Burning”, and "Save Me", to songs like "Falling", and "Believe", (which are much more ballad-esqe than the rest), each retain all the elements that make Mullmuzzler 2 a truly grand album.

I actually have a personal tie to the music on this album, because when I was attending recording school at The Musician's Institute last year, I assisted on the guitar sessions with Mike Keneally. It was really great to see an amazing musician laying down tracks like "Confronting The Devil", and "Stranger". I also saw first hand how the great collaboration for this album went on. Each member recorded their tracks one by one, and it eventually turned into the amazing album I have in front of me now.

After plowing my way through the entire CD, I sat back, and all I could think was "Wow"! I can only hope there are more Mullmuzzler albums to come, which will be the next great challenge for James to overcome. But I know he can do it. He's already proven himself twice!

Johnny B.