Dream Theater-Scenes From a Memory
This is a concept album. It tells a story the whole way through, and the story is actually fairly intricate. However, I'm only gonna outline the basics of the story, if you want more details, listen to the album yourself.
1. Regression: Definitely a good opener. It starts with a Hypnotherapist putting the main character Nicholas into a trance. Eventually, acoustic guitar fades in. The music is simple, short, and to the point. Only acoustic guitar and vocals on this one, and it works great. 5/5
2. Overture 1928: The first instrumental song on the album. It has a really cool groove, and awesome solos. Not amazing and flashy solos, but cool nonetheless. If you don't know what an overture is, it contains musical themes from every song on the album, kind of like a table of contents. 5/5
3. Strange Deja vu: This song is pretty pop-friendly by DT standards, no real blazing solos, and it's only about 4 or 5 minutes long. It's really cool how it goes directly from Overture 1928. This song talks about Nicholas being hypnotized and whatnot. SDV is more of a straight-forward rockin' song than anything else, and I like it a great deal. 5/5
4 and 5. Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy: I'm gonna review these together, 'cause they're basically the same song. It starts off with a quiet piano/vocals melody, and then explodes into the hard-rockin' madness that is fatal tragedy. In this song, Nicholas learns about Victoria, his past life who was murdered. Fatal Tragedy is a totally groovy song, and it's got an amazing solo section. Actually it's the first trademark DT solo section on the album. 5/5 And it's amazing how it transitions into:
6. Beyond This Life: This song is more metal than anything so far. Its got a pretty cool riff that repeats through most of the song. The chorus and whatnot is far quieter and more calm than the metal fury found in the rest of this tune. The solo section is awesome, in this one they pull off solos that sound reminiscent of classic rock. This song deals with the murder mystery of Victoria. 4/5
7. Through Her Eyes: This is a ballad. It tells about how sad Nicholas is to hear of Victoria's death. It's slow, and it has a pretty melody, but not anything too special. 3/5
8. Home: This is a major METALRIFFIC song. It has an Egyptian deal going on at first, then it goes into heavy riffage that the whole family can enjoy. It tells about Victoria's love affair. It's extremely cool, however, I feel that the solo section drags on a bit, so I'll give it a 4/5
9. Dance of Eternity: This is the second and last instrumental song on this here cd. I really love it. It's completely random, and it has no structure at all. Jordan Ruddess pulls off a great 20's ragtime solo, and there's a mindblowing bass solo. This is one of the few DT songs where Petrucci takes the back seat (Even though his playing is still top notch) 5/5
10. One Last Time: This is the only song that leaves no lasting impression on me whatsoever. The lyrics don't seem to fit with the story as much. The music is good, but not as good as most of the stuff on here. It's short, and quickly moves on to the next song. I'd say this is more of a filler track. 3/5
11. The Spirit Carries On: This is probably my favorite song on the cd. It's completely orgasmic, and it has one of my favorite guitar solos ever. The lyrics are about the concept of reincarnation, which plays a major role in the album. I love it, and so should you:thumb: For all of its greatness and emotion, it gets a 5/5
12. Finally Free: The last song on the album is one of the longest, and one of the best. It wraps up the story very well (I won't ruin it for you) and all musicians are in top notch here. This song is pretty orgasmic, and I never grow tired of it. After a while, the music stops and you hear Nicholas, and the story ends with what happens when no music is playing. 5/5
This is probably my favorite album of all time. It's truly an experience to listen to it from start to finish. You have to read the booklet to understand the story, though. The soloing gets out of hand at several points, but besides that, it's amazing and mind-blowing. Everyone with ears must own this.
6/5
