Dream Theater - Images and Words (Album Review)

Okay, so, where do I even begin with this album? Some people call it the very first Progressive Metal album ever made (something I don't agree with), others call it the greatest Progressive Metal album ever and the greatest album DT has ever and will ever made. Yes I'm talking about the mythical and groundbreaking Images and Words.



Ok, so first of all, this album has this messianic complex that we all love. This album was made during a really tough moment for Dream Theater. Their debut album "When A Dream And Day Unite" was a complete commercial failure but this wasn't really DT's fault, there were serious problems with the record label when it came to the management and distribution that WDADU had.

DT was basically ripped-off by its first label company which offered them a tour, a single and even a music video and we all know that at the end of the day they didn't get a thing. It was also in this moment when DT realized that Charles Dominici wasn't the right singer for them and they decided to "let him go". I love that phrase, "let him go" ,come on dudes, it sounds pretty but you fired him, say it like that.

That's something that I have always thought was kinda cruel, especially when you watch Charles Dominici's early basement interviews with DT and you can see that he has the DT logo tattooed on his arm, OH DAAAAMMMNN, that must have hurted; It's like tattooing the name of your ex-girlfriend... but a little bit cooler.

Miraculously they managed to find a new label and a new singer, the infamous James Labrie. Now, they were ready for their second album but I'm pretty sure  this was their last chance; I don't think that DT would have survived another failure.

New unknown label, new unknown singer, only one bullet left and... this thing came out

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] There was no time for pain, no energy for anger[/caption]

You know... just..one of the greatest albums of all time... it happens... it happens.

A lot of people call Images and Words the greatest album that DT has ever and will ever release, and I know that because I'm one of them.

Yes, for me, Images & Words is the greatest DT album ever, this album is just perfect in every way. There's nothing I have to complain about it, nothing! Every single second of music is perfect: poetical lyrics, beautiful melodies, technical compositions that are not from this world including a great number of the greatest guitar solos that you'll probably ever hear and an overwhelming emotional atmosphere ( we must to thank Kevin Moore for that, honestly).

There's only one other album that sometimes manages to battle my I&W preference, but it all depends in what kind of mood I am, but generally I&W is the one.

Every song of this album is a famous classic: Pull Me Under is probably the most famous progressive song ever, Under A Glass Moon is one of the greatest guitar composed songs of all time. The lyrics of the songs have also been memorable and analyzed through the years. Whether or not Metropolis is about Romulus and Remus, whether or not Wait For Sleep and Learning to Live are about HIV or about the struggle of fighting a mortal disease, whether or not Pull Me Under is really about Hamlet. There are a lot of interpretation of these songs that have risen over the years and that's because they wrote those lyrics in an amazing metaphorical but also literal aesthetical way.

I also think that this album has the greatest lyrics of any other DT album... well maybe except Awake. When it comes to lyrics I&W and Awake are in a complete tie for me. Awake lyrics are a little bit more literal but full of emotions and strong feelings.

Metropolis is my favourite DT song. Pull Me Under's guitar riff that starts at 4:03 is my second favourite guitar riff ever, only top by one of the final riffs that you can hear almost at the end of The Ivory Gate of Dreams by Fates Warning.

For me this album just represents the real and honest Dream Theater, this is not DT trying to copy or imitate other style, they started imitating bands like Iron Maiden and Rush but they soon evolve and here you can see a truly form style completely developed by them, a style that changed this whole genre and inspire many musicians to come. For me this is the real Dream Theater, every time that someone mentions DT; this! is the first album I think about and every time someone asks me about them I just say: Go and listen to I&W first! Because for me, that album is who they are, or well, who they really were.

I could talk about this album just on and on but I'm afraid all that I have left to say has already been said. Images & Words is just simply one of the greatest albums of all time (talking in general not only inside the genre), the greatest Dream Theater album, and a perfect candidate for the greatest Progressive Metal album of all time.

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Dream Theater - When A Dream And Day Unite (Album Review)

So, we start this series of reviews with the very first DT album: "When A Dream And Day Unite". Which is their most underrated album of them all and... maybe I'm alone on this but , its possibly one of their best albums ever too.



"When a dream" is actually an amazing album but not a lot of people and not a lot of fans seem to recognize it as such, but why is it? Well I think there are several reasons for this: WDADU is the band's most different album of them all, especially since James Labrie is not part of it. I'm sure when a lot of people hear the voice of Charles Dominici in this album they say: "What the hell?" "This singer doesn't fit with the band", "they sound nothing like their later records", "they never play any of the songs of this album in their concerts so why bother?". And they're right in all of the above. Charles Dominici didn't fit quite well with the band and that was the reason why he got fired, I wouldn't say that they sound nothing like their later records, their songs are a little rawer than I&W and Awake, but their style is there. And yes, they almost never play any of the songs of this album on tour, but despite of all that; if you see this album as a complete standalone 80's rock/metal work then you'll find out that its an amazing album and you should give it a listen.



I wouldn't call WDADU one the most original albums that I know, the influences of Rush and Iron Maiden are present trough out every song of the album. Basically their whole style is just an amalgamation of these two. But its a beautiful combination indeed. It's also really interesting and amazing the type of compositions that they were already able to create in this early stage of their career, that's when you realize that they virtuosic skills go back to the days when they were basically teenagers.

Another thing that this album has (which is something that I cannot say about other DT albums) is the fact that is really solid, consistent and fluent.  The only weak moment of the album (at least for me) is "The Killing Hand" which is the band's first attempt in creating a narrative epic, but is truly my less favorite song of the album.

The album also has a great dark atmosphere and we have Kevin Moore to thank for that, songs like: "Status Seeker", "The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun" and "Only A Matter of Time". Have an amazing vibe and tune, a little bit melancholic but really beautiful. 


I think that the main problem that this album had, was that it came out too late, 1989. Honestly that was a late year for releasing music of this style, bands like Iron Maiden started to fade away from public attention and bands like Rush had to change their style in order to survive and Heavy Metal itself was in the moment of decline. If WDADU would have been released in 1985, I'm sure that it would have been a blast.

A great album in the wrong time :(

But a great album indeed! and you should definitively check it out, specially if you're a fan of Rush, Iron Maiden or Dream Theater. Just imaging Iron Maiden and Rush playing together with Geddy Lee on vocals.





Thanks for reading :)

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Dream Theater: Underrated? Overrated? Mainstream? The Most Important Prog Band Now?

I guess that I have a complicated history with Dream Theater. They were definitely my favourite band through a long period of time. To be honest;  DT was the band that changed everything for me: the way that I listen to music, they way that I perceive music and I know that this may sound as a complete exaggeration but they were the ones who introduced me to the whole genres of Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Avant-Garde and that's where everything began for me.

I remember, almost 5 years ago when I listened to them for the first time in the"Live At Budokan" DVD,  I was completely blown away by this band. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but most importantly, I couldn't believe what I was listening: pure musical virtuosity, complex song structures, impossible solos, a complete new musical genre for me, that I instantly fell in love with combined with my two long favourite genres of my youth: Rock and Metal.



Dream Theater was like no band that I have heard before, they were completely different in every sense of the word. The first time that I listened to them, all the other bands look like amateurs, lacking all sense of musical skills with no other choice but to  adopt a simplistic approach to music that I mocked of. Dream Theater were the greatest musicians in the world and period. And I know that's the exact attitude of a lot of youngster that have recently found this band or a lot of hardcore Dream Theater fans who only listen to them have. And yes I know, at first sight Dream Theater could seem as the greatest band out there, they are truly an amazing band, but they're not the greatest band ever (such thing doesn't exist) and another thing: they are not the only band in this genre. At first, is really easy to assume that Dream Theater is the only Progressive Metal band out there just by the simple fact that they are the most popular prog band out there and also, they have one of the most "in your face" styles of composition in Prog Metal music.

But no, there are a ton of Progressive Metal bands out there with different styles that you definitively should know about.(Pain of Salvation, Tool, Animals As Leaders, Cynic, Death is his later years, Fates Warning...) What I'm trying to say is that DT is not the only Progressive Metal band out there, you shouldn't lock yourself up and only listen to them. If you like the genre you should explore the whole genre.

The other interesting thing of DT in this modern age is the apparent course that they have spell into a lot of modern progressive metal bands of these days. I can see that a lot of recent prog metal bands want to create their own sound but; being heavily inspire by the genre itself (the genre that DT apparently conquer) they end up sounding like them. That's something interesting and I guess it most be hard to compose without being influence by the bigger and most popular band of the genre.



In my personal experience, when I listened to Dream Theater the first time, I completely fell in love with them and I kinda had the same attitude that I already describe before, but that attitude fade away quickly for me. And that's when the greatest thing that DT could have done for me happened. I began to investigate about this weird new genre that I have encounter: "Prog" and I quickly trail it back to its true origins: the Progressive Rock of the 70's and that's where it all began. Thanks to Dream Theater I discovered Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Rush, Yes, Camel, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and my favourite of them all Genesis (of the Peter Gabriel Era of course!). Thanks to Dream Theater I discovered 70's Prog Rock then I moved on to Avant-Garde and this was important because Avant-Garde music made me more open-minded about music in whatever genre, then Jazz, then Classical, then Metal once again, then RIO, then Death Metal then Indie music until the stage that I'm right now in which I basically listen to everything Prog related, everything that sounds weird and interesting, 70's and 80's Pop, Indie rock, Death Metal and pretty much everything except modern mainstream music xD.

And I have Dream Theater to thank for that because they basically opened the doors for me. And I completely love them for doing that and I know that I'm not the only one, it's very probable that if you're a reading this to; you had a similar story with this band. A lot of people love them, a lot of people hate them, some people call their music epic virtuosity combined with everything that the world of music has to offer and other people call their music just a bunch of gymnastic compositions lacking true feelings, creativity or meaning.



Some people think that the old DT was the greatest one, other people thing that the new one is the greatest stage that they ever had. But despite whatever other people may think of them, for me, they are the most important prog band right now and the greatest achievement that they did and that they're still doing to this day is inspiring people and introducing them to this genre and that's something truly amazing and is also something that only they could do. Dream Theater is a relative "unknown" band if you want to compare them with the most mainstream bands out there. But without a doubt they are still  the most mainstream prog metal band out there, at least they're mainstream enough to pop out in an MTV music video and catch the eye of a future fan. And believe me, just a few couple of Prog Metal bands can do this.

But after all of that, after all this prog  journey, no, after all this musical journey that I had and that I'm still too far to complete, I look back once again at Dream Theater and now I realize that I look at them with different eyes and I listen to them with different, truly different ears. I listen to everyone of their albums once again in chronological order to answer these questions: Are they truly that amazing and unique demi-God band that surpasses the way that a lot of other bands create music? Is their music just a bunch of gymnastic compositions with lack of true feeling and meaning? Have they already done the greatest album that they could? Are they overrated? underrated? I will try to answer all of these question in this following series of album reviews that I'm going to do in the course of these weeks, I'm going to review every DT album with a completely new perspective and I'm going to be completely impartial about this giving my honest opinion of course.

So follow me (if you like) in this series of reviews that I'm going to do to rediscover a band that 5 years ago I looked at them like Gods but now I' not really sure how I look at them in a musical sense.

Thanks for reading :).

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Dream Theater: Mike Mangini and Thoughts for the New Album

So Mangini is the new drummer of DT, and honestly I think is easily the best choice, Mangini writes and develops his music in a very similar way than DT does,  so is going to be interesting hearing them with this new member. Of course Portnoy will be miss, and I'm pretty sure that is going to be a little weird at the beginning to listen to Dream Theater without Portnoy, but, hey, he made his choice, so what can you do about it, huh?.

[caption id="attachment_79" align="alignnone" width="300" caption=""The Mikes""][/caption]

And a part of myself feels that they really needed this change, I mean, let's face it, DT was completely stuck in this last few albums, Systematic Chaos, I personally didn't like it, I mean it was OK, but just OK, and c'mon this is Dream Theater you expect more than just another OK album. The follow-up was Black Clouds & Silver Linings, the first time that I listen to it, I thought it was really Great, but then, I listen to it a few more times, and I realize that ... it was just another OK album xD.

I mean, "A Nightmare To Remember", was OK, especially the slow harmonic part, but my GOD, why does Portnoy have to sing?, his singing really didn't bother me before, but in this song, is completely horrible "Day after day and Night after night..." WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT?,

so yea, in conclusion, it is just another OK DT song.

"A Rite Of Passage" didn't like it, the lyrics are horrible, and Petrucci's guitar is surprisingly forgettable. "Wither" Great Song. "The Best Of Times" cool song, a little repetitive, but cool after all. "The Shattered Fortress"... I really don't know what to think about this song, is just all the other AA Suite Songs putted together and that's it. "The Count Of Tuscany" really cool epic,  especially the beginning and the end, but I really didn't like the middle part or the lyrics, but the instrumental section is really cool.

So yea... an OK album.

At that moment, I was really convinced that, DT was never going to release another huge masterpiece like I&W or Scenes, and then I finally realize: "They don't need to make a new masterpiece, they are already at the top of the world, they no longer need to prove anything to anyone so, I guess, they are going to continue making some cool solid music (OK albums), until they retire... I mean that's OK... why not?"

But then Portnoy left, DT was completely upside down, so many people died, and they had to start from the beginning all over again. Dream Theater "The Gods Of Progressive Metal" were in a real crisis.

But they have found a new cool drummer, and already finishing the new album (I hope, I mean is already May and they have not made any kind of anouncement). And I don't know, I have a really good feeling about this album, I think is really possible, that they're going to realize that "huge masterpiece" that I thought it was never gonna happen. You maybe think that I'm exaggerating, but if I have learned something from DT, is that they work at its maximum potential when they are going trough a crisis.

Just look at what they did after they let Dominici go, and after their first album wasn't so succesful



And just look at what they did after they let Derek go, and after having so much trouble with their old producers and record labels, and after releasing their worst album and after having suffer so many shitty years performing in clubs.



So yeah two of the greatest progressive rock/metal albums of all time, EAT THAT SCKEPTICS.

So let's hope history repeats itself.

It's funny because I never thought that Portnoy was ever going to leave DT EVER, if I had to number which members I thought were going to leave DT in the future, would have been:

1) First Labrie,

2) Then Myung,

3) Then Rudess,

4) Then Petrucci,

5) And at last Portnoy

But just look at that, the future is a complete mystery.

So that's all, thanks for reading, and post your list of " Chronologically: Who members would you have thought were going to leave DT in the future"

Be Seeing You

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