METROPOLIS PART 2 - SCENES FROM A MEMORY

Is this the magnum opus of prog-metal.I think not. This is an awesome album, but it certainly lacks punch in some areas that I'll really detail out because the rest is great. I would recommend maybe 3 or 4 Dream Theater albums alone more then this one, but the genre as a whole? I stand on top of my computer chair holding 'The Perfect Element' and 'Second Life Syndrome' skyward (to name very few). Anyway, Jordan Rudess replaces Derek Sherinian on the keyboards for this album and his presence was instantly felt. Jordan Rudess to me is the modern day Keith Emerson meaning for those uninformed, he is a wizard on the keys. Unfortunately after this album I began to dislike Rudess, but that's a topic I'll save for the later albums. This album has a great amount of flow to it and as such I really don't think I will do a track-by-track analysis. This is a conceptual work after all.

From a lyrical point of view, this album is perfect. I won't topsoil the story (yes, story), in any way, but it has to do with the spirit, reincarnation, after-life, then the joys and pains of the physical realm like murder, love and betrayal. Everything is done so perfectly.

The instruments are outstanding. The guitar work is as good as it has ever been, Myung is like always, kept secret. Jordan Rudess brings the virtuosity to a new level, his keyboard solos were extremely technical, but still retained a great amount of feeling. The guitar and keyboard also bring a sort of new 'element' to the Dream Theater sound. Rudess and Petrucci sort of mimic each other at times and other play the same exact solo on top of one another. While this was good for this particular album, this overused novelty plagued DT's later albums to oblivion.

The sound is outstanding.but this is where the flaws are embedded in. There are no flaws in my opinion until 'Through Her Eyes' came in. Dream Theater certainly failed to deliver on the slower songs. This is pretty hard to believe, especially after releasing the outstanding soft and melancholic album, which was 'Falling into Infinity'. 'The Spirit Carries On' is one of my least favorite Dream Theater tracks simply because the vocals and instrumentation lack the emotional punch that these two songs were supposed to portray, thus lowering my rating down half a star. The guitar solo in 'The Spirit Carries On' was the only thing that really gave the expression that was needed to be heard.

Besides the two aforementioned songs.every other one is outstanding. If I had to recommend a few tracks to definitely check out, they would be 'Fatal Tragedy', 'Beyond this Life', 'Home', and 'Finally Free'. These songs are some of the most sophisticated of all prog-metal songs and they contain the most intense virtuostic work yet.

You have intense instrumentals, well though-out story and concept, excellent composition and a great melody. The only problem is the slower works that did not make this album a complete masterpiece. This album is highly recommended for any fan of prog- metal.

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