First off, let me say that the album is nothing short of astounding - well mixed, well balanced, well written, well sung, and well played. This is easily one of my favorite albums of all time.

Alas, the DVD is marred by a poor audio bitrate. The DVD itself is a normal, standard definition DVD. The visuals are simple, but very effective. While the sound is very enjoyable, it simply won't hold up to critical listening.

Since the DVD uses a Dolby Digital audio stream, it's limited to 448 kilobits/sec worth of data. A critical ear will be able to pick this up, even with a run of the mill 5.1 system. I'd rate the disc's sound right on par with the CD when I weigh the the benefit of extra channels against the compression artifacts.

With the CD so astounding, I must say I was expecting more out of the DVD. Including a DTS audio track (at either 768 or 1,536 kilobit) would have gone a long way for me.

The music videos on the DVD have a PCM Stereo soundtrack, that sounds like it's been run though an MP3 encoder, or perhaps prepped for a YouTube upload. Very dissapointing.

I'm left happy with the purchase, and salivating for a Blu-Ray release to get to some of that lucious lossless audio.

For years I have been looking for a re entry point into the metal scene and for the most part the filth and violence, I can get that for free on television, that form the themes of too many albums has been off putting.

I came across Dream Theater at the suggestion of Amazon and then had Paradise Lost presented, the 30 second limit on previews not withstanding, I purchased the album and have been very pleased with that purchase. The idea of a theme album for me goes way back to Rick Wakeman and this albums inspiration taken from Milton's work just add to its great appeal to those with literary sensibilities.

The guitarwork is blistering and the drumming thunderous. Unless you are craving sleaze you should enjoy this album. Its great there is a section of the industry for people who, like me remember the beginnings of metal and are intelligent enough to apprecate albums like this. So it took five years...it was worth the wait

listen to the song paridise lost. the rest of the album is good, some songs are cheesy, but the songs that you like will grip you for days. I you like the band paradise lost (reflections, or one second) and amorphious ( silent waters) then this cd will make a good addition to your collection

I loved this album it seemed to just arrive in time, although many criticise it, it is a epic in own sense and the band seem to be experimenting, for Econoclast....