Progressive rock has long been the most devalued currency in popular music, perhaps due to the culture's dumbing down, too many conceptually knotted triple-albums, or merely a Greek chorus of critics parroting the emperor from Amadeus: "Too many notes!" Maybe that's what makes Dream Theater's Scenes such an audacious rush (no pun intended). Here we have a two-act murder mystery examined from a hypnotic dream state and parlayed by "The Orchestra," as the band refers to itself here. Andrew Lloyd Webber hasn't written anything as focused--or musically audacious--in decades. And if the band attacks feverish shift meters and plows through enough structural modes and, yes, notes, to make the aforementioned emperor's head spin, they manage to keep things concise, focused, and largely effective. The addition of keyboardist Jordan Rudess has freshened the band's tack, infused now with the odd, playful ragtime piano quote and sitar sample. Vocalist James Labrie, meanwhile, amply proves that Queensryche's Geoff Tate isn't the only drama queen in prog metal. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Rating:
Summary: Unusually sophisticated heavy metal
Comment: Having been a casual Rush fan since 1980 or so, I thought that I would give this group a try and generally liked what I heard. In fact, I was surprised that I liked Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) as much as I did - I am far removed from being a heavy metal fan and prefer the "artier" sound of progressive rock. The overall sound on this album nods in the direction of Rush, Styx, Metallica, and Queensryche, yet sounds very contemporary. Above all else however, it is played at a breakneck tempo and with a sophistication that I have not heard in heavy metal since listening to my old Rush records. Indeed, this is a fine example of progressive metal.

The lineup on this album includes three former Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts) students: John Petrucci (electric and acoustic guitars); John Myung (electric bass guitars), and the Neil Peart-influenced Mike Portnoy (drums, percussion, and vocals), along with James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards, synthesizers). As of this writing, these guys are in their 40s and 50s. Joining the core group are guest musicians Theresa Thomason (bluesy/soulful vocalise on tracks 7 and 11) and a "gospel choir" consisting of several female and male vocalists. The choir parts were arranged by the talented Jordan Rudess.

These guys are positively top shelf when it comes to technical abilities and can play with blinding speed. Although the "shredding" style of John Petrucci can (admittedly) be heard in any corner pub here in Massachusetts, what sets this group apart is the fact that ALL of the instrumentalists can "shred". The fact that they can do it in unison and in odd time signatures is also pretty impressive. While the group favors the tone colors of heavy metal (high pitched vocalist, distorted guitar played at a crushing volume), there are also acoustic textures here and there. Unfortunately, I wish more had been made of the considerable abilities of Jordan Rudess - his synthesizer is simply pressed into service as another lead guitar more often than not. I should not complain though - this is heavy metal after all. Last but not least is poor John Myung - this guy is a great bassist but is unfortunately nearly completely buried in the mix. This is too bad - boosting the bass up in the mix would lend this music extra punch and the added counterpoint would increase the sophistication of the ensemble work.

The 77 minute long Scenes from a Memory suite is divided into two "Acts", with individual pieces ranging in length from 1:02 to 12:00. The pieces flow together nicely, so there is not a sense of them having been arranged as a song-cycle. In large part, the pieces alternate between sections that boast frenzied ostinati (repeated riffs) played in unison on the bass/guitar/synth and at blinding speeds, and softer, melodic ballads. Although there are some faint whiffs of the 1980s power ballad and fairly maudlin moments accentuated by the overly dramatic vocal style of James LaBrie, the softer sections work just fine and nicely offset the heavier passages. Overall, while the whole work sounds great, I wish there had been more variety in terms of tone color and the arrangements, along with greater use of rhythmic and harmonic counterpoint ("riffing" gets dull after a while). I really should stop complaining though - this is a heavy metal album after all and these guys did a good job "sprucing" up the metal sound.

In terms of the CD package it is pretty good and features the lineup and the lyrics. Unfortunately, the production quality is not so hot (Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci produced the album). Specifically, the keyboards are buried in the mix (save for the solo sections) and poor John Myung has all been mixed out of the album. As can be imagined, the drums sound pretty good and John Petrucci is, well, everywhere.

All in all, this makes for an exciting listen and would be a fine addition to your progressive metal collection. Come to think of it, many fans regard this as the finest album by the group. Recommended along with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) to heavy metal fans that do not mind prog rock, and prog rock fans that do not mind heavy metal.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Awesome Progressive Rock Album
Comment: I never heard of this group before I saw them on Youtube. I liked a few songs off this album when I saw them on Youtube. This is a great album. One of the best progressive rock albums in my collection.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Pretentious garbage!
Comment: YAWN! I think the folks in Dream Theater need to stop trying so hard. They'll NEVER be as good as Slipknot or Staind. Just give up, guys! You suck. All of the songs sound the same. To write a Dream Theater song, it needs to have
1.) a 13:00+ running time
2.) 4/4 drumming
3.) inaudible bass
4.) whiny vocals (seriously, LaBrie can't sing for his life!)
5.) lame, three-chord guitar playing.
You guys suck, and so do your dorky fans! Everyone listen to St.Anger by Metallica if you want a real sense of metal.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Really cool, but my 2nd to least favorite DT album behind Octavarium
Comment: I really enjoy this album. Overture 1928, Fatal Tragedy, Through my words, through her eyes, The Spirit Carries on, The dance of eternity and Finally Free are my favorites. Also, the wild progressive edge of changing time signatures and wicked left turns find DT at their best, but somehow, as much as I enjoy the songs here, they don't stick with me the way Scarred, Anna Lee, The ones who help to set the sun, The great debate, or songs from their other albums do. Totally worth having, but I feel DT has put out much better over the years.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Good!
Comment: So I'm listening to Metropolis Part II, and it's OK, but then I hit the conclusion and I am blown away. I still don't fully understand the story yet and it's been a few months since I first got the album.

Let me justify the 4 stars, as opposed to 5.

Pros:

The musicianship is top-notch: The long instrumental sections are quite impressive, my favorite being Track 5: Fatal Tragedy, and as I noted before, the conclusion.

Cons:

James LaBrie's vocals are iffy. There are spots where he's good and there are spots where he's bad. The writing is sometimes very poor.
The worst thing to ever happen on this album is that James LaBrie sings a female role (Scene Six: Home). It is not convincing in the least, and they did have a female for some background vocals on a later track, so where is she!?

However, this is very much worth a listen. The story is strong (just you wait for Scene Nine!), and the musicianship is absolutely top-notch. What I find strange, however, is that James performed better as the lead character in Ayreon's Human Equation than on his band's own album.

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