Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory is a concept album released in 1999 by progressive metal band Dream Theater. It is the sequel to Metropolis – Part I – “The Miracle And The Sleeper” from 1992’s Images and Words, and was the first album featuring their current keyboardist Jordan Rudess, replacing Derek Sherinian (who last performed in their 1997 album Falling into Infinity).

The story revolves around a man named Nicholas, who has been going through troubled times and has sought hypnotherapy to figure out the source of his problems. He then experiences a life of love and murder through the eyes of another person in the past named Victoria, and things only get more complicated from there.

The tone of the album is somewhat similar to Images and Words, though Scenes is much heavier due to better production and writing. Out of the four tenets of Dream Theater’s sound (progressive, metal, melodic and pop) the album focuses on progressive firstly, with melodic and metal secondary, with very little pop sound. Most of the songs are very progressive, containing extended solo sequences, such as “Fatal Tragedy”, “Home” and “Beyond This Life”, which are also some of the heaviest works on the album. The album’s two instrumentals, “Overture 1928” and “The Dance of Eternity”, are also very proggy and are seen as some of the band’s most difficult music. The melodic and pop sounds do come into play on “Through My Words” and “Through Her Eyes”. “The Spirit Carries On” and “Finally Free” are seen as epic mixtures of the melodic and progressive sounds, and the album’s opening song “Regression” is a rare acoustic song.

This album is regarded by many fans as one of the best albums DT has ever made, alongside others such as Images and Words, Train Of Thought, and Awake. This is reflected in its critical acclaim that drove home the idea that this album was their comeback album after the relative failure of Falling into Infinity.