DREAM THEATER

This album in my opinion is great! Songs like Illumination Theory, Enigma Machine & The Enemy Inside are great more heavier songs, but songs like The Looking Glass & Along for the Ride are more calm songs that are not only shredding and odd time signatures. So because this album has heavy and more calm songs, i like It. But in my opinion the actual sound & mix on the album should be better. The drums are too quiet and the snare sound is pretty awful in my opinion. I think that the Guitar and bass sounds too "dark" and too heavy. But the songs are great so i like the album very much.

Review Nº 739

"Take The Time (The Warner Years 1992-2005)" is a compilation album of Dream Theater that was released in 2009. As it name indicates, it comprises tracks when the band was linked to The Warner record label, between 1992 and 2005. Thus, it has tracks that were released on their second album "Images And Words" from 1992, their third album "Awake" from 1994, their fourth album "Falling Into Infinity" from 1997, their fifth album "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory" from 1999, their sixth album "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" from 2002, their seventh album "Train Of Thought" from 2003 and their eighth album "Octavarium" from 2005. So, "Take The Time (The Warner Years 1992-2005)" has seven tracks from "Images And Words", two tracks from "Awake", six tracks from "Falling Into Infinity", five tracks from "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory", four tracks from "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence", two tracks from "Train Of Thought" and four tracks from "Octavarium". The tracks were all put in the chronological order.

So, "Take The Time (The Warner Years 1992-2005)" has thirty tracks. "Pull Me Under", "Another Day", "Metropolis Part 1 "The Miracle And The Sleeper", "Take The Time", "Surrounded", "Under A Glass Moon" and "Learning To Live" are all tracks that were released on "Images And Words". Of the eight tracks of "Images And Words" almost all are present. The only exception is its shortest track "Wait For Sleep". "Pull Me Under" is a great track that represents an excellent opener to that album. "Another Day" is a beautiful and melodic song, one of their best in their soft style. "Metropolis Part 1 "The Miracle And The Sleeper" is pretty much recognized as a fan favourite for some many good reasons. "Take The Time" is a catchy but yet a technically complex song, a classic of the band. "Surrounded" despite isn't as catchy as some others, it's not less beautiful and complex. "Under A Glass Moon" is a great track with so many great elements on it. "Learning To Live" is the most progressive song on that album ending it perfectly well. "Scarred" and "Space-Dye Vest" are two tracks that were released on "Awake". "Scarred" is one of the best tracks on that album and it became a classic track of the band. "Space-Dye Vest" is a simple but hunting beautiful piano piece, a perfect closer for that album and a great farewell of Kevin Moore from the band. "New Millenium", "Peruvian Skies", "Hollow Years", "Burning My Soul", "Hell's Kitchen" and "Anna Lee" are all tracks that were released on "Falling Into Infinity". "New Millenium" is an excellent track with a very catchy feel. "Peruvian Skies" is another truly excellent track on that album. "Hollow Years" is a beautiful ballad with a great acoustic sound and a nice vocal work. "Burning My Soul" is a heavy track that sounds somewhat similar to many other band's songs. "Hell's Kitchen" is an instrumental, one of their simplest instrumentals, but it's simply amazing. "Anna Lee" is a piano ballad and definitely it's a very beautiful song. "Fatal Tragedy (Scene Three)", "Home (Scene Six)", "The Dance Of Eternity (Scene Seven)", "One Last Time (Scene Seven)" and "Finally Free (Scene Nine)" are all tracks that were released on "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory", a conceptual album divided into several scenes. So, I'm not going to talk about these individual parts. So, "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory" is my favourite Dream Theater's album, a classic prog album that fits among the greatest prog masterpieces ever amde. "Blind Faith", "The Great Debate", "War Inside My Head" and "Solitary Shell" are tracks that were released on "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence". This is another conceptual album, and as happened with "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory" I'm not going to talk about these individual tracks. So, "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" is another amazing album of Dream Theater that belongs to one of their best works ever. "As I Am" and "This Dying Soul" are two tracks that were released on "Train Of Thought". "As I Am" is great, intense and dark, and it's very heavy. "This Dying Soul" is an amazing track that shares some lyrics and a riff with its predecessor track, of the call "Twelve Step Suite". "The Root Of All Evil", "The Answer Lies Within", "I Walk Beside You" and "Panic Attack" are all tracks that were released on "Octavarium". "The Root Of All Evil" is a cool song with its dark vein, great riffs and nice chorus. "The Answer Lies Within" is warm, full and melodic and I like the use of a string quartet there. "I Walk Beside You" is merely a good and humoured pop song in the style of U2 or Coldplay with nothing to do with Dream Theater. "Panic Attack" is a great track, the heaviest and most truculent track on that album. It represents one of the best moments on that album.

Conclusion: "Take The Time (The Warner Years 1992-2005)" is a nice compilation album of Dream Theater that has some of the best tracks written by the band. It's a good showcase of the band when Dream Theater was linked with the Warner record label. And all of us who are a fan of the band and all who are used to Dream Theater's career know that those years were certainly the best, most creative and probably most prog of them. Those years include some of their best works, "Images And Words", "Awake", "Metropolis Part 2 ? Scenes From A Memory", "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" and "Train Of Thought". Still, despite its quality, this compilation cannot substitute all those great works.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Released in 2022 as part of the 'Lost Not Forgotten Archives' series, 'Live At Wacken (2015)' sees Dream Theater make a stop on their 30th Anniversary tour at the world-famous German heavy metal festival.

With only an hour to spare, the band make a brief run through a number of their albums, with a set list that incorporates all their major elements, both heavy and melodic ('As I Am', 'Panic Attack', 'The Spirit Carries On'), and full-on progressive ('Metropolis Pt. 1'). No easy task, given the wealth of their back-catalogue, as well as the duration of most of their songs.

As expected, the musicianship is superb, with the band on top form and really smashing the instrumental side of things. Sadly, as always, vocalist James LaBrie is tough to listen to at times, especially on the older material. He's struggling, but he tries anyway. Bless him.

Overall, 'Live At Wacken' is a decent enough live album. It's not essential by any stretch, but die-hard collectors will certainly enjoy owning it and giving it a spin or two.

'Live At Madison Square Garden (2010)', recorded July 12th 2010 at the "world's most famous arena", sees Dream Theater playing to their hometown crowd as the opening act for metal legends Iron Maiden. The fact that Dream Theater are a headline band themselves shows how much of a big gig this was for them, and so I can totally understand why they'd want to release this under their line of "Lost Not Forgotten" series.

Consisting of six tracks and clocking in at only 50 minutes, this is a relatively short affair as far as Dream Theater live albums go. The set list caters to the heavier side of their fanbase, which would make sense considering who they were opening for, although surely Maiden fans wouldn't have cared that much. I'm sure most of them probably like Dream Theater anyway.

As for the recording itself? it's okay, I guess. The sound is fine, the playing is flawless, although LaBrie's vocals, as always, are a little strained live. Drummer Mike Portnoy randomly speaks a number of times mid-song, which shows us his enthusiasm and excitement, but probably irritated the hell out of his bandmates. Two months after this concert happened, he would do the unthinkable by handing in his notice and departing the band he helped form.

Overall, 'Live At Madison Square Garden' fits the bill perfectly for this line of releases. It's a nice gem for collectors to own, and highlights a special moment in the bands history, but ultimately, after a couple of listens, it doesn't really have that much replay value. OCD completionists, like me, will snap this up, regardless.

Whenever a band releases a self-titled album, there's always that feeling that this is their definitive piece of work, something that so truly encapsulates their sound and legacy that no mere title will do. Simply put, this is supposed to be THE Dream Theater album.

And yet, it's just that. Another Dream Theater album.

The progressive metal legends have been one of my all-time favourite bands since the early 2000's, and each of their previous twelve studio albums or EP's have all garnered a four or five-star rating. But sadly, the band have finally put out an album that doesn't quite match up.

Why? I don't know? the magic just isn't there. Whilst previous album 'A Dramatic Turn of Events' saw the band continue onwards after the departure of original drummer Mike Portnoy, this outing is starting to show that perhaps without Portnoy's drive and vision, the band really are on autopilot.

All the usual traits are here. Absolutely fantastic musicianship, with incredible chemistry between guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and James LaBrie's voice still sounds great despite wear-and-tear. But the songs, ugh, they're not awful, but damn, these took a lot longer to get into than previous output. 'The Looking Glass' and 'Along For the Ride' are pretty decent, and the usual "epic track" of the album, 'Illumination Theory' is pretty good, but nowhere near holds up to classics like 'A Change of Seasons', 'Octavarium' and 'The Count of Tuscany'.

Overall, 'Dream Theater' isn't a bad album, it's just, kind of there. When I can be bothered to listen to it, it's alright, and has its moments, but mostly, I just find that I can't really be bothered to actually listen to it.

Celebrating 25 years of arguably their best and most important album, as well as THE album that set the blueprint for all of progressive metal to follow, Dream Theater played the entire 'Images and Words' album throughout 2017, and as recorded and released here, this was the performance in Japan, a country which has been very kind to the band over their careers.

With that said, I don't really know what to make of this. 'Images and Words' is without doubt, my favourite album of all time. It changed my life when I first stumbled across it back in 2003 at the age of sixteen, and to this day I still consider every track an absolute masterpiece. And yet, this particular release doesn't really do anything for me.

I mean, there are some obvious detriments, for one thing, James LaBrie absolutely struggles to sing a lot of this now. Age, and a well-documented vocal incident in the 90's, hasn't helped. Of course, being a live recording means that the sound isn't as polished and clear as the studio album either. Then there's just the general question? why? Why bother releasing this at all?

The answer is simple. Because there are prog nerds such as myself that would snap this up in an instant, if for no other reason than because it's another Dream Theater CD! But it's not all bad, for what it's worth, 'Images and Words' IS indeed an absolute classic, and the band have added a few small touches here and there. It makes the album listenable, but only just.

So with that said, buy it, don't buy it. Whatever. This is one for the die-hard fans. By all means, if you don't have 'Images and Words' then why are you even reading this? Get the bloody thing! It's only one of the greatest albums ever! But 'Images and Words ? Live in Japan'? it's basically what it says it is, and not worth owning unless you're a nerdy collector like me, who must own everything, then proceeds to never listen to it.

There are many beautiful tributes to Charlie around the internet, so I decided to write a few words about the album which was so important to me, especially at that time when prog metal was ignored even by rock and metal press in my country and the only valid pieces of information were delivered from real enthusiasts and their fanzines. I remember like today the day i got the album on cassette from my friend. After the audition I was shocked, all those background effects and the keys sounded like some kind of 80s video game to me. I was blown away by the musicianship and loved Dominici's voice..I watched the making of When Dream and Day Unite for the first time many years later. Didn't realise how good he was live in most of those tunes. The production may not be as good as their other albums, but you cannot fault its consistency. Bearing in mind that the band (except Dominici) were barely in their 20's when they recorded it is quite staggering. Yts' Jam remains one of my favorite instrumentals from the band; whilst Afterlife and A Fortune in Lies contains some of my favorite John Petrucci solos The Killing Hand is my favorite song from the Charlie era of the band. Status Seeker may be more accessible, but it's a great fun song to listen to. To conclude WDADU is a wonderfully groundbreaking album connected with many great memories from my youth.

I first heard this album when I was 12years old and first discovering my musicial identity. I lent into Prog heavily back then and this album was in heavy rotation. Of course, at the time, I was rather impressionable and liked most of what I heard. As the years went on, I broadened my horizons and shifted away from Prog Metal to more general Prog (amongst other genres).

Well, I have now circled back and listened to this album again as a mid 30-something year old. My goal was to revisit childhood albums and critically evaluate them. Let me just say - this album is a masterpiece. From the album's concept and storytelling to the instrumentation to the transitions to the general "mood" that is evoked throughout, there is something magical here.

I haven't listened to much DT beyond Octavarium, but with the recent news of Portnoy returning to the original lineup I am most definitely excited to see what they have in store.

The first DT album that divided both critics and fans, as well as the first album on which it was felt that the creativity of Kevin Moore is irreplaceable. The story begins when the new management of East West Records asks the band to start making "more acceptable music" in fact that simplifies the structure of songs so that they can be broadcast on radio stations. In general, there is nothing wrong with that, the black album Countdown to Extinction as well as Empire were also recorded according to this pattern. For this purpose, the famous hitmaker Desmond Child was hired, who started his career in the cult film "The Warriors" and in the 80s became famous by writing the biggest hits for Bon Jovi, Kiss, Alice Cooper and many other rock and pop artists. He and Petrucci spent time in Florida where they made a new version of "You not Me". Regardless of what was thought and what today, many fans claim, in my opinion, it didn't happen, because their quality as musicians prevented the quality of the material from being diluted in some way, and since its release, I've been of the opinion that this is an excellent album, of course not at the level of the previous two, but still I prefer it to the praised "Metropolis 2". There are songs (just one or two) that are quite "radio-friendly" although not worse than others but also some of the best songs like Hell's Kitchen, Anna Lee, but first and foremost, Peruvian Skies.Even the production of the album, which was done by Kevin Shirley, known for working with some of the most successful groups, was more adapted to the band itself than he tried to change them. Every DT record from the 90s is fantastic and different from the previous one, and this is one more reason why they are special.

I have always enjoyed the album. I'd call it ONE of my favorite DT albums, but, not my #1 DT album.

So, here we go?.

Track 1 - 6:00

One of my faves from the album, I often get it stuck in my head randomly. ("6:00 on a Christmas Morning?) I love the underlying rhythm of Portnoy's drums, with the Petrucci/Myoung riff over the top. Then that change at "Melody walks through the door?."always gets my attention. As with all things DT, the musicianship is amazingly precise and stunningly good. Odd meters all around. I have read previously that DT takes a day to just create a click track for each song before recording, due to all of the time changes. I'm going on record that I LOVE James LaBrie's vocals! I have heard his voice criticized frequently. The song ends with a bit of a chaotic crescendo with spoken word parts underneath.

Track 2 - Caught In a Web

I love the contrast between the rhythmic verses and the melodic choruses. Excellent vocal harmonies on the chorus.Great precision instrumental break, but of course, that's what DT does better than most. Simply monstrous song.

Track 3 - Innocence Faded

This track isn't AS heavy as the first two. It almost sounds as though this one was possibly intended to get more radio airplay. Even so, there's no doubt that it's a DT track. LaBries vocals hit the stratosphere on this one. Nice keyboard beds from Kevin Moore on his final DT album. Nice melodies throughout. I can feel the Rush influence in this one. Excellent guitar solo at the end from Petrucci.

Track 4 - Erotomania

Great instrumental track, which somewhat works as an "overture" for the album (even though it is 3 tracks in). We hear some themes of songs that are still upcoming on the album, particularly "The Silent Man". Of course, it almost goes without saying that there are outstanding performances from the 4 instrumentalists in the band. I love the organ at approximately 4:20. And jeez Petrucci starting around 5:10! Then the amazing Portnoy drum fills. It ends with a nice "wind-down."

Track 5 - Voices

At just under 10 minutes, this is the second longest track on the album, and it is quite epic in scope.

Beginning with a Myoung bass riff, accented by guitar & drums, we go into some odd meter ensemble playing before it drops down to quiet vocals and piano. The music slowly builds with guitar flourishes and bass/bass drum accents. Then things go up a notch or two going into the chorus.Once again, outstanding soaring lead vocals on the chorus from LaBrie. There are some underlying spoken word parts beginning around 4:30 as the instrumental parts become more intense.Then around 5:10 things drop back down for a quiet verse, this time accompanied by a clean guitar part. We get a wah-wah guitar solo starting around 7:25.EVH style tapping begins around 8:05. An intense vocal section follows the guitar solo, into a chorus. There is a big finish with a mellow tag at the end. This leads directly into?

Track 6 - The Silent Man

This is an acoustically based ballad. The melody was previewed earlier in Erotomania. We have a nice "sing-songy" melody in the chorus. A brief acoustic solo happens between verses. At 3:48, this is the shortest track on the album.

Track 7 - The Mirror.

Starts with a bit of a prog-metal shuffle, for lack of a better term, before turning into a more syncopated rhythm with keyboards and, later, lead guitar on top. The vocals start in a low range and build. The song builds in intensity before returning to the syncopated verse. Spoken word parts that are low in the mix return as a recurring feature on the album. Big change at 5:20 ("I'll never hurt you again."). A Portnoy/Myoung rhythm bed sets the stage for the guitar solo with keyboard flourishes. The song abruptly ends and then?.

Track 8 - Lie

?takes over at a much faster tempo. Intense keyboards build over a Bass/Guitar/Drums rhythm bed leading to the first verse in a low vocal register. The chorus jumps up an octave ("Don't tell me?"). I like the vocal rhythm and wordplay that begins around 1:40 with "Mother Mary, quite contrary?" There is a sudden rhythm and feel change at around 2:35. This may be the "heaviest" track so far. Morse code rhythms start at about 3:40 to back the mind- blowing guitar solo. This is followed by another chorus. Precision rapid fire instrumental section just before 5:00, then a slower section guitar solo over the opening rhythm pattern. Lots of Petrucci guitar wizardry closes out the song.

Track 9 - Lifting Shadows off a Dream

This one begins with mellow electric guitar harmonics over bass & keys with a subtle drumbeat. Moore introduces a keyboard melody before the vocals begin. This one again seems a bit more "radio-friendly." The vocals of the chorus are melodic, and Petrucci gives us a riff that utilizes delay-effects. This gives way to sustained power chords under the next verse. Then the U2 style delay guitar returns for the next chorus. The melody changes before going into the instrumental break, which is melodic over a mid-tempo beat. Vocals return culminating in a long-held note before the next chorus. One thing that DT does effectively, is making things different each time a section of a song returns.

Track 10- Scarred

At nearly 11 minutes, this is the longest track on the album. We begin with a bit of a jazzy feel here?well, jazzy for DT, anyway. Sustained lead guitar lines with volume swells lead into a more bluesy guitar solo. The first verse starts in a low octave before jumping up an octave in the second half of it. The rhythm and intensity changes around 2:10, getting heavier. The second verse becomes more syncopated. Moore provides nice keyboard textures under the vocals. The music is gradually becoming more and more intense as we go along until the tension releases around 4:20, followed by a major tempo and groove change around 4:35. Another timing change at around 7:00 for the guitar solo, which goes through various rhythm/texture changes. Petrucci never fails to impress with his guitar skills. Another timing shift happens at just after 9:30. Excellent arranging skills on display.

Track 11- Space-Dye Vest

This is a top 10 DT track for me. Kevin Moore's masterpiece as far as I am concerned. Unlike anything else on the album, this is less about virtuosity (although the meter changes are very complex), and more about melodies, textures, and emotional response. We have the return of the spoken word vocals in the mix. This song is so "hauntingly beautiful." I pull it up frequently.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

What a fantastic album? quintessential Early DT. Kevin Moore may have been overshadowed by Derek Sherinian and especially Jordan Rudess, but shows that he had enormous amounts of talent, even if not as flashy as his 2 successors. Great playing, vocals & songcraft all around. While I have a special connection with Images & Words, and think some of the albums yet to come are even stronger, there is no denying how great this album is. To me, DT are the quintessential Symphonic Prog-Metal band. They are the standard by which I measure symphonic prog- metal bands. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars.