Ten studio albums into a career spanning nearly 25 years, Dream Theater is showing no signs of waning musicianship or creativity. In fact, record No. 10, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, their second release for Roadrunner Records, is their most complete effort since 1999’s Metropolis Pt. 2: Scene from a Memory. With six songs topping 75 minutes, it’s easily their most progressive outing since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) while also incorporating the heavy, gothic feel that permeated much of their last album, Systematic Chaos (2007).

The band gives listeners no time to prepare themselves for what’s in store, launching headlong into the 16-minute opus “A Nightmare to Remember.” Its thrash metal leanings via Mike Portnoy’s rapid-fire double-bass drumming and some of guitarist John Petrucci’s very best shredding would have been at home on Dream Theater’s ultra-heavy Train of Thought (2003). “A Rite of Passage” (8:36), the first single, keeps the heavy coming within a more traditional song structure and features maybe the most purely rocking riff of the album. The ballad “Wither” runs just 5:26 and is one of best of the more accessible songs Dream Theater has recorded in its career.

Three awe-inspiring prog-metal epics close the album. “The Shattered Fortress” ( 12:49 ) is the stunning conclusion to Portnoy’s “Twelve-Step Suite,” a series of songs based on his experiences with the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. It contains obvious musical and lyrical references to the four previous tracks (“The Glass Prison” from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, “This Dying Soul” from Train of Thought, “The Root of All Evil” from Octavarium and “Repentance” from Systematic Chaos), beautifully tying the whole piece together while introducing a few new ideas of its own. The inevitable live performance of the entire suite will be something truly special. (Do I smell another live album? I hope so.)

In one of the disc’s few quiet moments, Jordan Rudess begins “The Best of Times” ( 13:09 ) with a tender piano piece. Petrucci later joining on acoustic guitar, recalling their An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess album (2000). The song picks up in a very Rush-like fashion, and as a tribute to Portnoy’s late father, it’s the most upbeat song Dream Theater has recorded in some time. Petrucci does some godlike soloing on this one.

The mammoth closer, “The Count of Tuscany” ( 19:16 ), is likely to become one of Dream Theater’s signature selections. It’s their latterday “A Change of Seasons,” a song that sums up musically what they have been about during the past decade, yet full of unexpected twists and turns. Any further description I could give would not do it justice.

Portnoy and Petrucci again turn the knobs as the producers, as they have for all of the band’s albums since 1999. They have done their best work yet in this area, giving the recording a monstrous sound that still leaves room for dynamics and nuance. Every band member is at the top of his game on Black Clouds & Silver Linings, which is a classic even by Dream Theater’s lofty standards.