Dream Theater is one of the “Big Three” in prog metal, and alongside Queensrÿche and Fates Warning helped prog metal become more than just a small niche genre stuck in between the demise of 80’s glam metal and 90’s alternative rock. Images and Words is an eclectic grab bag of prog rock influences– from New Wave to stadium rock to thrash to pop, Dream Theater covers a ton of ground all the while staying grounded in metal principles. Lead singer James LaBrie’s powerful falsetto, John Petrucci’s seminal guitar work, and Kevin Moore’s blistering keyboard licks are the primary standouts, and when paired alongside the strength of a rhythm section that includes drummer Mike Portnoy and bassist John Myung it becomes clear pretty quickly there isn’t a place Dream Theater can’t take an individual song.
In college I was completely obsessed with “Another Day”, which features some of the best musicianship on an album chock full of it. From the piano intro to the key changes in the bridge to the massive guitar solos it’s pretty much a perfect 80’s tinged metal ballad. And my god that saxophone solo– when that sucker kicks in after the first verse it still gives me goosebumps. I don’t care what the actual timeline says, I’m convinced that sax solo was the one that paved the way for Kenny G to become the cultural force he was in the early 90’s. It’s simply that good.
Standout Songs: “Another Day”, “Under a Glass Moon”, “Wait For Sleep”
