I really hope its not I&W or SFAM cos that would be zzzzzzzz.
Well, my dear sneakyblueberry, it turns out that it is.
Congratulations for the ones who guessed right. Evermind, see you in my roulette.
Yep. Pretty cliché, uh? Well, I really don't care about that, this album fucking owns. And it owns both my mind, my heart and my body.
Scenes From A Memory is packed with memories, of all kinds. It brings me back to the days of that beautiful summer of 2012, when I was discovering DT, and getting into their music. This album stood out since the beginning, but it took a while to become my favorite of all times. SFAM, other than a HOLYSHITFUCKREAAGNAKDNGADGG,ADG album is also a great, great,
great source of inspiration for me as a musician. I'm a drummer, and Mike Portnoy here is on fire. His drum sound is still one of the best overall, and his way of playing so technical but so fluent also, struck me like few things do. Previously I thought that drumming was just keeping the rythm and the tempo, and then I heard DT and with MP I learnt that you can actually be part of the melodies, and create stuff on your own with cool parts and special effects. But all the other guys rock on the album too. JP is the same ol' JP we know about, he is pretty melodic in this album, but he can play some Meshuggah influenced riffs just as amazingly as some Pink Floyd-ian chord progressions. And of course there are the "Petrucci Moments", when he nearly sets on fire the fretboard with his godlike speed. Classy.
John Myung is there, you can definitely hear him, and while he doesn't quite stand out at times, at others it's him that you pay attention to, one exemple of this is his solo in Dance Of Eternity: unexpectedly technical, short and great overall. Also, this is the first album featuring one of my all time favorite musicians, Jordan Rudess. His sounds, his technique, his way of thinking inspired me more than some drummers, believe it or not. I like how he does not stay in one place, he evolves with technology, and he takes advantage of it. A true genius. And then, of course, James. Even if this isn't his best performance, he gives the characters life, and you can feel how he's passionate about everything, he really put his heart and soul in this one.
Other than the performers, one big part of Metropolis Part 2 is of course, the storyline. While it's not that ingenious, it's still great and truly understandable, and the use of the narrator one of the things that makes this record unique. But there's a bigger part of that. The consistency.
They've done something so great with the music that it's almost a crime to describe it. The way that the recurring melodies are planned out is something that makes this album sound like a song. One long, long, long song. I also love the references of Metropolis Part 1. And I also love the fact that I'm still discovering new details in the songs: the initial chord progression in Finally Free is the same of TSCO and Regression. Never got that. Also, I just noticed the cowbell in Strange Deja Vu. Heh. Easily the most consistent album I know about.
This epitome of music starts with Regression, a nice intro which sets the mood of the lyrics and the story, with a chord progression that we will hear a lot of times throghout the album. Then it goes straight into Overture 1928, and this has to be one of my favorite openers of all times. The Metropolis Part 1 riff is repeated rapidly and then BAM - but it's not heavy. It's melodic and happy, but still so satisfying as an opener. Overture is basically a sum-up of the whole record, musically speaking. We have riffs and motifs from Strange Deja Vu, Dance Of Eternity, One Last Time and also other songs I think, not sure. Then this one goes straight into Strange Deja Vu, a cool and pretty simple piece. I love the melodies in this one, and the sudden change of pace after the chorus - that's a killer riff. After the piano interlude of Through My Words, another masterpiece of a song starts: Fatal Tragedy. Dark, funereal, but filled with hope and unisons. That goddamn instrumental section. Sweet Jesus. And the djenty verse
- one of my favorites. Words cannot describe its greatness. Oh, but it's not over. Nope. AHAHAH.
AHAHAHAHAREMEMBER THAT DEATH IS NOT THE END
*dundunduuuudun*
BUT ONLY A TRANSITION.
And then everything collapses. Beyond This Life starts. Hide your children, for this riff will eat them.
I won't talk about Beyond This Life because words cannot to justice to the glory and the Deep Purple shenanigans in it. Wow, what a song.
And the BUDOKAN VERSION
After that Through Her Eyes gives us some room to breathe. And while it's not my favorite DT ballad, it does its job, but I don't approve the drum machine. The song sounds cheesy with it.
Home is another mammoth, an oriental mammoth. The use of the wah wah and the melodies is very clever, and all the little clues to Part 1 in the song, makes it memorable. Also, the sample makes it memorable too. Yeah, I'm talking about that sample. I like the outro, it's like a preview of the impending madness. What I'm talking about is of course, Dance Of Eternity.
This song, much like YYZ, is one big obsession of mine. I listen to it/think about it at least once a day, and everytime it's truly an experience. It leaves me floored each and everytime with its complexity and overwhelmingness
- Also, it's pretty fun to play.
After One Last Time, my least favorite piece of the album, though very important for storyline purposes, there's one of my two "Goosebump" songs, The Spirit Carries On. The Goosebump songs are songs that I get so emotively connected with, that it's like if I'm having sex with them, not kidding. The other one is Grace, by Devin Townsend. TSCO is, simply put, probably my favorite ballad of
all time. Powerful at the right time, deep and meaningful lyrics, a choir, a flawless guitar solo and Pink Floyd influences are a perfect mixture for me.
Finally Free is a both godlike and strange closer: I mean it closes the album really well, but in a weird way. Either way, this song is so dramatic and grand at times that during the concert I saw, it became one of my favorites, and it wasn't before. The final riff is the representation of tragedy, and it's done so well. The structure is also great, and the One Last Time reprise moves me everytime. I like how MP starts going nuts in the outro, and how the riff is abruptly interrupted.
So yep. That's everything that I needed to say about Metropolis Part 2, my favorite album of all times. Once again, words are not enough. Truly with this one.
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So yep. That's my list. I've had fun writing these writeups, and it turned out pretty long, I'm sorry. But I'm happy with how it turned out, some of you always shared their opinions, others stayed in the shadows, but whatever, I want to thank you for reading, tell me your overall thoughts.
Maybe I'll do a V2 next year, maybe not, I have to see how things evolve. But until then, this is mikemangioy, tuning out.
Topic: MikeMangioy's 50 reasons why I'm better than you - v. Numero Uno (Read 26699 times)