Dream Theater

Images and Words

ATCO

*****

Wait a minute – this is a metal band? The characteristic signs of metal are all here, but Dream Theater defies classification. This band seems to appeal to everyone without jumping on a pretested bandwagon. If I could only use one word to describe this album it would have to be tasteful. These five virtuoso musicians have taken the metal genre and elevated it to a level far above the efforts of their peers.

The title of this album says it all. It’s a powerfully original combination of widely varying musical textures; a journey through smoothly shifting time signatures and meaningful, emotional lyrics. A sense of the joy of life penetrates the technically demanding musical backdrop of this collection. Each track is a mini masterpiece, many crying out for commercial radio airplay (without compromising originality or artistic value). The songs range in intensity from soothing and sparse to bone-crushingly heavy and incredibly complex. The instrumental and vocal work is phenomenal, but always melodic and appropriate for the song.

The rhythm section makes bands like Megadeth look weak in comparison. Mike Portnoy performs some of the most stunning and versatile drumming I’ve ever heard, matched by the equally adept John Myung on bass. Kevin Moore’s keyboard work is striking and John Petrucci’s guitar playing is nothing less than astounding. It’s all tied together by the outstanding vocals of James LaBrie, whose voice is smooth, powerful, and charged with passion.