A ticking metronome.
A voice. Soft, comforting, yet firm, in control.
“Close your eyes and begin to relax.”
A hypnotherapist. He puts his subject under, leads him back
through time to find a girl waiting for him.
And so begins Dream Theater’s concept album, Metropolis
Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, a tragic yet life-affirming
tale of love, betrayal, murder and reincarnation.
The story of the album begins seven years before its 1999
release. Images and Words, the record that put Dream
Theater on the map, featured a song with an intriguing title:
“Metropolis—Part 1: ‘The Miracle and the
Sleeper.’” The nine-and-a-half-minute opus became
a fan favorite and live staple, and led to a question that
plagued the band for years: Where is part two? The problem
was that they had added the “Part 1” tag as a
goof. When they originally wrote and recorded it, there was
no grand plan for a continuation.
In 1996, while writing what would become Falling Into
Infinity, the band composed a 20-minute instrumental
intended to be “Part 2.” But their record label
pressured them to pursue a more commercial direction, forcing
them to leave the song incomplete.
After the experience of making Falling Into Infinity and the lukewarm reaction it received left a sour taste in
the band’s collective mouth, the band members made a
crucial decision that the label—surprisingly—agreed
to. They took the reins of their career, seizing total creative
control. Never mind outside writers—there wouldn’t
even be outside producers from this point forward. Production
became the job of drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John
Petrucci.
Another, perhaps equally important development: the band
parted ways with keyboardist Derek Sherinian, who had replaced
original keyboardist Kevin Moore following the release of Awake (1994). Sherinian was a fine player but not
a virtuoso who could challenge the likes of Portnoy, Petrucci
and bassist John Myung. For that they turned to the classically-trained
Jordan Rudess, with whom Portnoy and Petrucci already had
recorded two albums in their instrumental prog-rock side project,
Liquid Tension Experiment.
Scenes from a Memory, which was shrouded in secrecy
until its release, returned Dream Theater to its progressive
roots, yet it has a bite, a heaviness that Images and
Words and even Awake lacked. The band was firing
on all cylinders, both as musicians and songwriters.
The albums begin in the present with Nicholas, a troubled
man, visiting the hypnotherapist. Through regression therapy,
Nicholas learns of past lives, Victoria Page, her brutal 1928
murder and the love triangle of Victoria, Senator Edward Baynes
(“The Miracle”), and his brother, Julian Baynes
(“The Sleeper”). Using newspaper reports, stories
from an old man and memories pulled from his own subconscious,
Nicholas gradually pieces the tragedy together. He learns
that the romance of Victoria and Julian went south, leading
to her affair with his brother, the senator. When the couple
reconciles, an enraged Edward is driven to double-murder,
which he successfully pins on Julian as murder-suicide.
Though saddened by Victoria’s fate, her story brings
long-lost peace of mind to Nicholas. Knowledge of his past
life brings him the comfort of knowing death is not the end.
His revelation (as expressed in “The Spirit Carries
On”): “If I die tomorrow, I’d be all right
because I believe that after we’re gone, the spirit
carries on.”
Rejuvenated, Nicholas goes home, turns on the TV. Reporting
on the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. dominates the news. He
puts on a record instead. A door opens and an intruder enters.
The hypnotherapist: “Open your eyes, Nicholas.”
Nicholas gasps. The record is knocked from the turntable.
Then, there is only static.
The logical conclusion: Edward Baynes, reincarnated as the
hypnotherapist, his anger still not sated, has murdered Victoria,
reincarnated as Nicholas, for the second time.
It is a complex story set in two different time periods with
multiple points of view. But despite that and contributions
from four different lyricists (Portnoy, Petrucci, Myung and
vocalist James LaBrie), the narrative is remarkably cohesive.
Even passages that do little more than convey the nuts and
bolts of the story flow naturally.
Musically, the album is perfection. There is no other way
to describe it. The acoustic, Pink Floyd-like “Regression”
leads into “Overture 1928,” which introduces a
slew of stunning musical themes that will be heard throughout
the piece. From there, it’s one unforgettable musical
odyssey after another, each one advancing the story further.
The band keeps listeners on their toes, never quite taking
the turn one might expect. “Fatal Tragedy,” a
heavy song with strong gothic undertones, ends with a long
instrumental section. The hypnotherapist then leads us directly
into the even heavier “Beyond This Life,” which
details the newspaper account of Victoria’s murder.
More than 11 minutes later, we finally get a chance to breathe
on “Through Her Eyes,” a song highlighted by Rudess’
keys, Petrucci’s heartbreaking guitar and guest vocalist
Theresa Thomason. “Home,” perhaps the best heavy
track of Dream Theater’s entire career, follows. “Home”
also is the most direct descendant of “Metropolis—Part
1.” Then it’s on to “The Dance of Eternity,”
an instrumental that’s jaw-dropping even by this band’s
lofty standards. “The Spirit Carries On,” perhaps
the album’s key song, also has a Pink Floyd vibe and
features a gospel choir. “Finally Free,” which
reveals the truth of Victoria’s death, is noteworthy
for Portnoy’s incredible drumming display at its climax,
among other things.
Though it reached only No. 73 on the Billboard charts in
the United States, Scenes from a Memory was hugely
important album for Dream Theater. It re-established their
artistic credibility with those who were turned off by Falling
Into Infinity and was successful enough to convince the
record company suits to continue to let the band do things
their way. Portnoy and Petrucci have produced all four Dream
Theater albums released since then, and more than 20 years
into their career, their fan base is as strong as ever (2007’s Systematic Chaos charted at No. 19 in the United
States ).
On the world tour supporting Scenes from a Memory,
the band performed the album in its entirety and captured
the final North American concert (Aug. 30, 2000, at Roseland
Ballroom in New York City ) on the DVD Metropolis 2000:
Scenes from New York and the three-disc live record Live
Scenes from New York. If anything, the live performance
is even more magical than what they created in the studio.
I was lucky enough to attend the Feb. 21, 2000 show at the
9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., an event I consider one of
the highlights of my concert-going life.
ACT 1
SCENE ONE : Regression
SCENE TWO: I. Overture 1928 II. Strange Déjà
vu
SCENE THREE: I. Through My Words II. Fatal Tragedy
SCENE FOUR: Beyond This Life
SCENE FIVE: Through Her Eyes
ACT II
SCENE SIX: Home
SCENE SEVEN: I. The Dance of Eternity II. One Last Time
SCENE EIGHT: The Spirit Carries On
SCENE NINE: Finally Free
THE ORCHESTRA
Vocals – James LaBrie
Bass Guitar – John Myung
Guitars, Vocals – John Petrucci
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Mike Portnoy
Keyboards – Jordan Rudess
GUEST MUSICIANS
Additional Vocals on “Through Her Eyes”
and “The Spirit Carries On”: Theresa Thomason
Gospel Choir on “The Spirit Carries On”: Theresa
Thomason, Mary Canty, Shelia Slappy, Mary Smith, Jeanette
Smith, Clarence Burke Jr., Carol Cylus, Dale Scott
Choir Arranged and Conducted by Jordan Rudess
www.dreamtheater.net |
