WHEN DREAM AND DAY UNITE

This without question should be their lowest rated album, and it's the poor production that is probably the biggest reason for me saying that. The picture of the band made me cringe, i'm sure they laugh when they see it now looking like an eighties hair Metal band. They thank John Arch, Jim Matheos and FATES WARNING in the liner notes. The instrumental music is really good and the singing is o.k., Charlie has his moments.

Some of the highlights are "Status Seeker" with Kevin doing a great job on keys. "Ytse Jam" is the name of their former band spelled backwards.This is a good, heavy instrumental with a nice keyboard run 3 minutes in followed by some great scorching guitar.

"The Killing Hand" has an acoustic intro that turns electric, nice sound. The vocals aren't the best though."Light Fuse And Get Away" shows Portnoy having some fun but it's the sound 5 minutes in that sounds incredible with some good guitar melodies. "Afterlife" is probably the catchiest tune. "Only A Matter Of Time" sounds familiar. The drumming is good and the keyboard melodies stand out as well.

This is worth checking out if only to see DREAM THEATER in their infancy.