IMAGES AND WORDS

Among the bands they thank are WATCHTOWER, Bruce Dickinson, and as they say in the liner notes "FATEZ WARNING (Jus' kiddin' !!)". They do have a sense of humour. This was such a ground breaking album, not only making this band famous, but at the same time drawing a lot of fans into the Prog genre. Because of how influential it was I have to respect it, plus there's some great tracks on here.

"Pull Me Under" certainly won over a lot of Metal fans and gained them exposure on MTV. The riffs, drums and vocals are all fantastic ! Check out the blazing guitar solo 6 minutes in. An amazing opener. "Another Day" opens with some tasteful guitar solos and they come back later. This is a ballad-like tune at times with lots of relaxed sax and mellow vocals. "Take The Time" has it's moments but it's a little inconsistent for my tastes. Too poppy I guess. "Surrounded" starts off sounding like a sappy ballad. Yikes ! Fortunately that changes as the song plays out. "Metropolis-Part I" features some absolutely amazing drumming from Portnoy.This song really shows off the skills of each member of the band. Great song !

"Under A Glass Moon" has some heaviness and the drums are upfront. Some scorching guitar solos as well. "Wait For Sleep" is a ballad with some beautiful piano melodies from Moore. "Learning To Live" is another incredible tune. So many changes in tempo and the riffs, synths and vocals all shine. I was reminded of RUSH when I heard the synths late in the song.

This was DREAM THEATER's second record, and their first with new vocalist James LaBrie. I enjoy the follow up works "A Change Of Seasons" and "Awake" more than this one. Still I have to give this 4 stars because it is an excellent addition to your prog collection and it was pretty ground breaking at the time. The first song and the last four are amazing tracks.