Well then it’s 1992 and here I am, a massive rock and AOR fan, a regular drunk bum at weekends and going to ever concert I can afford. I’m already a bit a Dream Theater fan thanks to their excellent debut album When Dream And Day Unite and thus picked up this, the band's second album, shortly after its release in July 1992. In general I wasn’t that much of prog fan at this point but, thanks to seeing Fish in April 92, I was heading in that direction and Images And Words only sealed the deal.

The album opens with the classic Pull Me Under, a Metallica inspired riff matched to outrageous guitar and vocal work which became a hit on MTV thanks to the cheap video. Actually the band had hoped that ballad Another Day would be the song to break them on MTV but, to quote Mike Portnoy at the time, it just went to show that “balls and chunk were where it’s at”.

Take the Time saw the prog aspects of the band take over with its stunning bass work whereas Surrounded was a stunning piano lead track that has been imitated a thousand times since. But all that had gone before only led to the centre piece of the album, Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper. To this day the song to still takes my breath way.  Under a Glass Moon is the one track on the CD that lets the quality slip slightly  but it leads into  Wait for Sleep, a simple piano/vocal track that in realty is an extended intro into Learning to Live which rounds the album off in prog tactic style.

Images And Words, as an album, has influenced a whole musical genre but what impact did have on me personally. Well on first listening to the album I wasn't that impressed. Let me clarify. I had liked previous frontman Charlie Dominic's voice and didn't initially warm to James LaBrie's vocals. Several listen later though and more importantly having picked up the Live At Marquee EP I warmed immeasurably to his performance. The album as a whole grew on me so much so that, by the following summer, I was a huge Dream Theater fan and started to investigate the band' s own cited influences. Amongst those influences was the band UK that featured one John Wetton and that sent me in a whole new and exciting direction. From there is was a short trip to the likes of Fates Warning, Rush, Asia, Fish, Marillion, Yes, ELP and all of the quintessential bands that made progressive music a vibrant and exciting genre in the rock scene.

With Grunge destroying the musical landscape in the mid 90-’s prog metal served as life raft for the myriad of musicians who could actually play and no doubt the likes of Dream Theater served as both an influence and example for the many bands who continue to expand and experiment with progressive elements to this day. Take Ayreon, Symphony X, Serenity, Threshold, Kamelot and many others who no doubt would not have had the success they have had if Dream Theater had not first paved the way.

Let us know your views on Images And Words

Track Listing

Pull Me Under
Another Day
Take The Time
Surrounded
Metropolis - Part I
"The Miracle And The Sleeper"
Under A Glass Moon
Wait For Sleep
Learning To Live

Line Up

James La Brie - Vocals
John Petrucci - Guitars
Kevin Moore - Keyboards
John Myung - Bass
Mike Portnoy - Drums