Dream Theater - Scenes From New York - VHS
By Philip Whitehouse
Before I bought this video, I had never heard anything by Dream Theater except a single dodgy bootleg live MP3 of Fatal Tragedy. Rodrigo had suggested I check them out long before, and on the day I sighted this video sitting on a shelf in HMV, I was feeling particularly affluent and adventurous, and promptly impulse-bought it.
It turned out to be one of the wisest purchases I ever made. Documenting the band's last performance of 'Metropolis Part 2 - Scenes From A Memory', it combines all of the aspects of a Dream Theater performance in their perfect format - these guys shouldn't be doing live concerts, they should be directing films!
The album being performed is a concept one, and rather than taking the easy route by performing the songs and doing little else, Dream Theater have gone one better and incorporated actors (both on the video screen in the background and onstage with the band), psychedelic visuals mixed with photographs and films clips pertinent to the story and, at one point, a gospel choir.
Typically of a progressive metal band, the instrumental virtuosity of the band members is phenomenal, and every aspect of the music is absolutely faultless. What can't be emphasised enough is the emotional impact of some of the songs - when the music is presented in conjunction with the film clips, visuals, concept etcetera, the full feeling of the songs is forced directly into your consciousness - I for one am completely comfortable with admitting that the second time I watched 'The Spirit Carries On' being performed, a tear came to my eye.
I can't recommend this video enough - the perfect testimony to the works of a fabulous band.
10/10
By Philip Whitehouse
Before I bought this video, I had never heard anything by Dream Theater except a single dodgy bootleg live MP3 of Fatal Tragedy. Rodrigo had suggested I check them out long before, and on the day I sighted this video sitting on a shelf in HMV, I was feeling particularly affluent and adventurous, and promptly impulse-bought it.
It turned out to be one of the wisest purchases I ever made. Documenting the band's last performance of 'Metropolis Part 2 - Scenes From A Memory', it combines all of the aspects of a Dream Theater performance in their perfect format - these guys shouldn't be doing live concerts, they should be directing films!
The album being performed is a concept one, and rather than taking the easy route by performing the songs and doing little else, Dream Theater have gone one better and incorporated actors (both on the video screen in the background and onstage with the band), psychedelic visuals mixed with photographs and films clips pertinent to the story and, at one point, a gospel choir.
Typically of a progressive metal band, the instrumental virtuosity of the band members is phenomenal, and every aspect of the music is absolutely faultless. What can't be emphasised enough is the emotional impact of some of the songs - when the music is presented in conjunction with the film clips, visuals, concept etcetera, the full feeling of the songs is forced directly into your consciousness - I for one am completely comfortable with admitting that the second time I watched 'The Spirit Carries On' being performed, a tear came to my eye.
I can't recommend this video enough - the perfect testimony to the works of a fabulous band.
10/10
