Dream Theater
Images And Words

THE REVIEW

O God of Progressive Metal, give me the strength to properly celebrate this immortal, powerful, heartbreaking, rocky, emotional, deeply suffered MASTERPIECE.

See, if I started the review with these words, you would immediately understand you're dealing with an aficionado, an enthusiast, a fan who surely does not pretend to be objective. But we are science, not science fiction. And so, let's proceed with a calm and composed analysis of the most famous quintet in Progressive Metal and what many consider their most representative work: "Images And Words".

Mike Portnoy has been defined as the greatest drummer of all time by a large number of music critics, among whom we remember John Portnoy, David Portnoy, and Josephine Halloran in Portnoy. Charismatic leader of the group and a handsome man, Portnoy is famous for having written a song in honor of his wife's water breaking, which happened during the sessions of his seventeenth side project, involving John Petrucci on even days, Neal Morse on odd days, and the cleaning lady in the studio on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

James LaBrie, not to be confused with the namesake, delicious French cheese, is the vocalist who has most divided critics and audience. The more interlocutory fringe of fans admits to a certain limitation in vocal range and an unenthusiastic stage presence, while the hardest and purest fans just drool and utter meaningless phrases, as usual. And it's a real shame, because LaBrie actually has a certain stylistic mark, making his voice an improbable yet successful mix of Freddy Mercury, Ozzy Osbourne, and Nikka Costa. Unforgettable is his vibrato in trembling falsetto.

John Myung is a Mongolian bassist unjustly less famous than Saturnino, but from an instrumental point of view, he eats spring rolls off his head! But let's not digress, rather it's worth recalling that time when Myung tackled LaBrie on stage while he was singing, just out of his own interest. Fantastic! Let's be honest: can you imagine Saturnino tackling Jovanotti while he's singing? Certainly not.

There's no Jordan Rudess, the keyboardist whom certain strict and trendy critics have defined as "the man with the toilet brush instead of a beard." Instead, there's Kevin Moore.

Lastly, I left him, John Petrucci, the most celebrated guitar hero of the last twenty years, whatever that means. It's pointless to linger on Petrucci's technical mastery. It's enough to say that he's second only to Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, Steve Morse, Alex Skolnick, David Gilmour, Frank Gambale, Steve Hackett, Jimi Hendrix, Allan Holdsworth, Rory Gallagher, Vernon Reid... You can find the complete list in the yellow pages.

But now, for the happiness of the fans, let's move on to a telegraphic track-by-track. Let's hope DeBaser's hard disk is capacious enough.

The five boys from Boston start immediately very technically, melodically yet rhythmically with the opening "Pull Me Under". Petrucci delights with granite riffs and a solo in pure travertine. At a certain point, the power goes out in the recording studio and you can't hear a damn thing anymore.

"Another Day" is one of the group's most famous ballads, a nice slow one like a middle school dance. Exceptional solo by Petrucci that goes through all the possible and imaginable scales on his guitar. Here, as in many other albums, the slow song gives the musicians a chance to prove themselves melodic, yet always technical and rhythmic.

"Take The Time". Despite the critics, LaBrie's vocal flexibility is incredible as he perfectly imitates a twelve-year-old girl. At a certain point, you can also hear him say in Italian: "Ora che ho perso la vista, ci vedo di più". The Roman version was discarded in post-production: "Mo' che sò cecato, ce vedo deppiù. E STICAZZI!?". Remarkable Petrucci's solo.

"Surrounded" is a very sweet song, melodic with a good dose of technique and rhythm. Big riff and solo by Petrucci on joyful and sparkling keyboards like new wine. LaBrie performs a miracle with his love-stricken high schooler shrieks.

"Metropolis part.I". The favorite track by fans young and old. If they don't play it in concert, you've wasted the ticket money. Melodic and gritty theme, instrumental interlude where all five musicians prove who's got it bigger (the talent, you sillies). Petrucci stands out among all with his solo. And towards the end, it gets rather complex, with an animalistic back-and-forth of keyboards and guitar, the tumpa-tatatà of Portnoy is profuse, but then in the end... TAAC... Here comes back the very melodic and gritty theme. In this juncture, usually, the true fan gets excited and sweats. Beware of drafts.

"Under A Glass Moon", here Portnoy's metronomic precision is downright devastating, then LaBrie comes in as evocative as always (and as he seems, too) for a new emotional ride on the back of emotions. Very technical solo by Petrucci. Hang in there, we're almost at the end.

"Wait for Sleep" is another melodic moment (without giving up the technicalities and a touch of rhythm) where the piano reigns supreme. Great work by Petrucci on guitar.

"Learning to live" is definitely the most prog track of the platter, with a mood and a groove that chase infinite loops and chords but always and still melodic, extremely technical and notably rhythmic. Petrucci's guitar riffs are unmissable, crowned by a solo done with his holy little hands.

End of the album. And that's done. If you found this review too synthetic, and you want to know more about Dream Theater, try looking up DeBaser, you might find some other review of this group.

Let's conclude with a slogan that always pleases the young: Listen to your Dream, live your own Theater.

E STICAZZI.