Dream Theater – Images & Words (ATCO)

Okay, let’s throw around a couple of new names for a “new” category of rock. Epic metal? Opus metal? Are you thinking maybe of House Of Lords or Yngwie Malmsteen? Try Dream Theater, who, in their debut recording Images & Words carries the heavy guitar/keyboard combination to an extreme. Vocalist James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, keyboardist Kevin Moore and drummer Mike Portnoy prove right off that they are very, very talented musicians. You can hear their wide range of influences on the albums eight tracks, most of which run seven minutes plus. You can think of Metallica and very early Journey, Dokken and Angel. “Take The Time” is a sort of Kansas meets Judas Priest. You shouldn’t worry about the John Waite-ish intro to “Surrounded”; it’s a resting tiger with plenty of claws and teeth. The length of the songs doesn’t prompt you to punch the fast forward on your CD player either, there are twists and turns and plenty of thunder to keep most metalheads interested. Basically, these guys took an older form of rock and lit a furious fire beneath it. The results are spectacular, check it out!

—M.S.