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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: RoeDent on October 23, 2014, 10:53:13 AM
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26 October marks 15 years since the release of Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Your reflections on this album, please. :metal
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I bought it on release day. A return to greatness after the lackluster FII.
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My #2 favourite DT album, and I'll be sure to spin it on the 26th :tup
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My personal favorite album, by any band, ever. Here are some random thoughts on it:
One of only a handful of albums that I can honestly listen to without skipping a song.
The album which truly got me into DT.
Had the perfect mix of hard songs, ballads, prog elements, instrumentals, etc. Nothing dragged on too long, and the songs blended great since it was a concept album.
James at his finest melodically, and tonally. Awesome job at playing the "roles" of multiple characters.
Great concept, as a murder mystery with a twist.
Has not lost too much replay value over time. Admittedly, I probably listen to it 10% as much as I used to, but considering how many times I played it, that is not bad. Example: The SFaM encore on BTFW is my favorite part of the DVD, despite many newer songs on the DVD.
I know people complain about the mixes of post FII DT albums, but I love the mix on this album. MP and JP's background vocals, especially in the Home chorus, are so trippy.
Love the story behind making this album. DT had felt defeated after FII, as they had accepted too much influence by the record label to make something more commercial. So for SFaM, they recruited JR, and felt like they had one more chance to turn everything around. They did everything their own way, and made SFaM. The album kept DT alive, and enabled them to be successful with a brand new era of music. In other words, SFaM was the album that would either make or break DT, and it made them....in a big way.
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My personal favorite album, by any band, ever. Here are some random thoughts on it:
One of only a handful of albums that I can honestly listen to without skipping a song.
The album which truly got me into DT.
Had the perfect mix of hard songs, ballads, prog elements, instrumentals, etc. Nothing dragged on too long, and the songs blended great since it was a concept album.
James at his finest melodically, and tonally. Awesome job at playing the "roles" of multiple characters.
Great concept, as a murder mystery with a twist.
Has not lost too much replay value over time. Admittedly, I probably listen to it 10% as much as I used to, but considering how many times I played it, that is not bad. Example: The SFaM encore on BTFW is my favorite part of the DVD, despite many newer songs on the DVD.
I know people complain about the mixes of post FII DT albums, but I love the mix on this album. MP and JP's background vocals, especially in the Home chorus, are so trippy.
Love the story behind making this album. DT had felt defeated after FII, as they had accepted too much influence by the record label to make something more commercial. So for SFaM, they recruited JR, and felt like they had one more chance to turn everything around. They did everything their own way, and made SFaM. The album kept DT alive, and enabled them to be successful with a brand new era of music. In other words, SFaM was the album that would either make or break DT, and it made them....in a big way.
You pretty much nailed it with this post. This is most people's favorite DT album (myself included) but something I don't think a lot of people realize how important this record was to the band. I'm a fairly new fan, so I had to learn about their history after the fact, and I remember reading about how they were very close to calling it quits. They had gone through so much in their short history and they really needed a successful album at that point. Jordan clearly breathed new life into their music and fixed relations within the band and they ended up releasing one of the greatest progressive rock albums (and THE greatest progressive metal album) of all time. It hasn't aged a bit either considering that I first heard it in full 13 years after it was released and it's my favorite. I said in my first post on this site that the the song Octavarium made me a fan. Well Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory cemented me as a fan. The fact that we're celebrating 15 years shows how amazing and important this album is and I think that it will be looked back on many years from now in the same way Master of Puppets, 2112, and Number of the Beast are. It's Dream Theater's magnum opus, and one of the greatest works of art ever made.
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A true masterpiece. One of the greatest albums of all time.
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My personal favorite album, by any band, ever. Here are some random thoughts on it:
One of only a handful of albums that I can honestly listen to without skipping a song.
The album which truly got me into DT.
Had the perfect mix of hard songs, ballads, prog elements, instrumentals, etc. Nothing dragged on too long, and the songs blended great since it was a concept album.
James at his finest melodically, and tonally. Awesome job at playing the "roles" of multiple characters.
Great concept, as a murder mystery with a twist.
Has not lost too much replay value over time. Admittedly, I probably listen to it 10% as much as I used to, but considering how many times I played it, that is not bad. Example: The SFaM encore on BTFW is my favorite part of the DVD, despite many newer songs on the DVD.
I know people complain about the mixes of post FII DT albums, but I love the mix on this album. MP and JP's background vocals, especially in the Home chorus, are so trippy.
Love the story behind making this album. DT had felt defeated after FII, as they had accepted too much influence by the record label to make something more commercial. So for SFaM, they recruited JR, and felt like they had one more chance to turn everything around. They did everything their own way, and made SFaM. The album kept DT alive, and enabled them to be successful with a brand new era of music. In other words, SFaM was the album that would either make or break DT, and it made them....in a big way.
You pretty much nailed it with this post. This is most people's favorite DT album (myself included) but something I don't think a lot of people realize how important this record was to the band. I'm a fairly new fan, so I had to learn about their history after the fact, and I remember reading about how they were very close to calling it quits. They had gone through so much in their short history and they really needed a successful album at that point. Jordan clearly breathed new life into their music and fixed relations within the band and they ended up releasing one of the greatest progressive rock albums (and THE greatest progressive metal album) of all time. It hasn't aged a bit either considering that I first heard it in full 13 years after it was released and it's my favorite. I said in my first post on this site that the the song Octavarium made me a fan. Well Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory cemented me as a fan. The fact that we're celebrating 15 years shows how amazing and important this album is and I think that it will be looked back on many years from now in the same way Master of Puppets, 2112, and Number of the Beast are. It's Dream Theater's magnum opus, and one of the greatest works of art ever made.
Absolutely. As you mentioned, JR was such an important factor in this. His sound redefined the sound of the band, and put them on a new path.
And I feel the same way about it being DT's magnum opus. SFaM is the album I always use as the representation of a "10/10" for my personal standards.
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I think for about half a year not a single day went by without me listening to the album at least once. Never happened to an album before or after that, by any band.
For me, the absolute pinnacle of DT's career.
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This album will always have "a special place in my heart," because it was the first tour where I saw them live, and I was part of the Phoenix, Az. audience that was privileged to witness them performing the entire thing live from beginning to end for the first time.
It helped to cement my love for their music. Even though it was the first time, and probably considered a "practice run" or "rehearsal"
I don't recall there being any major problems with the show,
:metal
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this was THE album that introduced me to dream theater
and even after 2 years of improving my proficiency and skill on bass, I STILL can't play the dance of eternity in one session, but i can still play it nonetheless
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I remember at the time I was a big fan but not the huge fanboy I became after this album and still am. AT that time I was working two jobs, 16 hours a day, so I had absolutely no life and was kinda outside the realm of reality at that time. I woke up one Saturday morning and heard the announcement on the radio that Dream Theater was playing at the Orlando House of Blues later that night. So I decided to go. I arrive late at the show. Didn't really get a good standing place. Steve Morse and some other band was opening. Dream Theater came out and proceeded to play the entire Scenes from a Memory album from start to finish. I didn't even know that Scenes had been released and I had never heard any of the songs. I was thinking to myself the whole time "What the Hell is this Shit?" Where is my Images and Words? Where is my Awake? My Change of Seasons? After playing Scenes in its entirety, they played a few oldies, COS included. I went home disappointed.
The next weekend I bought the SFAM CD and it was love at first listen. Still today, it is not only in my top two of favorite DT albums, it is Top 5 of all albums I have ever owned..If I could relive one night of my life it would be that night and attending that concert knowing the songs from this fantastic recording..
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A true masterpiece. One of the greatest albums of all time.
:tup
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I bought it on release day. A return to greatness after the lackluster FII.
They're both great, fool!
The first time I heard this album was when I ripped a copy of LSFNY off someone else's CD, and back then I didn't number the tracks, so it was just all random tracks. I was aware that DT did a sequel to Metropolis, but didn't realize this was it, until I heard a reference (it was probably the middle of Home), and then had the fun task of piecing it all in order and listening to it from start to finish.
This album is still damn near untouchable, and it's everything I want from DT. :tup
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I bought it on release day. A return to greatness after the lackluster FII.
Yep :P
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SFAM is great! Although... Perhaps overrated in the grand scheme of things. It's one of those albums where it feels incomplete to listen to individual songs for me, so I feel a weird obligation to listen to the whole album. :lol For this reason I probably haven't heard parts of it as much as other albums, but it's certainly a great experience and an excellent representation of the many facets of DT. Might listen to it again on the anniversary or something, it's been a while. ;D
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A true masterpiece. One of the greatest albums of all time.
My thoughts exactly... The first time I heard it I think was after purchasing a dvd from Bali...since then probably the DT album I play most! :smiley:
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It isn't only DT's best album to the date, probably one of the best prog albums of history! Can't tell you guys how excited I get when I start Regression. The album gets me on an emotional roller coaster with James' vocals along with lots and lots of excellent instrumental breaks. Though I have one single complaint about this whole album, wish they kept Through Her Eyes as it was in the demos. The saxophone in the song was fantastic, I tend to get it while listening to the album.
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My memories from this album:
-Got it on release date. I drove my dad nuts trying to find a copy until I got one at the over-priced-and-now-extinct Sam Goody's (paid 25 bucks for it!!!)
-1st semester in college and commuted with a female neighbor for a few weeks. I played this one over and over during our daily 1 hr commute (one way). She got fed up one day and asked me if I had any other kind of music. I politely said "NO!!"
-Ended up playing this album for 8 months straight. Nothing else. I can barely listen to it after 15 yrs, not because I don't like it, just because I got burnt out.
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My honest thoughts about this album is that if the tracks on it were stand alone songs, and there was no continuous story being told through them, I honestly wouldn't like it too much. But when I listen to this album from start to finish, with the knowledge that there is a story being told... it's one epic journey.
I guess my reasoning for this is because I feel that, while Overture, Strange Deja-Vu, and Home are brilliant, the rest of the songs feel a bit lacking. But when I keep in mind that they're a part of a larger scenario, I don't see them as single songs, rather instead I see them as moments of a greater picture.
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My 1st DT album.
My very 1st CD I bought in my life.
My favourite DT album.
One of my top 5 of all time.
:hefdaddy
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Has some of their most brilliant song writing and lyric's. In my top 3 for sure. Only wish the DVD documenting the show could be reedited without all the bullshit effects, and upgraded to blu-ray of course.
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I have this on cassette tape. :lol I can not remember what song Side 1 ends in. :p
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I have this on cassette tape. :lol I can not remember what song Side 1 ends in. :p
Remember that turning over the tape is not the end, but only a transition. PLEASE TURN THE TAPE TO SIDE B.
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It would probably end after Act 1 right? So side b would open with Home? I have no idea, but that'd make sense.
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I have this on cassette tape. :lol I can not remember what song Side 1 ends in. :p
Remember that turning over the tape is not the end, but only a transition. PLEASE TURN THE TAPE TO SIDE B.
:rollin I have to rerecord the tape then with that line!
I had cassette tapes of DT albums up to Train of Thought. I have this vague remembrance that FII is quite different in the tape version.
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It's pretty clutch.
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It would probably end after Act 1 right? So side b would open with Home? I have no idea, but that'd make sense.
Yes: https://www.discogs.com/Dream-Theater-Metropolis-Pt-2-Scenes-From-A-Memory/release/5720056
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My honest thoughts about this album is that if the tracks on it were stand alone songs, and there was no continuous story being told through them, I honestly wouldn't like it too much.
That's how I feel about it , but in my case the story doesn't make up for that. I have never subscribed to the theory that ordinary songs can , within a whole album concept, become something brilliant. If I don't like the songs - end of story. The best concept albums have songs that stand on their own feet- when listening to SFAM I feel like I'm being read a story that's been shoe horned into (and at the expense of) the songs.
I enjoy Overture, Fatal Tragedy and little else. It's in the bottom third on my DT rankings and I have never really connected with it in the way I did with other metal concepts like Mindcrime , Crimson Idol or Streets.
I know I'm in the minority but hey - that's taste for ya . And it's not as if I wasn't hanging to like the album either - I was itching to like it after being a huge fan that was disappointed by FII (which I would now choose well before SFAM). I tried and tried , but to no avail.
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I've just seen that 25 October 1999 was a Monday, and as nearly all new albums in the UK are released on a Monday, today would be the 15th anniversary of Scenes from a Memory here!
Today or tomorrow, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to one of the greatest prog albums ever!
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Metropolis Part III
Either an album, or a 20min+ epic.
Am I the only one who would die to hear this?
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Metropolis Part III
Either an album, or a 20min+ epic.
Am I the only one who would die to hear this?
To give a concise hef answer "Yes".
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We need the third and last dance
but this one needs to last forever
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Giving it a spin as I type this. An absolute masterpiece even though I've listened to it hundreds of times at this point. :hefdaddy
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listened to the Brookvale vinyl pressing on sunday and was happy to find "Finally Free" ending in a locked groove so the static goes forever! the perfect ending!
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Not the first album I heard of DT, but the one that finally made me a ´fan´. I remember putting it on, laying down on my sofa (!) and just let the music take me on this fantastic trip!! :metal After that, it all fell into place for me. Best. Band. Ever! ;D
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It's pretty clutch.
m8 - it's well hench bruv. WELL hench. :neverusethis:
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Agreed – DTs best and TSCO may be my favorite song of all time. I have still not seen them play it live, and that’s one of those little things I need to experience before I can die in peace. As MP said “we blew our load on this one”.
Somewhere there is an incredibly long thread piecing together the plot and particularly the ending, 60 pages long or something. I remember going home from work and reading it every day before someone finally nailed it (weeks if not months after the album was released). Anyone know what I’m referring to and if it still exists?
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A strong album, but definitely not one of my favorite DT's albums, sorry for that.
(Yes, I often notice that sorry seems to be the right word if you are not a big fan of SFAM...)
I really like "Overture 1928", "Stange dejà-vu", "Home" and "Finally free"... And voilà.
And I'm really, really tired of TSCO... :\
Sorry (again :loser:)...
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(https://i1.kwejk.pl/k/obrazki/2014/10/60dc1cf8-0290-40a2-8608-105bac1fa845_gif.gif)
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Hey,
I'm a drummer and for that Sunday (October 26) I made a really short video (~15 sec) and uploaded it to instagram to celebrate the 15° anniversary of SFAM.
https://instagram.com/p/uns4MFhdH4/?modal=true
I tried to fit a drumming moment for (almost) each song on the album in 15 seconds haha
Check it out!
PD: Here's the FB too.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205215280839095&set=vb.1158211355&type=2&theater
hope you like it
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(https://i1.kwejk.pl/k/obrazki/2014/10/60dc1cf8-0290-40a2-8608-105bac1fa845_gif.gif)
Hey, this is pretty cool!