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.
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