Metropolis PT 2: Scenes From A Memory

Dream Theater’s Magnum Opus

When it comes to progressive metal there is no band bigger than the American, Dream Theater. Through the nineties Dream Theater had been slowly building a fan base and a reputation for virtuoso playing and innovative musical composition, following their break out album, Images and Words. Yet by 1997 due to unhelpful pressure from their record company, their current release, Falling into Infinity, was a commercial failure. The band were on a precipice. They had reached a difficult, though defining moment in their career.

They introduced a new keyboardist, Jordan Rudess, and returned to the studio to record their fifth album, this time with no meddling from the corporate bosses. They were a band on fire with everything to prove. What came out of the recording sessions in 1999 was arguably the band’s finest hour. They’ve had many stunning albums since, yet Scenes From A Memory remains an epic, all time classic, still beloved today by their multitude of fans throughout the world.

It was their first concept album. The story they created was a supernatural thriller, with enough complexity and balls to grace any bookstore.

The story, and album, begins with the character, Nicholas, undergoing past life regression with a hypnotherapist. During the trance, Nicholas…