Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory
| Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory | ||||
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Studio album by .png){kind=small}
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Publication |
October 25, 1999 |
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admission |
February 8 - June 1999 |
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| Label (s) | Elektra Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
77:12 |
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Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci |
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Studio (s) |
BearTracks Studios, New York (USA) |
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Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory ( English for "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes of a Memory") is the fifth studio album by the American progressive metal band Dream Theater . It was released in 1999 as the group's first concept album , based on a previous song from the 1992 album Images & Words . It is considered by many fans to be the Dream Theater masterpiece.
concept
The album tells the story of the fictional Nicholas who is plagued by recurring dreams, which is why he seeks help from a hypnotherapist (the "hypnotherapist"). In the dreams a young woman appears repeatedly, who, as it turns out, is called Victoria Page and was reborn as Nicholas. Victoria was in a relationship with Julian Baynes, who is referred to in the texts under the pseudonym "The Sleeper", but separated because of his addiction to gambling and alcohol. She sought consolation from his brother, Senator Edward Baynes, whose pen name is "The Miracle".
However, when Victoria realizes that she still loves Julian, she arranges a secret meeting with him. At this meeting on a Friday evening in 1928 they were surprised by Edward who murdered his brother and Victoria (after the previous words "Open your eyes, Victoria!"). However, Edward makes it appear as if Julian is the murderer who committed suicide after the fact , and states that he could only watch helplessly as he - after hearing a "horrific noise" - rushed to the scene of the crime is also believed by the authorities. Thus Edward has achieved his goal and escapes with impunity.
Nicholas wakes up from hypnosis , shocked and sad about the fate of young Victoria, but happy that the soul seems to continue to live (as the title The Spirit Carries On celebrates) and goes home.
There he is surprised by the hypnotherapist with the words "Open your eyes, Nicholas!" The fact that these are the same words that Edward used to kill Victoria is interpreted by many to mean that the hypnotherapist could be the rebirth of Edward Baynes. This is confirmed by the end of the live DVD Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York , on which some scenes from the story are re-enacted by actors. When the hypnotherapist says these words into the camera, Edward's face is cut into them for a split second. When Nicholas let out a startled scream, a short shot of Victoria can be seen.
According to Mike Portnoy , the film Shadows of the Past (original title: Dead Again ) from 1991 was one of the templates for the album.
Musical characteristics
From the title of the album it can be inferred that Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory a continuation of the piece Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper from Images & Words album , the band's second. However, the first part was originally written with no intention of continuing and the "Part 1" was added to the title without it having any special meaning.
The concept was developed by Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci . They also wrote all of the lyrics, except for One Last Time by James LaBrie and Fatal Tragedy by John Myung , who only released a song he had written on an album of the band in 2013. The band composed the music together, but without James LaBrie. It is the first album with keyboardist Jordan Rudess . Due to the fact that the successor to Metropolis Part 1 was already being worked on at the time of the album Falling into Infinity , one can assume that Rudess' predecessor, Derek Sherianian, also made a not inconsiderable contribution to the compositions, at least as far as the basic structure was concerned concerns.
Musically, Metropolis Pt. 2 closely related to the first part. Well-known themes , riffs and licks from the first part are incorporated into the instrumental pieces and in Home , which also contains some textual quotations from the first part. Certain motifs and their variations appear again and again within the album, which creates a musical context in addition to the thematic context of the pieces. Already in Metropolis Pt. 1 is referred to as “a scene from a memory”. Another reference to the relationship between Metropolis Pt. 1 and Metropolis Pt. 2 is the line “There must be the third and last dance, this one will last forever” from Metropolis Pt. 1 used as the title of the instrumental The Dance of Eternity on Metropolis Pt. 2 reappears. This connection is reinforced by the fact that the pieces flow into one another so that there is hardly any audible separation between them. The musical spectrum of the album is relatively broad and ranges from calm, ballad-like passages to hard sections in which the influences of metal become clear. In most of the pieces all instruments and vocals represented in the band are used, but there are also purely instrumental pieces (Overture 1928 and The Dance of Eternity) as well as pieces and sections in which only the piano or a guitar accompanies the vocals. Understanding the text of the first part has actually only been possible since the release of this album, as it quasi contains a "resolution" into the subject of reincarnation.
On the tour in 2000, Dream Theater played the entire album live. The implementation can be heard or seen on the live album Live Scenes from New York and the DVD Metropolis 2000 . To mark the album's 20th anniversary, the band played the album again live on the tour for Distance Over Time in the second half of each concert.
Track list
| scene | title | Author (s) | length |
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| 1st act | |||
| 1 | Regression | John Petrucci | 2:06 |
| 2 | Overture 1928 (instrumental) | Dream theater | 8:49 |
| Strange Deja Vu | Dream Theater / Mike Portnoy | ||
| 3 | Through My Words | John Petrucci | 7:51 |
| Fatal Tragedy | Dream Theater / John Myung | ||
| 4th | Beyond This Life | Dream Theater / John Petrucci | 11:22 |
| 5 | Through Her Eyes | Dream Theater / John Petrucci | 5:29 |
| 2nd act | |||
| 6th | Home | Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy | 12:53 |
| 7th | The Dance of Eternity (Instrumental) | Dream theater | 10:00 |
| One last time | Dream Theater / James LaBrie | ||
| 8th | The Spirit Carries On | Dream Theater / John Petrucci | 6:38 |
| 9 | Finally Free | Dream Theater / Mike Portnoy | 12:00 |
Guest musician
- Theresa Thomason (additional vocals on Through Her Eyes and The Spirit Carries On )
- Gospel choir in The Spirit Carries On : Theresa Thomason, Mary Canty, Shella Slappy, Mary Smith, Jeanette Smith, Clarence Burke Jr., Carol Cyrus and Dale Scott
reception
In June 2015, the renowned trade journal Rolling Stone voted the album 29th of the 50 best progressive rock albums of all time .
Web links
- Reviews on Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a memory on the baby blue pages
- Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jon Weiderhorn: 50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time - Dream Theater, 'Metropolis 2: Scenes From a Memory' (1999). In: Rolling Stone . Wenner Media, June 17, 2015, accessed on September 26, 2015 .