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Rating: We are in 1989, and the "Theatre of Dreams" raises its curtain for the first time. The lineup for this album is as follows: Mike Portnoy (drums), John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Kevin Moore (keyboard), and finally the singer, who at the time was Charlie Dominici—quite good (though not on par with LaBrie!)—who played a lot with the high tones of his voice.
It's an album that, both for its sound (very tied to the experimental sounds of the '80s) and for the singer, remains as unique as it is beautiful in the D.T. repertoire. Its beauty is based precisely on its original sounds, and especially on Kevin Moore, who truly does an excellent job on this album; it can be said that it is certainly the album where he expresses himself the most.
The first song, "A Fortune In Lies," one of my favorites, is a very engaging track in which Mike Portnoy gives listeners his calling card in the intro with a stunning drum roll. Then, Dominici's beautiful voice captivates and dominates the listeners' ears. At the end, there's an extraordinary solo by Petrucci; his sound clarity is magnificent, the speed is insane... for a debut album, the word "experience" does not exist in the vocabulary of these ALIENS!
Another song to mention on this album is the beautiful instrumental "The Ytse Jam." No words could express the harmonic and technical beauty of it; I will simply say that in this "song," every member of the group (except the singer) has a solo... Myung simply fills up the keyboard of his Yamaha in a few seconds, Moore sets fire to the keys of his "Korg" after a simple (for him) solo. And Petrucci? The strings of his Ibanez, after just a few seconds of his "solo," I believe, vulcanized with the fretboard!
Portnoy keeps the time for the rest of the group with a splendid Jazz beat, not sparing a magnificent "snare destroyer" at the end.
The other songs on this album worthy of a simple ode are: "The Killing Hand" and the beautiful "Only a Matter of Time" (and another round of applause for Kevin Moore). In 1990, Dominici would be dismissed (considered not up to the group's style), and only in 1991 would former Winter Rose singer James LaBrie join the band.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Status Seeker (04:14)
Heart sick at the sight of the
Status Seeker
In a sense I'm not beyond reproach
The aspiration to drop a name
When any rose might smell the same
Maybe you'll figure it out someday
'I want to know you now...
You know I've always believed in you.'
Nothing is sacred...
You draw the bottom line
With a dollar sign
Change of opinion...
At the drop of a dime
Graceless intrusion...
Are you sanctified in your judgment of me?
All that I deserve is what you were unable to see
In the garden where the seeds were spilled
I favored the few that stood strong in the sun
As I reached for the profit of my prize
I found I had trampled the forgotten ones.
Nothing is sacred...
You draw the bottom line
With a dollar sign
Change of opinion...
At the drop of a dime
Graceless intrusion...
Are you sanctified in your judgment of me?
All that I deserve is what you were unable to see
You're running in circles
And I'm turning away
You refused to believe
Now I'm turning away
Nothing is sacred...
You draw the bottom line
With a dollar sign
Change of opinion...
At the drop of a dime
Graceless intrusion...
Are you sanctified in your judgment of me?
All that I deserve is what you were unable to see
You're running in circles
And I'm turning away
You refused to believe
Now I'm turning away
04 The Killing Hand (08:38)
An Angel's kiss now fallen
Descending scarlet cuts the sky
Faded names left on the wall
Honor the fighting leave life to die
Remembered is the sacrifice but
No praisal of blood still flowing
Who were the leaders?
What controlled the Killing Hand
That caused this mourning?
Crossing over...
06 Afterlife (05:24)
I touched with one
Who made me run
Away from my own soul...
In this world with its many illusions
We are moving like mice through a maze
And now I find
What's left behind
Has served to make me whole
Full of doubt, deception, and delusion
Seeking purpose to all earthly days
I search within
Beneath a skin
That bears both pleasure and pain
In a world full of constant confusion
I will not be a par to the craze
In the Afterlife
Will dark be bright?
Will cold be warm?
Will the day have no night?
In the Afterlife?
Will the blind have sight?
In the Afterlife
Behind closed eyes
Some comfort lies
In knowing the truth never spoken
Through this world with its hidden conclusion
We'll keep moving like mice through a maze
In the Afterlife
Will dark be bright?
Will cold be warm?
Will the day have no night?
In the Afterlife?
Will the blind have sight?
In the Afterlife
In the Afterlife
Will dark be bright?
Will cold be warm?
Will the day have no night?
In the Afterlife?
Will the blind have sight?
In the Afterlife
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Other reviews
By weseven
"When Dream And Day Unite" is the debut album of what would become one of the most beloved and discussed bands of all time.
The absence of Dominici for the 5:47 of the jam is a godsend.
By splinter
In this debut album, the influences of classic metal prevail, but there is already a good dose of progressive influences.
A glaring missed masterpiece is 'The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun'... it transforms into a bland, repetitive and not very creative riff.
