DREAM THEATER — Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a Memory (review)

DREAM THEATER — Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a Memory album cover Album · 1999 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'Scenes From A Memory' - Dream Theater (10/10)

The best progressive metal album of all time...Or maybe the best metal album of all time period? For a good 70 minutes, these masters of heavy progressive music unfold a tale of murder and mystery, and some of the greatest music I have ever heard. Almost everything is flawless and perfect with this album. Theres nothing I've ever heard that's of quite this quality and inspiration.

What we have here is artwork on two layers. The first (and most apparent) is the music itself. Dream Theater pulls every trick in the book on this album. When they were first conceiving of this album, they opted to in essence make 'the most prog album they possibly could.' In this attempt, they created a masterpiece that perfectly blends complexity with memorability, melody with progression and emotion with intensity. From gut-wrenching piano ballads to incredibly progressive instrumental sections typical of the band's repetoire, this album has it all, and as it result, it enjoys great cohesion and a feeling of completion.

The second layer is that of the lyrics. While alot of lyrics of Dream Theater (especially the ones on the later releases) are incredibly cheesy and detract from the music, the words sung by LaBrie on 'Scenes From A Memory' actually serve a purpose, and are done incredibly well. The music tells a story that -considering it is only told through lyrics- is incredibly complex, and each character is relatively well rounded, and intriguing. (The summary of the concept is a bit hard to go through on a review, but believe me when I say it has it's merits!) By the end of the album, theres a feeling as if the listener has just watched a film; as if the album was merely the soundtrack to a grand tale.

From the brilliantly composed tech-pieces, to the gut wrenching Floydian ballads, this album is one of the most complete pieces of music ever written for the metal genre. While the album is certainly as good (even better) than the band's classic masterwork 'Images And Words,' this album requires a much more focused listener to appreciate to the fullest.

I bought this album on the last day of elementary school, and years later, after hundreds of listens, I still enjoy it greatly, and find my love of the album constantly renewed with each fresh, exhilerating listen.

'Scenes From A Memory' is about as essential as you can get, and a favourite of mine for years.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Opus Ferox II - Mark Of The Beast Progressive Metal
LOCH VOSTOK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Rankarumpu Folk Metal
KORPIKLAANI
Buy this album from MMA partners
… And the Universe Keeps Silent Death Metal
MAERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Le bannissement Atmospheric Black Metal
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tarantula Heart Sludge Metal
MELVINS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Fallen Ashes - Wage War (Official Lyric Video)
FALLEN ASHES
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Unreality (Single) 2024
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
EXISTENTIAL DEAD - Cold Hands
EXISTENTIAL DEAD
Bosh66· 9 days ago
IRON MONKEY - Misanthropizer (Official Music Video)
IRON MONKEY
Bosh66· 12 days ago
??? (Losing ART) - "????" (Official Music Video) [HD]
漂浮者樂團
Bosh66· 12 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed