Metropolis 2: Scenes From A Memory Part 2

sbrushfan wrote: Manunkind wrote: sbrushfan wrote: Manunkind wrote: It's VERY uneven, IMO. Most of the mellow sections are simply dreadful. Some not-so-mellow ones as well. Still, it can be mindboggling in places and usually retains the characteristic DT wit and elegance. 3.5-3.75/5 for me.  And props to King Volta - I like Train of Thought more too, and woe to the many that don't.   Well, Manunkind...what does ToT possess that Metropolis may lack? SFAM is the more varied album,  but as I said, this doesn't seem to be an asset here, since long sections are IMO very bad. There are bad moments on ToT, too, but they're few and far between. This is simply something I have with DT - some of their ballads simply make me cringe. There are exceptions - "Wait for Sleep", "Space Dye Vest", "Disappear" and "Vacant" (off ToT) I find excellent. The ones on "Falling into Infinity" arent half bad, either. The ones on SFAM, however... ugh (apart from "One Last Time" and the solo on "The Spirit Carries On".) It's mostly (but not exclusively) due to LaBrie's vocals - he simply pours layers of sugar and fake tears on every line, or gets realy overblown. Now I love overblown music... when I can hear a certain tongue-in-cheek aspect to it. This isn't the case here. Apart from that, certain sections on "Beyond This Life" sound very hackneyed to these ears and the whole song fails to deliver on its potential. One more major flaw here is the pacing, especially in the first half of the album. Although ToT is a slightly harder and more intense album, it doesn't suffer from this problem IMO.    OK...that was pretty deep.  Now I'm kinda frightened.

If you get a chance to listen to the album before you buy it, do so. I think that's the only way you're going to get anywhere with SFAM.

Anyway, just to further confuse you, the above critical points aside, IMO the album has at least 40 minutes of music that is simply to die for. Still, that's only 40 out of, how many, 70? I don't know what DT albums you already have, but I think "Images and Words", "Awake" and "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" should be the priority here, not SFAM. Also "Falling Into Infinity", if you can see the tasty subversiveness behind that album, and, yes, "Train of Thought" - it's not all hard, and even when it is hard, it's not that hard (although this is coming from a confirmed and unrepentant death metal head - don't say you haven't been warned)

 

sbrushfan wrote: Manunkind wrote: It's VERY uneven, IMO. Most of the mellow sections are simply dreadful. Some not-so-mellow ones as well. Still, it can be mindboggling in places and usually retains the characteristic DT wit and elegance. 3.5-3.75/5 for me.  And props to King Volta - I like Train of Thought more too, and woe to the many that don't.   Well, Manunkind...what does ToT possess that Metropolis may lack?

SFAM is the more varied album,  but as I said, this doesn't seem to be an asset here, since long sections are IMO very bad. There are bad moments on ToT, too, but they're few and far between. This is simply something I have with DT - some of their ballads simply make me cringe. There are exceptions - "Wait for Sleep", "Space Dye Vest", "Disappear" and "Vacant" (off ToT) I find excellent. The ones on "Falling into Infinity" arent half bad, either. The ones on SFAM, however... ugh (apart from "One Last Time" and the solo on "The Spirit Carries On".) It's mostly (but not exclusively) due to LaBrie's vocals - he simply pours layers of sugar and fake tears on every line, or gets realy overblown. Now I love overblown music... when I can hear a certain tongue-in-cheek aspect to it. This isn't the case here. Apart from that, certain sections on "Beyond This Life" sound very hackneyed to these ears and the whole song fails to deliver on its potential. One more major flaw here is the pacing, especially in the first half of the album. Although ToT is a slightly harder and more intense album, it doesn't suffer from this problem IMO.   

Edited by Manunkind

It's VERY uneven, IMO. Most of the mellow sections are simply dreadful. Some not-so-mellow ones as well. Still, it can be mindboggling in places and usually retains the characteristic DT wit and elegance. 3.5-3.75/5 for me. 

And props to King Volta - I like Train of Thought more too, and woe to the many that don't.  

I think its pathetic when people bag on DT for being Technical- hey, its DT, and there's no other like them. They are their own niche. What do you want, for DT to sound like every other prog artist? (esp in the prog metal genre)

utterly fantastic album, one of my all-time faves

widjum wrote: sbrushfan wrote: widjum wrote: I was duped into buying this by a "friend". Don't think I ever heard all of it. Would rather die than ever hear any of it again. Pray tell...why? I just don't like their music(especially Labrie's vocals). Theres no doubting DT are all excelllent musicians but it's just not my cup of tea.

Fair enough.

widjum wrote: I was duped into buying this by a "friend". Don't think I ever heard all of it. Would rather die than ever hear any of it again.

Pray tell...why?

Well, after reading this, I'm going into it with mixed emotions, to say the least.  I hope I don't have to do what I did after I got done listening to TEST FOR ECHO from Rush...y'know; pull out some Enya or something.

Edited by sbrushfan

So...the general consensus is that it's a great album, with a few flaws?

SCENES FROM A MEMORY is the album that got me into prog...

 

It's one of the Dream Theater's best albums. 

Edited by Rockin' Chair