A Succinct Commentary on Dream Theater's Studio Albums

New York's Dream Theater are undoubtedly the most successful progressive metal band ever and a strong contender for one of the most important metal bands. Formed in 1985, the band has generated nine studio albums of varying sound and importance.

When Dream and Day Unite [1989]
Dream Theater's debut album is largely ignored by a vast portion of their fanbase, predominantly due to the absence of current vocalist James LaBrie. With Charlie Dominici handling vocal responsibilities, the album is immediately lambasted with a sense of traditional progressive metal of the time, with ethereal (usually male) vocals occasionally hitting the higher end of their octaves. Generally, they are less substantiated than typical heavy/power metal ones yet less sporadic and simpler to digest. Musically the album follows in the same way, not exactly breaking new ground but far from recycled Fates Warning or Queensryche [1]. The emotional content is profound on this release and there are no showcases of mindless technicality as some would later accuse the band of.

Images and Words [1992]
Frequently mistaken as Dream Theater's debut, the band's sophomore effort would redefine the progressive metal world forever. The opener 'Pull Me Under' employs heavy thrash-influenced riffing near its conception, shattering the dreamy riffs previously central to progressive metal, awarding itself with the heaviest Dream Theater song - riskily placed at the beginning. The new vocalist [2], Canadian-born James LaBrie, charismatically equips the album with vocal dynamics previously uncharted by progressive metal vocalists. Guitarist John Petrucci limits overt technicality to appropriate solos and his riffs are ground firmer into reality than previous progressive metal efforts. The progressive rock influence is still explicit, for example on the highly optimistic 'Surrounded' (complete with optimistic guitar solo!). The enlightening mood of 'Surrounded' can be contrasted to the dark-edged 'Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper'. 'Wait for Sleep' is a humble keyboard piece relying on simplicity to communicate its effectiveness and highlighting the emotion present on this album, which is brimming with it. The bass lines are more muscular than on the band's last effort, supporting the guitars to a more than satisfactory degree. Images and Words was an excellent signpost for the band's creativity and maturity.

Awake [1994]
Although not as influential as its predecessor Images and Words, Awake is imperative at looking at the development of darker progressive metal bands that exist today including Dark Suns, Nevermore, Edge of Sanity and Opeth. This album surpassed Images and Words in terms of heaviness, with 'Lie' claiming the crown as the heaviest of the entire track-listing. LaBrie's voice hits its lowest alto peak and he utilizes aggressive vocals nearly venturing into shouted territory on this track. The synergy of the instruments is strikingly incredible. No doubt Metallica were an influence on this album. Guitar work is eerie, keyboards are moody and drums are imperative for crucial accents. The instruments form an unbeatable cohesive unit, a paradigm for any album in metal. 'Erotomania' is an instrumental combining stalking with wanderlust and this is captured perfectly in the music with lusty, meandering guitar riffs, multi-dimensional keyboard work and thoughtful drumming. 'Space Dye Vest' is the closing track, completely eldritch and powered by the mind of Kevin Moore. Unfortunately, this was to be Moore's concluding full-length with the band and the album is enshrined by a sense of finality, particularly in this song. This album is Dream Theater at their most convincingly feral, inclusive of their contemporary work. It would be the perfect metal album had the production not been so corrosive to John Myung's bass at moments.

Falling into Infinity [1997]
After the release of the A Change of Season EP, Dream Theater released Falling into Infinity. With Kevin Moore out of the lineup, a fine replacement is found in Derek Sherinian. Many exclaim this album to be Dream Theater's failed attempt into the mainstream, in a harsh contrast against Awake (The irony reveals itself with drummer Mike Portnoy's lyrical contribution to the album with 'Just Let Me Breathe'). This statement can be attributed to the fact that four of the songs on this release are ballads. For a so-called excursion into mainstream territory, it is a poor idea to have the album open with the second longest song, not to mention the weakest Dream Theater have released thus far. 'New Millennium' has nothing significant to offer and spends its eight-plus minutes circling on the spot, fundamentally. The album strikes the listener as potentially the most personal release bearing the Dream Theater name and the album is devoid of anger. 'Just Let Me Breathe' should be an angry song if lyrics are a determiner but the tone is more dismayed and about rising above frustrating matters. 'Lines in the Sand' is a dynamic piece of music with some beautifully melodic vocal lies and a guest appearance of Kings X singer Doug Pinnick, who nearly overshadows LaBrie with his mere backing vocals. Founding member Moore's departure has stripped the band of its curious soundscapes and replaced them with more dainty ones, courtesy of Sherinian. The closing number 'Trial of Tears' is an accessible and direct track with effective keyboard embellishments. One of the key highlights of this anthem is the bass which Myung uses to construct multi-faceted moods. Essentially, Falling into Infinity is probably the band's most underrated album.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory [1999]
At the close of the nineties, Dream Theater unleash their first concept album. Another keyboard substitution ensures Jordan Rudess joins the otherwise stable lineup. Naturally, this album builds upon the theme from 'Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper' on the Images and Words release. The plot is unique and mildly cryptic, following Nicholas taking a trip into his past life as Victoria who ends up being murdered and indeed the story births various twists. Musically, the album is quite representative of the parent song. In the name of sophistication, the album and its songs are divisible into two acts and nine scenes. The music is the most varied Dream Theater have accomplished up to this release - cautious, reckless, dizzy and reflective. Rudess proves his worth to the band with sublime technicality, something Moore failed to demonstrate. This is probably where one can interpret the beginning of Dream Theater's equilibrium between technicality and emotion. 'The Dance of Eternity' is an example of the excessive talent the band experiment with and it strikes the listener as impressive. The album seems a little splintered in places where poor links have been established to force songs forward, such as the welding of the two sections on 'Beyond This Life'. Towards tail-end of the album, it seeks to cram far too much in a short space of time, making it quite ambiguous and messy. Additionally, LaBrie's vibrato is frustratingly absent on this album which reduces the number dimensions instilled in the release. Overall, Dream Theater accomplished their objectives with Metropolis 2 but with some fine-tuning, the cracks could have been concealed.

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence [2002]
Dream Theater accomplish another first with this release; this marks the first album composed of two discs. The second disc is one song - the title track, clocking in at a devastating 42:04 minutes long. The primary disc is sinister but not the kind identified in previous Dream Theater releases. The production makes it sound far more clinical and functional. All of these songs are lengthy in duration, appropriating the mega-long songs archetypal to progressive music. The moods of each vary greatly: 'Glass Prison' is tenacious and a harbinger of the future Dream Theater to come; 'Blind Faith' is uplifting whilst heavy with a nod to traditional heavy metal/hard rock in Petrucci's riffing during the chorus; 'Misunderstood' is a stormy piece, boasting more power without being as outwardly aggressive as the opener; 'The Great Debate' is defiant; 'I Disappear' is ghostly reserved and concludes the first disc perfectly. Dealing with various mental conditions, it is befitting of the title track (broken into eight tracks) to cycle through varying moods in grandiose fashion. LaBrie gives several touching vocal performances, namely 'Goodnight Kiss'. This album also sees the debut of Portnoy's backing vocals which inevitably lead to a contribution of crippling the progressive metal innovators but are capable of being ignored on this release. 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence' is a fantastically turbulent song, propelling its listeners through a barrage of emotional responses and unusual musical techniques, as featured on 'The Test That Stumped Them All'. Overall, this opus is one of Dream Theater's strongest due to its multi-dimensional magnitude.

Train of Thought [2003]
Train of Thought was Dream Theater's breakthrough album. It was aggressive, heavy and nasty. Released just a year after Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and trading the clinical sound for an abrasive one, the band should have invested more time in this release. Portnoy's backing vocals sound akin to a poor imitation of rap and LaBrie's forced angst is unconvincing. The Metallica influence is too evident here, with LaBrie sounding like James Hetfield in slivers (such as the line "As I am" that proceeds the first chorus of the opening song). Heavy guitar work sounds threatening and commendable but the trademark Dream Theater sound appears compromised. 'Honour Thy Father' sounds juvenile and the vocal effects are cringe-worthy, more suited for popular teenage angst bands. The rhythm forces melody to the back and the vocal lines are poorly conceived overall. 'In The Name of God' bears the most mood changes on any one song on this full-length with haunting textures rearing their heads and an odd yet well-placed industrial influenced beat that acts as a link to another passage of the song. The drumming is very integral to the excellence of this song. This easy-to-swallow Dream Theater album smashed them into the mainstream in the trend of aggressive, tough-guy bands yet left other fans craving for the emotively driven Dream Theater of old.

Octavarium [2005]
Dream Theater's Octavarium was a monument to Dream Theater's older progressive rock influences. Unsurprisingly, this album was predominantly an updated progressive rock release. As a homage to influences, some songs sound completely removed from Dream Theater, such as 'I Walk Beside You', which could quite easily pass off as a U2 rendition by Dream Theater [3]. Juxtaposed with these light tracks were heavier beasts, such as 'Panic Attack', with a mentally eviscerating bass introduction from John Myung, and the opening song 'The Root of All Evil'. Placing such a heavy song for an opener, one could expect a continuation of Train of Thought but this could not be further from the truth. The closing anthem was almost twenty five minutes long, divided into five parts albeit all on one track. 'Medicate' showed Dream Theater sounding particularly vulnerable, something not really emphasised since Awake's 'Scarred' or 'Space Dye Vest'. 'Full Circle' is lyrically interesting, being composed of the band's influences, most notably song titles [4]. Further entertaining mind games were included throughout the album's art, a good portion of the imagery relating to the digit eight. After all, this was Dream Theater's eighth full-length and there were eight tracks on the CD. Interestingly, the final note on this album is the same as its first, emphasising how the band has travelled full circle [5]. With Octavarium, the band acknowledged their influences, both old and modern, and restored their original emotive content as part of a substantial foray into progressive rock.

Systematic Chaos [2007]
Octavarium had fans doubting Dream Theater's metal credentials so it was unsurprising that the band's next release was bombastic and intense, a career manoeuvre these Americans have executed into their past. Portnoy's vocals are assigned more dominating parts on this release and the results are nothing short of devastating. This is without a doubt the band's most technical release, with entire sections of songs dedicated to break-neck solos. Rudess' keyboard effects become tedious and overblown. 'Prophets of War' contains a horrendous guitar riff that would be home to alternative rock underscoring it. 'Forsaken' is an attempt to retain the emotional inventory of the band and 'The Ministry of Lost Souls' is a weaker attempt at achieving the same but these songs are dwarfed by the brazen 'Dark Eternal Night' and 'Constant Motion'. This sudden change can be attributed to Dream Theater's signing to Roadrunner Records, which is not so absurd for bureaucratic reasons. Although it polarized the fan's opinions, Systematic Chaos reached a new demographic and pushed the band into gargantuan venues and with excessive promotion, Dream Theater were on everybody's iPods. If ever the band created something to be more accessible and commercial, this would be the record that satiates that proposition.

Where Dream Theater's next musical venture will lead them is unpredictable. Current musical trends now seem apparent in playing a factor in the band's stylistic decisions. As they are a household name on their talent alone, one could expect the next album to be a showcase of virtuoso skill. The pessimist would proclaim that Dream Theater have exhausted their creative juices and are deficient in innovation. If this is the case, attention should be averted to Swedish progressive metal sensation Pain of Salvation, who seem to reinvent themselves with every release, leaving Dream Theater merely Mike Portnoy's vehicle for monetary gain. Let the progressive world be content and appreciative that Dream Theater revolutionized the genre completely with very few bands playing the original style of progressive metal. For any band to accomplish such a feat, respect and acknowledgement is due.



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[1] Psychotic Waltz had released simply a demo by this time although rose to the forefront of the progressive metal scene with their debut album A Social Grace, released 1990.
[2] Ray Arch and John Alder were also among the 1990 vocal auditions.
[3] Dream Theater have covered U2's 'Bad' before.
[4] This section of the song is introduced by a reference to Pink Floyd's The Wall.
[5] Train of Thought actually begins with the note Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended on and Octavarium initiates on Train of Thought's closing note.

Comparitive Study: Behemoth's 'Chant for Eschaton 2000' vs. 'Chant for Ezkaton 2000 e.v.'

In 1999, Behemoth released their fourth full-length album Satanica. This release was a prominent infiltration into the death metal camp, away from the Polish band's raw black metal roots. The concluding song was the near-flawless 'Chant for Eschaton 2000', a direct track that lyrically explored elation and enlightenment in an unconventional manner, using Eschaton or the end of the world as its backdrop. This song is an anomaly in Behemoth's musical repertoire, opting to exchange their death metal brutality with drilling guitar lead melody. The prominence of this track had the band frequently employing it as their closing number at concerts. Very recently, Behemoth have released an EP entitled Ezkaton. The centre-piece of this EP is the opener which is curiously entitled 'Chant for Ezkaton 2000 e.v.', obviously a re-recording of the Polish squadron's classic.

With 'Ezkaton' clocking in at 5:12, it is a full ten seconds briefer than its parent song. An intelligent inference would assume the band has upped the tempo on this re-recording. Indeed, this is the case and the consequence of this is the disappearance of an extra dimension present in the original. Right from offset, the reduction of the untamed guitar sounds on the original subtract the supernatural vibe injected into the song. The first repeated tom hits of the drums sound forced and unnatural. However, when the rhythm and lead guitars travel together for the first time on 'Ezkaton', the synergy sounds commendably heavier than the original.

Nergal's vocals on the original 'Eschaton' song were multi-faceted, layered at stages to emphasise an inhuman vocal style. This was juxtaposed with a stripped-down shout, marking its initial appearance on the line: "On your wings carry me over the abyss/Beyond the reason and across the burning seas." This sounded transcendental, appropriate in regards to a line referencing wings. On 2008's 'Ezkaton', these stylistic features are inverted with the stripped-down shouts of the original substituted for layered growls and the standard growls replaced by a militant shout albeit more throaty than the shouts in 'Eschaton'. Whilst the standard growls in 'Eschaton' sounded inhuman, the rhythm of the growls in 'Ezkaton' are plain and akin to those of hip hop vocals, although of course they are a far cry from spoken word. Another trifling attribute of 'Ezkaton' is the alternation of an amateur-sounding black metal rasp uttered for a single word and sandwiched between growls (the second utterances of "fly" and "slash"). It sounds preposterous and unconvincing, predominantly because the two assorted growls are not evenly matched in strength and with the weaker rasp suddenly hitting you from just one speaker, it underscores its power deficiency and heightens its failure.

The mixing of 'Ezkaton' results in the clean guitar of the original being melted into the harsher more prevalent rhythm guitar. This substantially reduces one of 'Eschaton's original highlights. Compensating for this is the ending of 'Ezkaton', which is fleshed out with a variety of guitar meanderings. This would have been a success had it not removed the grandiose keyboards at the close of the original.

Despite sleek and modern production, 'Ezkaton' pales in comparison to its ancestor. Whilst it is some distance from an unlistenable song, its negation of soundscapes of 'Eschaton' leaves it ultimately a wasted effort. If it is not broken, do not fix it at its finest.

Why Desecration Are Important to the UK Death Metal Scene

Desecration were conceived in 1992 in Wales, a country in the UK not renowned for any significant death metal scene, unlike Scotland and obviously England. Interestingly, drummer Mic Hourihan and bassist Andi Morris have appeared in the glam rock band Tigertailz and the commercially successful Funeral For a Friend respectively. However, Desecration’s human components have been and remain involved in various extreme metal bands; Hourihan and frontman Ollie Jones are currently in Extreme Noise Terror, Hourihan played in the UK death metal band Parricide which is the only act that pre-dates Desecration in regards to the other members’ side projects, and Jones and Morris have been active in Bristol-based brutal death metallers Amputated[1], although Amputated are deficient in any creativity or innovation as far as death metal is concerned. This is Desecration’s initial point of interest. Unlike many of the bands wielding the banner of UK death metal, Desecration are not competing to be as brutal as humanly possible.

By 1991 in New York, Suffocation had released the paramount and poignant Effigy of the Forgotten, seizing popular attention and placing the band as harbingers of the brutal death metal scene. As death metal is an abrasive and probably metal’s most aggressive expression, it seems natural that most bands would battle to be as brutal as they could, internationally. Desecration have the advantage of being an older band with brutal death metal emerging as less fashionable then than it is at present. It would appear that today’s UK death metal scene attributes itself to brutal death metal rather than any sub-grouping of this rigid genre. This results in a flooding of the scene with bands sounding far too similar (in an already limiting sub genre of limiting a sub genre) and not dispensing any creativity. The problem of fans forming bands as opposed to musicians is common the world over although the UK barely coughs up any important death metal bands to compensate. Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror and Carcass became highly acclaimed initially due to their grindcore setting. The Rotted[2] have brutal death metal in their inventory but stylistically, they are far from archetypical brutal death metal, borrowing scrapings from grindcore. The UK’s other popular death metal band is Akercocke who splice traditional death metal with black and progressive metal. It is understood why these bands reach a larger audience than flavourless brutal death metal bands from the UK such as Bludgeon, Infected Disarray and Cerebral Bore.

Many bands, old and new, imitate Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Deicide and the entire slew of American bands that glamorized death metal. Desecration have developed their own unorthodox style of traditional death metal[3] without combining it with any other metal sub-genres. It is evident from their music that they are an old band[4] who have survived rightfully for this duration of time.

By human nature, the band probably received potentially unwarranted attention upon the release of their debut full-length effort Gore and Perversion in 1995. This album was seized by the police with the master tapes destroyed due to the graphic artwork. Some copies released an alternate album cover which stated an apology followed by a brief line explaining that the original art had been censored. Although this album was challenging to track down, it was eventually re-recorded and released in 2002 as Gore and PerVersion 2. While the quality was updated, the songs are the same as the original pressing. What the band released is a death metal piece that runs in near towards an hour, depicting a style previously uncharted in the death metal movement. The album is musically focused and multi-dimensional, reworking structures and rejuvenating itself with each track. No two tracks are similar and the song durations are largely varied, experimenting with a range of tempos. From the opening number ‘Raping the Corpse (Desecration)’, a gripping brand of death metal is unleashed upon the listener, filled with brief melodic nuances, pounding rhythms and pronounced vocal lines.[5] ‘Raping the Copse (Desecration)’ accomplishes its goal as an opener perfectly. The guitars are meticulously structured, well suited yet not predictable in the slightest.

Another intriguing Desecration album is Inhuman. This album differs from Gore and PerVersion (2) in that the aim appears to be experimenting within the realms of death metal more so than previously as opposed to creating a selection of varied death metal themes. In short, it is a more coherent piece of music. Clocking in just short of half an hour this time, Inhuman by passes the listener rapidly although not in a Reign in Blood manner.[6] Simultaneously, it does not leave the listener craving more for it accompanies what it sets out to do succinctly. Somewhat to contrary to what was stated above, ‘Killer Row’ contains a brutal death metal elements but they are employed sparingly and, as a result, it is not a consistently brutal death metal song. Most brutal death metal bands wholly maintain their brutality throughout a release and this is many of their downfalls.[4] ‘Another Obscene Publication’ and closing number ‘A Message to the Censor’ are tongue-in-cheek tracks that stir a giggle out of the listener at Desecration’s detractors.

Lyrical themes in Desecration are not an example of death metal iconoclasm. However, perhaps they are more genuine and well-informed than the average death metal band’s lyrics of malignant torture as Jones is a practicing mortician and fails to hesitate in imbuing his lyrics with his pain-staking knowledge of human anatomy and mortality. Interestingly enough, Jones would rather not stress the obvious correlation between his occupation and his band.

Of course, Desecration are far from immaculate. ‘Frosted Breath’ offers nothing remotely ground-breaking and ‘As the Heart Stops Beating’, while it has its moments, is largely forgettable. Death metal is a significantly limiting genre compared to metal’s other sub-classes. To maintain interest, a band has to notably keep evolving their sound. Cannibal Corpse’s Kill is completely different to the band’s debut full-length effort Eaten Back To Life. In fact, Kill differs substantially to its immediate predecessor The Wretched Spawn in that it features semblance of metalcore embellishments, executed convincingly and worked into the music appropriately, making this classic band refreshing. Compare Obituary’s work throughout their career and the change is minimal, which leaves them overshadowed in the modern extreme metal world.[8] Desecration’s most pressing concern is how to reinvent themselves or retain a refreshing edge to their music and retain their position of staying ahead of the modern UK death metal scene.[9]

In an empire saturated with bland brutal death metal, Desecration are remaining true to the original death metal sound and are one of the only outstanding UK death metal acts to still be doing so and are suffering from an absence of recognition. Their lack of erosion in class or style is a monument of death metal quality in the UK’s subterranean and, in terms of traditional death metal, the death metal scene overall irrespective of popularity. Future endeavours may see the band morphing style as they have practically exhausted all areas of their genre.

[From left to right: Ollie Jones, Mic Hourihan and Andi Morris]

Bibliography:

www.metal-archives.com

‘Reign in Blood’ by D.X. Ferris, 2008

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[1] Amputated formed in 2002, much later than Desecration.

[2] Formerly Gorerotted.

[3] Also dubbed ‘old school death metal’ more colloquially.

[4] Compare with new act Hail of Bullets from Holland who have released one album this year of traditional death metal, offering no single enhancement or innovative feature.

[5] Far too many death metal bands treat vocals as a mere after thought. Whilst Desecration may not have planned their vocal lines excessively, they certainly underscore relevant sections of the music and frequently accompany the guitars or drums appropriately. Desecration’s vocal delivery is far more effectively utilized than a more talented death metal band such as Cryptopsy.

[6] Reign in Blood’s engineer has admitted that the album was the intended to have the listener feel as though they were being repeatedly punched in the face, with positive results. Whilst it is easy for a death metal band to undertake such a challenge, such as Cannibal Corpse’s classic Butchered At Birth which is less successful than Slayer although meets a good quality standard, Desecration resisted this interestingly enough, in spite of being a traditional death metal band like Cannibal Corpse.

[7] Krisiun’s Southern Storm and Anal Bleeding’s Two Cocks in the Same Hole come to mind.

[8] Although Obituary are not enhancing their sound significantly, their broody death metal is very irregular and an interesting interpretation of death doom metal.

[9] It seems only fair to mention Rugby’s Mithras as another brilliant UK death metal act, pioneering atmospheric death metal with musically brutal sentiments. Formed in 1998, they are more youthful than Desecration.