Triumvirate

We select three essential albums from a genre or player. This month: John Myung

1 Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory by Dream Theater
Consistently voted one of the best prog albums of all time, this is a non-stop onslaught of incredible riffs, complex rhythms and shrill vocals. Lurking underneath it all is the muscular bass playing of John Myung, providing the solid bedrock for the band histrionics that whirl around. The standout moments include the distorted breaks on ‘Overture 1928’ and the powerful groove on ‘Strange Déjà Vu’, among many others.

2 Awake by Dream Theater
This 1994 effort saw the band going through a state of flux with keyboardist Kevin Moore departing and the band under pressure from their label to produce a more accessible album. Instead of a dog’s dinner though, the band served up one of their best albums. Balls-out rocker ‘6:00’ kicks things off with Myung pinning everything down with his fleet-fingered playing before the band delve into more prog-tastic fare on ‘Erotomania’ and ‘Voices’. Check out the lush harmonic intro to ‘Lifting Shadows Of A Dream’ for the bass highlight of the album.

3 Images And Words by Dream Theater
The band’s breakout album, and still their most commercially successful, Images And Words cemented the band’s sound, and to this day continues to echo through their material. At this point Myung was still rocking a four-string bass, but his playing was just as inventive. ‘Take The Time’ is full of bass magic, from growling ostinatos to melodic counter melodies and tighter-than-tight riff doubling. For finger-knotting precision check out ‘Under A Glass Moon’ and the epic ‘Pull Me Under’.