WHEN DREAM AND DAY UNITE

When Dream and Day Unite is the debut record from prog metal champions Dream Theater. The main difference from later releases is vocalist Charlie Dominici singing instead of James LaBrie. He's a very capable vocalist who bears a resemblence to Steve Walsh of Kansas. It's a very strong debut album, though it has its flaws. The first is the shoddy production, even on the remaster, though a plus is that Myung's bass is comletely audible. Next, the lyrics are nothing specail, but the instrumentation rocks.

Highlight s are the superb instrumental Ytse Jam (one of the band's finest numbers with kiler bass), A Fortune in Lies (good riff, catchy song), Afterlife (love this song, sounds even better on Score), and Only a Matter of Time (finest lyrics on the album). The other songs are good, but lack staying power. Any fan of DT should own this album, and really any fan of prog can enjoy this since it really pays homage to 70s prog.