Dream Theater, “When Dream and Day Unite”, Mechanic

Many rockers got their first taste of this band when they heard “Afterlife” on our Fall Sampler CD. Others were also swooning over the advance cassette several months ago, only to have the official release of the LP delayed time and again. But, we all knew it was worth the wait, because this is, artistically speaking, one of the finer records to come our way since “Mindcrime”. It’s similar in the amount of innovation, creativity and musical virtuosity displayed on every tune, as well as the band’s meticulous attention to detail. It’s obvious from first note to last, that they are striving to get as close to musical perfection as is possible. They do not utilize a “fresh face”, a new gimmick or quick appeal tunes. They rely solely on their musical prowess; letting it do all the talking for them. With the backing of Mechanic, the ever-diligent Derek Simon and a legion of already devoted fans, they’ll have little problem establishing their presence in a very crowded metal scene, and hopefully, the AOR world as well. Sound-wise, they resemble Rush and ELP a lot, but more than that, they carry on the progressive nature of what Rush’s music used to be. They experiment with unique musical colors and emotions and weave them into extraordinarily complex and intricate, yet melodic pieces. Check out their two Terry Brown (Rush) re-mixes “Status Seeker”, (the first single) and “Afterlife”. Then try out “Fortune In Lies”, “The Killing Hand”, “Only A Matter Of Time”, or “Ytse jam”. Keep in mind, this is not a one listen record. It has depth and range requiring absolute attention.