Dream Theater’s music revolutionary

In the 70s, Rush released a series of albums that changed the face of progressive rock. In 1988, Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime did the same. But with the release of their 1992 disc, Images and Words, subsequent tour and video release, Dream Theater has revolutionized progressive rock music.

Images and Words: Live In Tokyo, Dream Theater’s latest home video is 90 minutes of unbelievable music. Dream Theater, who recently swept the Guitar For the Practicing Musician Awards, are simply the most technically proficient, musically innovative band of the past 10 years. No other band can top what Dream Theater pulls off in this amazing video.

Images and Words: Live In Tokyo, kicks off with “Under a Glass Moon,” a powerhouse cut from the band’s Images and Words disc. With guitarist John Petrucci’s nimble fingers cutting across the fretboard and drummer Mike Portnoy banging away on his monstrous kit, the tune starts the show off at full throttle.

But what makes Dream Theater more than your average speed demons is the fact that when they go full blast, they add a dash of color and emotion to the music. More importantly, they know when to slow things down.

The video’s second cut, the hypnotically melodic, “Wait For Sleep” and its following number, “Surrounded,” showcase the talented digits of keyboardist Kevin Moore.

In between the live cuts, the video contains home video footage of the band recording the Images and Words disc, the disc’s three videos and footage of the bands travels around the globe. Especially entertaining is watching drummer Mike Portnoy recreate Paul McCartney’s famous Abbey Road stroll.

But it is the remaining live portion of Images and Words: Live In Tokyo that gives proof that Dream Theater is simply an amazingly talented band.

The instrumental cut “Ytse Jam” must be seen to be believed. The interplay between Petrucci, Moore and six-string bassist John Myung defies description. The band also debuts a new track, “To Live Forever,” which will appear on their next studio release. Vocalist James LaBrie’s ability to take the cut from a soft ballad to an all-out rocker shows he possesses hard rock’s finest vocal chords.

Dream Theater even digs back in their past, as they perform “A Fortune In Lies,” from their 1989 disc, When Dream And Day Unite.

If you’ve ever heard the studio track, the live version will give enough evidence to as why the band dumped their original vocalist in favor of LaBrie.

The final two cuts, “Take The Time” and “Pull Me Under” find Dream Theater whipping the Japanese crowd into a fury of energy and noise. When LaBrie asks the crowd to sing along during “Take The Time,” they do so in mass and in tremendous volume.

It’s easy to get excited by the sheer talent of Dream Theater if you’re a fan of progressive rock. The praise is just and Images and Words: Live In Tokyo backs up all the accolades this band has received.

Dream Theater is band defying radio programmers and record executives who are in search of the next Nirvana or Soul Asylum. They make music their own way and what they produce on disc and on stage is unparalleled.