Category Archives: Dream Theater

Dream Theater

Overview
King Crimson released the first true progressive rock album in 1969 with “In the Court of the Crimson King.” After this seminal progressive rock album, the scene exploded with progressive rock bands like Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, and Van Der Graff Generator, and many of these bands actually topped the charts, meaning that progressive rock was actually popular, which seems unfathomable today. This all peaked around 1972-1973. After this peak period, these bands continued to release great progressive rock albums, and new prog rock bands continued to emerge on the scene like Rush and Kansas. However, once the first decade of progressive rock ended, the genre really slowed down. Many of these bands were still around and making great music, but for the most part, it wasn’t progressive rock. In the 1980’s, there was a new (but small) prog movement called neo-prog. This movement was lead by bands like IQ, Marillion, and Pendragon. I like a lot of neo-prog music, but it didn’t have nearly the impact that the early progressive rock pioneers had on the music scene. So, all in all, prog was almost dead by the end of the 80’s.

For progressive rock to survive in the 1990’s, it not only needed a new sound, but it also needed a new fan base. Here’s where Dream Theater came in. They played a brand of progressive rock that was infused with hard-hitting heavy metal. Many heavy metal fans had already been somewhat exposed to complex song arrangements from bands like Metallica and Megadeth. So, the metal fan base was a perfect fit for progressive rock, they just needed their prog to be injected with metal, and Dream Theater provided that injection. With the new sound and fan base for progressive rock in place, Dream Theater really took off as the leaders of the new progressive rock movement, and I really think that if Dream Theater had not emerged on the scene, we would not be having the resurgence of progressive rock that we are having right now (2011), and I will say that Dream Theater has done more for progressive rock in the last 20 years than any other progressive rock band did during this period. They not only kicked off the whole progressive metal movement, but because of their influence on the scene, they opened the door for a countless number of other sub-genres of prog, and they re-invigorated the original prog genre (which is now referred to as symphonic prog).

Styles and Genres
Progressive metal, progressive rock

Main Band Line-Up
James LaBrie – Lead vocals
John Petrucci – Guitar, backing vocals
John Myung – Bass guitar
Jordan Rudess – Keyboards
Mike Portnoy – Drums, backing vocals

Current Band Line-Up
James LaBrie – lead vocals
John Petrucci – guitars, backing vocals
Jordan Rudess – keyboards, Continuum
John Myung – bass
Mike Mangini – drums, percussion

Post Script
Before closing out this review, I have to mention Fates Warning. Although Dream Theater is often credited as the founders of progressive metal, Fates Warning was cranking out progressive metal albums as early as the mid-80’s, and Mike Portnoy even credits Fates Warning as the original progressive metal band. Nonetheless, it is Dream Theater that truly waived the flag for the genre.

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Dream Theater Images and Words- 1992
RMR Album Rating- 10

Dream Theater’s “Images and Words” was not the first prog metal album, but it was the first prog metal album that caught the attention of the prog community, and it was also the first one that caught my attention. It also contains my favorite progressive metal song, but more on that later…

The release of “Images and Words” in 1992 was perfect timing for the record to catch my attention. Rush had always dominated my listening time, but they were in kind of a slump with their 1991 release “Roll the Bones,” and although I was still listening to Rush’s back catalog and plenty of other classic progressive rock, there wasn’t much in way of new progressive rock that caught my attention. Metal was also in a slump at the time, and the term heavy metal had really become a dirty word in the early 1990’s due to the bad reputation that the hair metal bands had given the genre in the 80’s. So in terms of new music in the early 1990’s, I was mainly listening to grunge and alternative rock bands such as Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Jane’s Addiction. I liked all these bands (and still do), but I was never really blown away by their sound, but when Dream Theater released “Images in Words” in 1992, its sound completely blew me away. It took all the elements of classic progressive rock and merged them perfectly with the complex thrash metal sound of bands like Metallica and Megadeth.

The first element of the record’s sound that really caught my attention was the technical proficiency of each player. Progressive rock musicians have always topped the charts in terms of talent, but Dream Theater’s playing on “Images and Words” really took this to a new level. Not only were they playing complex progressive rock, but they were playing it much faster and more aggressively than any other band, and although the record was merging two existing styles of music (prog & metal), the result sounded completely new and fresh.

So, moving back to the individual musicians, you have James Labrie on vocals. On “Images And Words,” he sings mainly in straightforward falsetto. On later Dream Theater albums, he still sings in falsetto, but it’s a tougher, grittier falsetto. Labrie’s shining moment on this album (and maybe his shining lyrical moment on any DT album) comes on “Pull Me Under” when in perfect falsetto harmony he belts out the lines “watch the sparrow falling/ gives new meaning to it all/ if not today nor yet tomorrow/ then some other day”.  “Pull Me Under” is the first track on the album, and when Labrie nails those lines at 2:57 into the song, it is nothing short of amazing (Click here to listen to Pull Me Under).

John Myung has always had bass duties for Dream Theater, and although he is never in the forefront of the mix like Les Claypool of Primus or even Geddy Lee from Rush, he is no less talented. His playing his incredibly intricate, and he really shines on the album’s epic finale “Learning to Live,” to which he also wrote the lyrics (click here to listen to Learning to Live).

Mike Portnoy’s drumming is also out of this world on every song on the album. His drumming is incredibly powerful and consistent on every track, but there is some controversy surrounding his drumming on the album. It is rumored that Portnoy used drum triggers on the album, which would certainly explain the consistency of his drumming. I’ve read that Portnoy has confirmed that some triggers were used, but it was the record company’s decision and not his. Either way, his drumming is phenomenal, and drum triggers aren’t uncommon in rock music, so it personally makes no difference to me whether they were used or not. Mike Portnoy is one of the greatest drummers of all time, and like I said, he sounds absolutely incredible on every track on the album.

Lastly, you have John Petrucci’s guitar work which duels with Kevin Moore’s keyboards on almost every song on the album, and this would become Dream Theater’s trademark sound on all future albums. There is not another band that can synchronize their keyboards and guitars to the point where they are indistinguishable like Dream Theater can, and this really is the key element of sound on “Images and Words” and on all future Dream Theater releases. This synchronicity of guitar and keys is most apparent on the album’s centerpiece track: “Metropolis- Part 1”.

“Metropolis- Part 1” is stunning in terms of its structure, instrumentation, technical proficiency of playing, and lyrics, and I can easily say that it is my favorite progressive metal track ever recorded. It’s not overly long for a prog epic clocking in just under 10-minutes. The real highlight of the song is the middle instrumental section, where the music continues to build up  into a complete frenzy, and it reaches the point where each player’s instrument merges into one sound, and the result still completely amazes me every time I hear it. (Click here to listen to Metropolis- Part 1)

In addition to “Pull Me Under,” “Learning To Live,” and “Metropolis- Part 1,” you have two other epics: “Take the Time,” and the often unjustly forgotten, “Under a Glass Moon.” (click here to listen to Under a Glass Moon).  The three other tracks are not as epic in structure as the aforementioned tracks, but they are no less impressive.

All in all, “Images and Words” is a must own for any fan of metal or progressive rock.

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Dream Theater A Dramatic Turn of Events- 2011
RMR Album Rating- 9

Focus…

This album is much more focused than anything Dream Theater has released in the last 10-years, and as a result, A Dramatic Turn of Events is a complete return to form for the band and a complete triumph.

Anyone who follows Dream Theater knows that there is quite a back-story and some drama surrounding the album, so I’ll cover that first. Mike Portnoy, the band’s drummer, co-founder, and leader left the band before the writing sessions for the album began. This sent shock waves through the Dream Theater fan base and the progressive rock community. Other than the band, I don’t think anyone knows the full story, so I won’t surmise on any unconfirmed facts, but I do want to give Mike Portnoy the credit that he deserves. First of all, he is an absolutely phenomenally drummer. Plus, I really don’t think Dream Theater would have achieved the success they did without Portnoy’s leadership and work ethic. However, therein lies the problem. Portnoy’s work ethic led him to constantly seek out side-projects that took his attention away from Dream Theater, and his leadership qualities led him to become an overly domineering leader, and this is all described in detail in the Dream Theater biography “Lifting Shadows.” So on one hand, you have his attention diverted away from Dream Theater and focused on his side projects, and on the other hand, you have him still trying to lead the band from a far, and this was just a dysfunctional combination. So with Portnoy out of the picture, Dream Theater hired Mike Mangini to replace him, and his resume is extremely impressive.

“He [Mike Mangini] lectured at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and is also known for his work as a session musician. At his height from 2002–2005, Mangini was famous for setting five World’s Fastest Drummer (WFD) records. He also has written two books titled Rhythm Knowledge about his drumming techniques, a practice method for deconstructing and simplifying complex polyrhythms and time signatures.” (Wikipedia)

So, There was a big question leading up to this album. Would Mike Mangini be able to adequately fill Mike Portnoy’s shoes? The answer is yes. Mangini’s style is very similar to Portnoy’s, and personally, I don’t notice any difference in sound or playing. Plus, with Portnoy’s exit, Petrucci, Rudess, and Labrie really stepped up as the new band leaders and they definitely brought some democracy and focus back to the band.

In addition to Mangini holding his own on the drums, Petrucci and Rudess are completely in sync as always, with Rudess’ keys wrapped tightly around Petrucci’s guitar. Myung is in the background as always holding the sound together, and I want to make special mention of Labrie’s vocals, which I think sound better than they have since his debut on “Images and Words” in 1992; he simply sounds outstanding.

Moving on to the songs, it is the best set of compositions that they have put together since 1999’s Scenes from a Memory.  The flow of the album is incredible, and I really like how the songs are laid out and structured. The only change that I would make would be to drop “Far from Heaven,” and “Beneath the Surface.” Both songs are ballads, and they just take away from the flow of the album. They are not awful songs, but they just don’t add anything and come across sounding a bit sappy. The good news is that “This is Life,” the other ballad, is excellent, and it is easily their best ballad since “Another Day” from “Images and Words” (Click here to listen to This Is the Life). In addition to the ballads, you have two mid-length tracks: “On the Backs of Angles” and “Build Me Up, Break Me Down.” Although they both clock in under 10-minutes, they both have an epic feel to them that’s been missing from their shorter tracks for at least 10-years.

The rest of the album consists of four full on epic tracks: “Lost Not Forgotten,” “Bridges In The Sky,” “Outcry,” and “Breaking all Illusions.” All four of these tracks are epic in every way, but they are more focused than most recent Dream Theater epics. If these songs had been on previous Dream Theater albums, I think their run times would have been stretched out, which would have diluted their impact. These four tracks are all in the 10-minute range, but they still pack in plenty of signature Dream Theater twists and turns to stay interesting and completely engaging. They are all excellent, and I would go as far as saying that each of these tracks is better than any song from their last four studio albums.

The best of these tracks is “Bridges In The Sky,” the album’s centerpiece. The song starts with some droning sounds and spiritual chanting reminiscent of something off of Yes’ Tales From Topographic Oceans, then the song plunges head first into some killer guitar riffs from Petrucci. The song never let’s up from there, and all players are completely on fire. I also want to point out that this song is certainly Labrie’s shining moment of the album, as his vocals are perfect, as are the lyrics. The main verse is completely mesmerizing, and it is absolutely one of the best lyrical verses of music in Dream Theater’s entire catalog. Here is the main lyrical verse:

“Sun, come shine my way/ may healing waters bury all my pain/ Wind, carry me home/ the fabric of reality is tearing apart/ The piece of me that died/ will return to live again/ And at last the time has come/ to unite again as one/ to the power of the earth I’m calling/ Crossing bridges in the sky/ on a journey to renew my life/ Shaman, take my hand!” (Click here to listen to Bridges In the Sky)

This album really is a complete return to form for the band. I picked up Images and Words shortly after it was released in 1992, and I have purchased every Dream Theater album as they were released, but after Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, they seemed to lose their edge and become very formulaic, but this album certainly shows a re-energized Dream Theater with new energy and spirit. This album will definitely stay in my listening rotation for a while, as it is certainly a landmark release, and it is easily my third favorite Dream Theater album behind Images and Words, and Scenes From A Memory.

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(3 reader ratings, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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