Harley Carlson of MetalReview.com regarded "Octavarium" as "successfully the band's ability to craft emotive music," although noted that it is "unquestionably Dream Theater, yet there is something missing." Vik Bansal of musicOMH praised "Never Enough", "Panic Attack" and "Sacrificed Sons", but dismissed "The Root of All Evil" as "Dream Theater by the numbers". He criticized "Octavarium" as "bloated", although noted that fans of the band's "A Change of Seasons" would enjoy it. He said that "there's enough on the remainder of "Octavarium" to keep the rest of us interested and the prog rock haters whining dismissively". Writing for "Exclaim!", Greg Pratt praised the album's artwork and production, but said that "there’s nothing that blows any minds here, or even gives a mild bend; hell, a good chunk of this disc feels like basic radio rock from the local old-guy bar band". He noted that although there were some longer songs on the album, "this just feels like 76 minutes of overdramatic rock, too heavy on the light and weak, and not enough time spent on just showing off".