IMAGES AND WORDS

This is still my favorite Dream Theater album. When ever I am feeling down or I need to lift my spirit I can put on Images and Words and I´m feeling fine. This is after all these years still one of my favorite albums of all time. Don´t be shocked when I will call this a progressive masterpiece and give it 5 stars.

This was my first meeting with progressive metal ( the softer style, I had listened to Atheist before this) and I was in awe but at the same time I was confused as James Labrie was a little to pop/metal for me at the time. But after many listens, I fell in love with Dream Theater and I played this album over and over again. This album never gets old on me and I can always find new things I haven´t heard before.

Dream Theater´s music is a mix of many genres from Thrash to Pop and everything in between, but it is all blended together to make that signature Dream Theater sound.

There is not one note on this album that is not godly and allthough you can hear easily some of their sources of inspiration ( Rush, Queensryche, Kansas and others) it´s not copying.

I remember being awe strucken by the fact that these guys had such a high musical standard, and me and my pals idolised them like the teenagers we were. But to this day I still haven´t found any other album were I enjoy the high standard so much.

The production is rather special and in particular the drums sound like they are half electric which might be the case. But I find it perfectly suiting for the music.

This album has what I think many of the later Dream Theater albums lack: Lots of melody and controlled comlex playing that is complex yes but melody is never sacrificed. This is partly because of Kevin Moore´s presence in Dream Theater. I love his keyboard playing as it is so soft for the ears, very pop like ( Comlex Pop.

I can only say that if you haven´t heard this one yet, go buy now, leave your wife and children, but you have to have this album. It is a masterpiece.