Well it’s another year and another live album from Dream Theater has been released. It’s the bands seventh live album overall. Except this time around their new live venture has been released in the middle of a worsening pandemic. Quarantining and social isolation are key weapons in fighting this disease until a vaccine is available. And there’s nothing better than new live Dream Theater material to help ride out the crazy. And this release has proven to be a strong live outing. Combining tracks from their most recent release ‘Distance Over Time’ with a few classics and ‘Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory’ in its entirety. Celebrating 20 years of the landmark album.
I was honestly a little skeptical of this record. First off, we already have a live Dream Theater album with ‘Scenes From A Memory’ in its complete form. It was released in fall of 2001 entitled ‘Live Scenes From New York.’ So what’s the sell on getting another live album with a large chunk of it the same set list? Secondly, the audience seemed to be lacking in energy based off of the promo videos that the band released prior to the album. The last two Dream Theater live albums have shown the band is best heard live with a giant, raging audience. And that didn’t seem to be the case this time around. Luckily, I was proven wrong on all accounts.
The ‘Distance Over Time’ tracks work really well with the classics and mix excellently with ‘Scenes.’ The production of the show is unreal. It might be the bands best mixed live album. Mike Mangini’s drums sound larger than life. A massive, ten ton heavy snare and a bass drum that shakes foundations. Petrucci’s guitar sounds thick and layered. John Myung’s bass really stands out. And Rudess’ keys are mixed perfectly in. Not too dominant in the mix. The only caveat is that James LaBrie’s voice is just not quite up to par. Particularly when compared to the last few live albums. But you gotta give him a break. He’s been singing at an insanely high level for almost thirty years with DT now. And he doesn’t sound bad. Just a little off.
Some of the tracks play the best they’ve ever been. ‘A Nightmare To Remember’ is a huge beneficiary of the live setting. Plus, we don’t get Mike Portnoy’s annoying semi-growl towards the end of the song. ‘In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1’ is also a stand out. The thicker sound bolsters the nine minute bad ass prog metal piece. The ‘Distance Over Time’ highlights are excellent of course. The two tracks that really stick out live are ‘Barstool Warrior’ and ‘At Wits End.’ The latter closing out the set. The only critique I have is that the set could have used ‘S2N’ in it. That would really complete the non – ‘Scenes’ songs. Speaking of those, the ‘Scenes From A Memory’ part of the set exceeds expectations. It sounds terrific. The ballads ring out with passion. And the heaviness has never sounded more full. ‘Fatal Tragedy,’ ‘Beyond This Life’ and ‘Home’ are just amazing. Possibly the best version of each. Which is saying a lot since there’s nearly countless versions.
Overall ‘Distant Memories’ is a great live record. One of Dream Theater’s strongest. And it’s a perfect quarantine album seeing as how it clocks in at nearly three hours. Like most DT live albums, it’s a lot of DT. And fans will eat this one up. Sometimes a live Dream Theater outing can only be consumed in bits. But this live record plays really well all they way through. It’s a jam out, kick ass live album. Ideal for getting lost in a journey on those lonely quarantine nights.
