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Dream Theater is one of those bands that brings right into the music and puts you in a completely different world. One can not simply listen to one Dream Theater song and then say "okay, now I'll listen to something else". Why? Because Dream Theater sucks you right in and does not let go until the album is over. This is a review of Dream Theater's opis, Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory. It's a two act/nine scene concept album about a murder. The mystery is delved into by a man under hypnosis. This was actually the first Dream Theater album I ever purchased. Before that, I had only heard "Pull Me Under", and at the time had no idea that it was Dream Theater who did that song. Needless to say, I had no idea what I was in for. I actually purchased it at Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. I decided to buy it after hearing people say so many good things about Dream Theater. I had no idea what there music style was, nor did I have any idea that the music was going to be so complex. Once I got on the plane, I decided to listen to it. Needless to say, I was blown away. Let me put it this way; I very rarely listen to an album more then once within a 12 hour period. Infact, I may not have ever done it before buying that album. During the flight on the plane I must have listened to that album at least three times. It was that damn good. Anyways, on to the review. Although the album has 12 tracks, I'll talk about each scene instead. This is becaue many tracks are just intro/outros to different scenes. Scene One: Regression is the intro to the story. You here the hypnotist speak to Nicholas (the main character) and then a short, acoustic song. It really sets the mood. Especially cool when listening to it with headphones on. Scene Two: Overture 1928/Strange Deja Vu is the the first of the many extremely complex songs on the album. This song is also the first of many that remind you why Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci kick so much ass (for those not in the know, they are the keyboardist and guitarist respectively). Scene Three: Through My Words/Fatal Tragedy starts out slow and then goes into a very awesome mid-tempo song (Fatal Tragedy) that is one of my favorite songs on the album. Awesome use of keyboards on this one. Scene Four: Beyond This Life has probably some of the fastest guitar solos I've ever heard. At some points, John Petrucci plays so fast that you would think his fingers would be bleeding. I absolutely love the lyrics to the chorus. "Our deeds have traveled far. What we have been is what we our". This is another favorite of mine. Scene Five: Through Her Eyes is a very mellow song that settles you down before kicking your ass again. Don't be surprised if you start getting teary-eyed and choked up at the beginning of the song. It starts out with guest vocalist Theresa Thomason singing. She doesn't actually sing any lyrics. She just sing "ooooh" and such. Her voice is so soulfull and just plain damn good that even though she doesn't say a word, it'll cause your emotions to kick in. Then an acoustic guitar kicks in and Jame Labrie starts singing. It's a very good song and fits perfectly in the album. Scene Six: Home starts out in a very interesting way. Although it's coming from the keyboards, it very much sounds like a sitar that's being played. After about two minutes or so, the heavy guitar sound kicks in as well as the vocals. It is yet another awesomely complex song. This also has yet another awesome chorus in it. Too friggin' awesome!!! As you can probably guess, this is another one of my favorites. Scene Seven: The Dance of Eternity/One Last Time has a long instrumental (The Dance of Eternity) and a not-so-long acoustic track. "The Dance of Eternity" is an extremely complex instrumental that is perhaps one of my favorite instrumentals of all time. Yep, it's up there with Metallica's "Orion" and Rush's "YYZ" as being in the "greatest instrumentals of all time" list. At one point, there is actually "old west" piano playing. You'd have to hear it to believe it. "One Last Time" is a great acoustic number that is actually quite short for a Dream Theater song. Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On is a mellow song that will put a tear in your eye, cause you to get choked up, or even make you break out and cry. It's a very emotional song and perhaps one of the best "mellow" songs by Dream Theater. You are in for a treat when the choir starts singing. Scene Nine: Finally Free is one hell of a finally. Best heard with a quality set of headphones, this song concludes the story and in an awesome way. The music is actually very chilling in certain parts. Much of that is due, of course, to the sound effects and speaking parts. This is yet another one of my favorite songs on the album. Needless to say, I give this album a five out of five. No other album, except maybe Ayreon's The Human Equation, has kept me so immersed as Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory. So if you are a progressive metal/rock fan and haven't picked this one up, get off your duff and "hurry up and buy".
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