Album of the Day

Images and Words, by Dream Theater (1992): If there is a paradigmatic statement of prog-metal, this is it. DT's second album, and the first on a major label by a new prog band in forever, took the complexity and long arrangements of traditional prog and melded it with the "balls 'n' chunk" of metal. "Take the Time," "Under a Glass Moon," "Metropolis (Part I)," and "Learning to Live" are all classics and do a good job of mixing up solo instrumental workouts with tight band work. In the past few years, DT has devolved into a group of heavy riffing wankers who shred simply for the sake of it. That's a shame, because this album (and it's successor, Awake) show that they can actually write and arrange some great stuff.