IMAGES AND WORDS

After a sour gulp of what music industry is about with their first studio album "When Dream and Day Unite" and a singer change (Thanks God for that!), Dream Theater releases this album that worked as a catapult to fame and to the stardom. This was the record that turned them from being a local New York band playing in small clubs into a band that had sold-outs, making tour all over the world, played on the radio and also a high selling group.

This album is the seed that started to grow and flower into a subgenre that would become the loved and hated Progressive Metal in our days. This album takes you to different places in 8 glorious tracks that now are classic songs of this great band. In my humble opinion, this was, along with "Awake", one of the albums where James LaBrie really shined in his performance and vocal ability.

Starting with a song to shake you head and tear your throat, these guys from Brooklyn introduce us their new album with "Pull Me Under" that went around the world, probably the most meaningful song for this American band, because the boom prompted by this track opened the doors and created a strong fan base all over the globe; which supported and still supports them to the date.

"Another day" is a power ballad written by John Petrucci to his dying father struggling against cancer (lately he will also write a song talking about his father's last words in his deathbed included for the "Falling Into Infinity" album), with a fantastic collaboration in the sax by Jay Beckenstein.

"Take The Time" is a unique song, and when I say unique I mean it. This is the first and only song in which the New York quintet joins his five minds to write the lyrics. The influence of progressive bands such as Rush and Yes is more visible.

"Surrounded" has one of the most wonderful and intelligent lyrics written by Kevin Moore, a song in which LaBrie has one of his best performances in the album and Mike Portnoy shows his drummer qualities in each bar of this piece.

The next track is the most representative of the album without a doubt and probably in the history of the band; this song would become the seminal of what lately would be another masterpiece "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory". The song has a very calmed start interrupted by a powerful guitar. Step by step, it goes growing up and getting strength; which cannot be held back after the moving voice of LaBrie leaves it in golden bowl to change and progress however the rest of the band want it to. The complex structures added by Kevin Moore give some kind of base for the rest of the guys to explore and experiment to achieve the climax in the tapping bass solo by John Myung and brings it back to Moore and Petrucci to go on with "The Dance of Eternity"

The solo included in "Under A Glass Moon" is considered by the critics to be one of the best guitar solos in Rock & Roll History; thing that's relative, because I consider that Dream Theater has more complex and better structured solos than this one. Although, the song has a very rhetoric lyric and it's told in a very sublime way. The vertigo of the song is concluded in an excellent way to continue with "Wait For Sleep"; which goes on with the narrative of "Surrounded" and it's also the link to the last track of the album. "Learning To Live" completes this work of art with the wonderful writing of Mr. Myung, a piece of poem mixed with some irish folk elements.

A very complete work since the beginning to the end, a release that was the precursor and the ignition spark of the renaissance of Progressive Rock, because there's no way to deny the importance of Dream Theater in the Progressive Scene. Even if you don't like it, this is an album that can't miss on any progressive collection.

THROUGH NATURE'S INFLEXIBLE GRACE, I'M LEARNING TO LIVE.

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