Over the past two decades, progressive metal band Dream Theater has become one of the top bands in the genre, with technical mastery of their respective instruments and an awe-inspiring live show with a consistently-revolving set list. The band has had its ups and downs, like any other long-standing metal band, but Dream Theater has always come out stronger at the end of it all. With a growing fan base, along with mainstream recognition, Dream Theater has risen out of the underground to be embraced by a whole new generation of music listeners.
1. 'Awake' (1994)
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The last album with keyboardist Kevin Moore, Awake would be the end of an era for Dream Theater. With pressure coming from the record label to follow-up on the commercial success of Images and Words, and Moore’s disdain for the new direction the band was heading in, Awake turned out to be the most personal and thought-provoking album in the band’s catalog. Dream Theater experiments with a darker and heavier sound that worked wonders for the band. The depressing closer “Space Dye-Vest,” the anger evoked in “Lie,” and the questioning of one’s faith in the three-part suite, A Mind Behind Itself, all lend a harsher atmosphere, one that would never be replicated again.
2. 'Images And Words' (1992)
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Dream Theater’s sophomore album and first with vocalist James LaBrie would be the most successful of the band’s career, reaching Gold status and spawning a hit single in “Pull Me Under.” LaBrie was a much-needed addition to the band, who stepped it up over their solid, if unspectacular, debut When Day and Dream Unite. There are several memorable songs on Images And Words, including closer “Learning To Live” and the soaring epic “Take The Time.”
3. 'Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory' (1999)
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When keyboardist Jordan Rudess came into the band’s ranks to replace Derek Sherinian, Dream Theater entered a new era, where extended jams became the norm and the keyboard took more precedence over the music, instead of being regaled to the background. Some may argue that this is the point where Dream Theater became self-indulgent musicians, but their songwriting was still top-notch, as evident on the 1999 concept album Scenes From A Memory. The story is strong, the band is at the top of their game, and the album is cohesively structured. Unlike the softer-sounding Falling Into Infinity, the band turned the aggression up and made what is considered by many progressive metal fans to be one of the genre’s best album.
4. 'Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence' (2002)
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Dream Theater’s first double-disk album, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence featured the 42-minute title track, a modern-day masterpiece split into eight tracks that takes up the whole second disc. The first disc is almost as strong, with the exception of the plodding “The Great Debate,” and includes fan favorites “The Glass Prison” and “Blind Faith.”
5. 'Octavarium' (2005)
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After the failed experiment that was Train Of Thought, Dream Theater returned to their roots with Octavarium. With a more melodic sound came a chance for James LaBrie to show why he is still one of the best singers in progressive metal; his range on the album is much improved over previous albums. The 24-minute title track was an ambitious project, even for Dream Theater, but they pulled it off magnificently, and the somber “Sacrificed Sons” details the band’s reaction to the 2001 World Trade Center bombing.
