DT témához itt van két kritika, mindkettő az Edge Of Time (prog.metal) fan/web/magazin-tól, akik elég korrekt módon szokták látni a dolgokat. Ezúttal is ez a helyzet szerintem.

DREAM THEATER
Scenes from a Memory: Metropolis Part II
Elektra
After the big disappointment that "Falling into Infinity" had caused among the community of Dream Theater die hard fans, the expectations for the new leading prog metal band were high. Some wished a revival of the "Images and Words" era, others feared of FII 2. Both were proven wrong. In fact, "Scenes from Memory" is something new, totally Dream Theater, yet different from their previous releases. Their style has evolved during the years, producing a breed which ventures even further on the path of progressive metal.
Let's begin with a "one sentence" daring definition: Metropolis Part 2 is Liquid Tension Experiment 2 meets Pink Floyd! Let's continue with a more descriptive approach.
"Scenes from a Memory" is a concept album. As such, each track flows in the next one, creating a continuity. I won't describe the concept here, as this review is focused on music. The music alternates several very soft, "unplugged-style" ballads a la Pink Floyd (with only vocals and background guitar or piano) with totally weird sounding, extremely sick compositions. Those technical metal parts contain a lot of time and signature changes, odd meter, chromatic scales, and other typically progressive features, but brought to extreme heights. The influence behind it are clearly LTE-ish, making those tracks kind of LTE2 sequels. The jamming and soloing on those tracks are strongly influenced by modern jazz, to which Jordan Rudess (DT's new keyboard player) contributes a lot. This performance culminates in the instrumental (6:13) track "The Dance of Eternity," a kind of unrivaled monument to progressive metal complexity.
Could there be any critics to that incredible album? Well, a few people will probably regret the strong LTE-ish style, and would have preferred more conventional, catchy compositions a la "Awake." Yet this era is over for the band and shouldn't be yearned for. My only personal disappointment is the guitar sound, which I would have preferred definitely heavier and crunchier on chunky riffs. On the overall, this opus is nevertheless a masterpiece. Don't miss it! (AS)
4 3/4

DREAM THEATER
Scenes from a Memory: Metropolis Part II
Elektra
I consciously waited with my review of this album for months, trying to see how my opinion changes with time. My ratings at different moments of time varied from "great" to "not innovative enough," and the current conclusion is that it's a very good album. The only reproach is that it's not as groundbreaking as their first two albums were. Other than that, the songs and melodies are great and superior to anything else released in progressive metal genre in 1999 (which was not a very good year for traditional progressive metal, in my opinion). Purely musically, I prefer to listen to Behind The Curtain's debut release, but as far as a classy performance goes, Dream Theaters are clear winners.
"Scenes from a Memory" gives a good balance between heavy/technical material and ballads. The highligts include the "There's a room at the top of the stairs" vocal line ("Deja Vu"), vocal melodies and guitar riffs in "Beyond This Life," the whole "Home" and "Finally Free" tracks, and the unexpected retro-style keyboard solo in "The Dance of Eternity."
"Pull Me Under" remains the greatest Dream Theater song though, but "Scenes from a Memory" is still a magnificent release in definitive progressive metal style. (GS)
4 1/2