Next to A Change Of Seasons, this one is prolly my fav Dream Theater. Now, as far as all this BS about DT being too technical and therefore unemotional, I would just like to point out that those 2 words are not opposites. Being technical, does not mean 'devoid of emotion'. Likewise emotional does not mean 'lacking skill' whether you like it or not they are expressing emotions, and they are are technically proficient. they are both. Just because you think they are not emtional doesnt mean they arent, it just means your not seeing it they way other people do. its all perspective. Dream Theater explores many emotions that other metal bands are afriad for whatever reason.

That said, there are a couple parts on MTP2 that i didnt like. I did not like the vocal part on beyond this life. I found the 'reading of the paper' verses to be just, annoying. The other thing i didnt like to much was the plot in general, i thought was a little too unimportant for a concept album. All the music itself i loved. Musically the entire album rocks. Petruccis solos are his best (fatal tragedy is my fav JP solo). Home, dance of eternity fatal tragedy are the highlights for me.

5/5

Album Rating: 4.5

Just bought it today, great album, Home is my fav song

nice review, some people say DT are boring, but I think they are freaking amazing... this is my fave DT album, followed by I&W, then 6DoiT, and then ToT. I do have Awake, but just got it, and feel I need to give it a few more listens to be able to rank it

[QUOTE=MAthiAS]nice review, some people say DT are boring, but I think they are freaking amazing... this is my fave DT album, followed by I&W, then 6DoiT, and then ToT. I do have Awake, but just got it, and feel I need to give it a few more listens to be able to rank it[/QUOTE]
Awake took a while to grow on me.

does anyone know where i could pick up this album?

Most record stores should have it. This is an excellent album. Though, like with all their fans, DT took awhile to grow on me. At first LaBrie's voice was annoying and now i love it and it is one of my favorites in rock/metal.

Over-rated and over technical wankery aside..SFAM is an excellent album with an entwining (sp?) story. Though you can predict much the ending from almost 3/4 of the way through...it really sucks you in. What defined a lot of the emotion in this album was LaBrie's voice so if you hate his voice this album is a no no for you.

Favorite Tracks:
Overture 1928
Fatal Tragedy
Home

4/5

I'm not giving it 5 because a bit too much of it drags out or feels like filler. I also don't think Finally Free was much of a song at all. It could've been good but like i said...they dragged it out. Still...an incredible album and one of my favorite concept albums.

Just got this album today and I'm listening to it for my first time through right now. So far I think it's amazing! Petrucci is amazing once again same with the rest of the band. I'm looking forward to listening to this many times in the future :thumb:

I do not see why people think technical = no emotion. DT doesn't always put the melody right out front, but alot of the time they do; just because it is not always as catchy as a pop song does not mean that it is devoid of emotion. I mean, it incites alot of emotion in me.

Anyways, I love this album. I think they do a great job of presenting the various themes to suit the certain situations throughout the album. Dance of Eternity is amazing. I also like how tight these guys are, like ****. At first I disliked the concept, thinking it had no meaning. Now I'm beginning to see its relevence. I think the best music takes many listens to fully enjoy, and DT definitely fulfills that. Also, this is a very diverse album; it explores so many types of music.

I just got this cd yesturday. Very great! I like how thw cd is like a story. John the guitarist is one of the best alive.

I must get this album.

i would give it 4.5/5, because of the song Dance of Eternity, which is way too technical for me. Without that song this album is simply outstanding.

I basically agree with most of the positive comments, and that the band is very focused on this album. It's a great blend of technical skill and emotion. Overture 1928 and the theme(s) are incredibly well done and carry magnificently through the album. It's incredible how you can make a whole album as good as this building around one song (Metropolis Part 1). The choruses in Strange Deja Vu and Home are actually incredibly catchy and memorable.

Without rambling on, the one point I really disagree with in the original review is One Last Time. The more I've listened to that song at home or in the car or where ever, the more it's grown on me. I think it's a perfect blend of the music from the album. The piano introduction is fabulous, the verse is emotional and mellow, the chorus is sort of meloncholy but also very catchy, even the bit of harmonizing going into the solo. As the bass leads you from the chorus, the guitar enters for one of the better solos in my opinion. It does a great job of incorporating the theme while being relatively simple and moving. The rest of the song does much of the same, with a dramatic ending topped off by the haunting piano melody.

Instead of going on and on about the whole album, I thought I'd do something that hadn't been discussed already and *try* and get a few people to try and appreciate one of the forgotten songs on the album.

I totally agree with the review, Dream Theater is probably my favorite band and I can honestly say this is imo the best cd they ever put out........

5/5

Hey awesome review! I've only heard the CD a couple times but I've had a craving for it again..... I'm also quite fond of "Train Of Thought"...... I think it's their most recent album, correct me if i'm wrong, and it's developed a lot and the heavy metal sections are quite amazing... If you havent heard it, i suggest you do!

Tracklist:
- Regression
- Overture 1928
- Strange Deja Vu
- Trough My Words
- Fatal Tragedy
- Beyond This Life
- Through Her Eyes
- Home
- The Dance of Eternity
- One Last Time
- The Spirit Carries On
- Finally Free

Members:
James LaBrie: Vocals
John Petrucci: Guitar
John Myung: Bass
Jordan Rudess: Keyboards
Mike Portnoy: Drums

Overview:
This cd came out in 1999, and, in my opinion, is the best Dream Theater has ever put together, great, awesome songs, the solos as always very fast and technic but never letting down the melodic and harmonic side, which leads them to be agressive but consistent with every song. I also like very much how all the songs are put together so that there are no pauses, its very interesting to see how all songs are related and how they make coherence with one another. Very melodic and harmonic, listened it about 1000 times and haven't got bored yet, the lyrics are also very good, continuing with the story in Metropolis Part I: The Miracle and The Sleeper.

Song by Song Review:

Regression:
It is the intro for the cd, begins with a clock ticking from left to right, then comes the hipnotist's voice and finally you begin to hear some music, until we come to...

Overture 1928:
Instrumental, related absolutely with both Regression and Strange Deja Vu, begins slowly, but then improves with the drums to finally come in with some agressive riffs and short solos, it is the opening note for the cd and has some very interesting yet not so hard solos by Petrucci (in comparison to what will come next).

Strange Deja Vu:
Begins with same riffs as Overture 1928, but this time they have James LaBrie's voice, which adds some more feeling i think. About halfway through the song we find the climax i believe, which then leads us to the discordant note here: the allusion to Metropolis, which changes completely the stile of the song and refreshes it so that it has a heavier sound. No big or impressive solos in this song.

Through My Words:
Begins with the keyboards and then the voice comes in, keeping like that the whole song, not very extense, just to fill in for the next one i think, yet it is quite good.

Fatal Tragedy:
Continues for a while with the keyboards and voice, then the guitar and the drums come in. This is a much heavier song, in contrast with the previous one, which was much more calm. The riffs are more agressive and the bass plays a more important part also. Keyboard solo at about 2/3 of the song followed by the guitar solo, impressive both of them, haven't even tried to do the guitar (i play a bit), too hard. Ends with the hipnotist speaking.

Beyond This Life:
Starts very heavy, with a powerful guitar and some keyboards thrown in adequately. Voice duo too, or distort, haven't managed to figure it out yet, maybe it's both. The music is sort of changing, starting and stopping suddenly, with some slow parts in between, very nicely done. Very fast, progressive solo at about 1/4 of the song. Another solo at 2/4 of the song, not so fast but it has some interesting distort. A keyboard solo at 2/3 of the song , very nice, hard and fast. Finishes off with a guitar solo at 9:45 approximately, leading to the final part, which slows down until a nice keyboard filling.

Through Her Eyes:
Continues with the keyboard filling and also a feminine voice, then the real keyboards begin, also some drums and bass, until we come to the voice. Very emotive song, a lot of feeling and beautiful lyrics. The guitar comes in at 1/3 of the song with a small solo.

Home:
Begins sort of strangely, with some cut noises and freaky guitar and bas, but pulls it off nicely in the end. Longest song in this cd. Not much riffs, but more solos and notes. The keyboard is not much heard here. There's a part i don't fully understand, it's where this feminine voice is heard moaning and stuff, could anybody tell me why it is there? after this a solo is heard, not sure if it is keyboard or guitar, after it another one comes, this one is no doubt a guitar one, very nice and fast. Finishes with another guitar and/or keyboard solo and some drums.

The Dance of Eternity:
Instrumental. Begins even more strangely than Home, but picks up quickly with a solo from Petrucci, also a lot of keyboards heard in this one. A solo at about 1/3 of the song, then another solo, this time a keyboard, sort of old, saloon stile one, very cool. Very good instrumentalization in this song, lot of talent shown and a whole lot of work.

One Last Time:
Begins with the keyboards and drums, very nicely and not so heavy, but more melodic, sort of power, with a lot of technique. Then comes the guitar, the bass is not much heard. Guitar solo at 2/3 of the song, not very special nor long, but good anyway. Finishes off with the keyboard playing some intro for...

The Spirit Carries On:
Continues with the keyboard and the voice, softly and smoothly, with a lot of feeling, leading us slowly to the drums and finally the guitar and the bass. Very small solos at the begining, just to harmonize with the song. About halfway through the song we have the guitar solo, not so fast, but longer and with much more feeling than some before, you can see all the effort put here. Finishes off with some choruses of feminine voices behind and a small guitar solo, to cut with the keyboard.

Finally Free:
Begins with the hipnotist awakening Nicholas, and a guitar and bass behind filling up. A car is heard as it drives off, thunder is also heard. Keyboards sound along with the voice. Suddenly the drums and everything else come in, and James assumes a sort of feminine voice for a while. Then steps, screams and gun shots are heard and a man runs. After this the guitar solo comes, very nice and fast, harmonic. The song calms down for a while and then continues as before, getting to the climax at 2/3 of the song approximately, and finishing with some riffs, drum solos and some keyboards here and there. The sound fades and gives way to a car arriving somewhere, a person descending from it and walking to a house, a tv giving some news, then it is turned off steps, and some music is heard again, only to finish with interference sound.

I liked this cd a lot, first came to hear it because of a girlfriend, so guess it has some special meaning for me, it's very well done, clean sound and good equalization, so i give it about a 7/8.


Well, that is it, my first review, hope you like it.

Heh... Decent review. 7/8? You might want to spell Progressive correctly, next time. Overture 1928 is one of the rare DT songs that I like.

You should have posted it in here: http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156174

This is probably my favourite Dream Theater record, but I haven't listened to it all the way through for quite a while now.

Yeah, the review's already done. Threads merged. And please give an x/5 rating next time.

I've been loving Dream Theater for quite some time. I'm thinking of picking this one up or Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, I suppose this is better?

What other Dream Theater albums do you have?