Where to start with...Welcome to Kerrang!'s essential guide to the greatest bands rocking our world. Discover new acts or re-acquaint yourselves with the legends... it all starts here.DREAM THEATERSURVIVING TWENTY years as a band is no mean feat. Continuing to sell albums and tickets after that long is just plain impressive, but that’s just what Dream Theater are doing. Since forming as Majesty at Berklee College of Music in 1985, they have become one of the biggest-selling progressive bands around, selling over six million units worldwide. Building their sound from a solid base of incredible musical proficiency, they have morphed and adapted over the years, becoming heavier and more expansive all the time, whilst retaining their trademark, complex prog element. After releasing their ‘When Dream and Day Unite’ debut to reasonable acclaim, they really hit their stride when Canadian vocalist Kevin James LaBrie replaced original singer Charlie Dominici for 1992’s incredible ‘Images and Words’. The band never looked back. Constantly striving to push themselves to the next musical level, Dream Theater have frequently performed exhilarating shows where award-winning virtuoso drummer Mike Portnoy ensures that every setlist is unique. While there are so many flash-in-the-pan bands that will never stand the test of time, Dream Theater really are just as relevant (and just as cool) today as they were 22 years ago and seeing as their current release, their ninth studio album, sounds as good as anything else they’ve ever done, you wouldn’t dare bet against seeing them going strong in another couple of decades. 
Name: METROPOLIS PART 2:...
Label: ELEKTRA
Year: 1999
Review: ESSENTIALLY JUST a remarkable, album-length follow-up to ‘Metropolis Part 1’ from their 1992 breakthrough, this is their most accessible record because, somehow, it doesn’t seem pretentious at all. James LaBrie sang the story that forms the concept of this album impeccably and solved the unfinished business that many fans had complained about since ‘Images And Words’ in one. 
Name: SIX DEGREES OF INNER...
Label: ELEKTRA
Year: 2002
Review: MANY CAN’T decide if this double-disc is their finest moment or not. The fact that their label did not allow them to make a double-album the last time meant they went slightly overboard this time. With the title-track taking up a whole one of those discs covering a staggering, but glorious 42 minutes, they managed to make a marathon that everyone wanted to run. 
Name: SYSTEMATIC CHAOS
Label: ROADRUNNER
Year: 2007
Review: AFTER TWO decades of developing their sound and building their fanbase, Dream Theater return with a stunningly epic album full of modern influences and dramatic interludes. LaBrie sounds older and wiser, handing the vocals an inimitable assuredness and authority. It’s a significant return to form after a couple of duds. Their duds, however, are still better than most other music. 
Name: IMAGES AND WORDS
Label: ATCO
Year: 1992
Review: THE FIRST album with James LaBrie is held up by many to be the album where the band really nailed their prog-metal sound. It was their breakthrough album after gaining much airplay across the world with their brazen displays of musical aptitude. Despite the turbulent time signatures and sheer heaviness, they somehow still managed to become a mainstream act. 
Name: OCTAVARIUM
Label: ATLANTIC
Year: 2005
Review: THE STUNNING title track aside, there’s not much here that’s very interesting at all. Fair enough, said track is 24 minutes long, but that’s to be expected because Dream Theater have clearly never done anything by halves. It’s not a bad album by any means but when they have so much more material to stun you with, this is hardly a crucial addition to your library.
Key DREAM THEATER Tracks |
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