Disco de Dream Theater: “Scenes From a Memory”

This CD is jaw-dropping! Hearing 5 guys play music like this is astonishing! Compare this talent to any other group and Dream Theater will blow them away. To really appreciate this masterpiece, an understanding of music and knowledge of all its complexity is beneficial. Yet those who do not fit into this category will still love every minute. Not only does the music blow you away..the storyline accompanying it is also well-written..the style of the stanzas...the mystery it leaves the listener to decipher..all truly adds to the hard work and thought put into this album. "Scenes From a Memory" (Metropolis Pt. II) continues the story left off from its predecessor, Metropolis Pt. I, which was on DT's 1992 release, "Images and Words". This isn't some "oh i bet i can play that" album that any garage band could replicate..this takes chops! Each member owns their instrument...dominates it. Mike Portnoy's "head shaking" drum patterns, John Petrucci's "eye-widening" guitar solos, John Myung's blazing bass licks, Jordan Rudess' complex, yet melodic piano wizardry, and James LaBrie's breath taking vocals all make this piece of art a must for any music lover, not just the progressive rock audience. Fans of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" will certainly appreciate "Scenes From a Memory". Albums of this caliber are few and far between.

I assume that if you are not already familiar with Dream Theater's music you wouldn't be reading this. What I can say quickly about this album is that it was the album that I always knew Dream Theater could make.

When I started listening to DT I bought "Images and Words" and immediately I was impressed with how hard it was while still being melodic. My favorite band before that was Iron Maiden and after hearing the first track of Images ("Pull me Under") I knew that after 5+ years they would be toppled. I am a guitar player who has listened to all of the shred bands, metal, etc... and I immediately fell in love with DT.

The "Awake" album is very very good, the older live album from Europe is good, "A Change of Seasons" is awesome, but I disliked "Falling into Infinity".

Scenes hits back with a ruthless vengence. The first time I listened to it I was driving to work and it made me cry for about 5 minutes. Whenever I play it on my stereo at home it makes me cry about 3-4 times per spin. It really is that good. Everything good about their previous stuff has been incorporated. On the "Awake" album the Erotomania song is similar to the overture on Scenes in that it introduces many of the main themes of the album (or song trio in the case of "Awake").

John Petrucci is awesome on the guitar. Besides being a technical wizard on the guitar his musical tastes are very similar to mine in that he likes all types of rock all the way up to thrash metal riffing like Pantera (listen to Lie from Awake). The song "Fatal Tragedy" on Scenes is incredible because it is so hard but at the same time still melodic.

The Steve Morse school of 1 note on hellaciously distorted electric guitar = 1 power chord is adhered to in many places, opening up a very different style of hard music because the typical power chord is abandoned.

The first time I listened to Dream Theater's latest offering I was a bit disappointed. I thought the band was going a bit too far into the Liquid Tension mode. On the second listen I arrived at the last track and was quite spooked by what I was hearing. I immediately logged off of Mike Portnoy's chat room and actually opened up the nice little insert with the lyrics and read as the storyline played out. What I discovered is that Scenes From A Memory maybe the most intense album I have ever heard. I really enjoy the way these guys can make the music as emotional as words. Portnoy does his best work here on the skins, Petrucci and Myung are rock solid like always and LaBrie's vocals are unmatched by anyone. New keyboardist Jordan Rudess plays excellent piano though I kinda miss Derek Sherinian's synth technique. As usual with DT, this CD has travelled with me from the car to the house to the Discman....you get the idea. After a hundred listens or so it still seems to captivate me. The only minor fault I can find is that I sometimes drift away during a few of the longer instrumental parts, but about the time that happens things get well structured again and LaBrie gets my full attention with his incredible gift. I guess that kinda explains why I can't seem to get into the Liquid Tension Experiments but really enjoy Mullmuzzler, (James Labrie's solo effort). Everyone should own this CD for sure though, no matter what part of Dream Theater you enjoy most.

No band, past or present, has been able to push hard rock to the levels of emotional intensity, technical brilliance, ingenious craft, intellectual complexity, and pure rockin'ness (if that's a word) that Dream Theater has been able to achieve. Each member of the band is a virtuoso - John Petrucci's fleet-fingered guitar solos can only be rivaled (if they can be at all) by Steve Vai's, Jordan Rudess burns his keyboard in ways I've never heard before, Mike Portnoy's drumming shifts effortlessly between time signatures that non-music theory majors might never have heard of, John Myung pulls off even the most devilish riffs on bass, and James LaBrie's voice soars and growls through a myriad of moods and styles.

This album is their masterpiece, a 77-minute ride that takes you to every place in the musical universe that hard rock ever can and will. Despite drawing on a complex storyline involving standard concepts like love and betrayal and moving on through reincarnation and hypnotherapy, the music manages to maintain a flow that, for the most part, makes perfect sense. Highlights include...the whole thing, really, but if you really want to hear the band at work, listen to the thrashy Beyond This Life, the stylistic diversity of Home, and the mind-boggling The Dance of Eternity. The album's masterpiece, however, is the gospel-style The Spirit Carries On, in which John Petrucci squeezes more emotional power out of an electric guitar than his very best hard rock peers could ever hope to achieve, followed by a magnificent and magnificently soulful gospel finale.

After owning this CD for 2 years and God only knows how many listenings, I still find something new each time and am thrilled by every minute of it. Recommended above every hard rock album that has ever come out or ever will.

Dream Theater has come a long way from their debut album "When Dream And Day Unite". Anyone who has been following this Long Island based band for the past 10 years would have noticed something very different about the band: Dream Theater has matured. Not only does it show in their songwriting, but also in the fact that there is very very little sensless shredding on this album. Every piece of music was written very carefully and accurately to convey whatever message required. The melodies are powerful, lyrics are poetic, and the theme is... simply amazing. A far cry from their debut.

Images and Words(their second album) incorporated Metropolis Pt I, but that song was very dense and compact. Now, with a full album at their disposal, DT actually focuses on the story behind the song rather than pure blazing speed and technique. (although there is a bit of that occasionally) Metropolis II: Scenes From A Memory is a powerful and moving audio movie, and probably the best DT has produced in their 10 yr career.

This album is highly recommended for any audience who simply wish to enjoy a nice evening of musical euphoria.