Dream Theater - Live at Budokan (2004)Release ID: 1293

Dream Theater - Live at Budokan (2004) Cover
MartinDavey87 MartinDavey87 / November 18, 2022 / Comments 0 / 0

As if 2000’s ‘Scenes from New York’ wasn’t enough, here’s Dream Theater with another three-disc assault on the senses, with 2004’s live album from Japan’s world-renowned Budokan venue, aptly titled ‘Live at Budokan’.

Touring to promote 2003’s ‘Train of Thought’, ‘Live at Budokan’ sees the band storm through a set of highly energetic and crushingly heavy material. The format of the shows were simply “an evening with...” type affairs, which meant there were no support acts. Yet, despite the mind-boggling duration of the set, the band remains on top form throughout, and shows no signs of fatigue or letting up.

Focusing more on their later material, ‘Live at Budokan’ is three discs of some of the bands strongest material, played impeccably by some of the absolute finest musicians in the world. Millions upon millions of notes are hit flawlessly, with a number of noodles and jamming sections bungled in amongst the set, this is a highly entertaining live album, and shows an unparalleled chemistry between the highly-respected musicians.

There’s an abundance of highlights here. From newer tracks ‘As I Am’, ‘This Dying Soul’ and ‘In the Name of God’, to older classics such as ‘Pull Me Under’, ‘New Millennium’, ‘Only a Matter of Time’ and ‘Beyond This Life’, which features a near-ten minute jam section which is absolutely incredible and never gets boring. Then there’s the exclusive of this album, ‘Instrumedley’, a 12-minute instrumental medley of various parts of the bands discography. It’s genuinely mind-blowing and further demonstrates how these guys are the absolute best of the best at what they do.

‘Live at Budokan’ may lie a little on the heavier side of things, but this is truly a gem that belongs in any prog fans collection. With an absolutely banging production and top-notch performances, this will surely come to be recognized as a true prog classic.


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Release info

Release Site Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

4.0

Release Clan Rating

Ratings: 1 | Reviews: 1

4.0

Cover Site Rating

Ratings: 4

2.6

Cover Clan Rating

Ratings: 1

3.0
Release
Live at Budokan
Year
2004
Format
Live
Clans
The Infinite
Sub-Genres

Progressive Metal (conventional)

Voted For: 0 | Against: 0

Dream Theater chronology

When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
Images and Words (1992)
Live at the Marquee (1993)
Awake (1994)
A Change of Seasons (1995)
Falling Into Infinity (1997)
Once in a Live Time (1998)
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999)
Live Scenes From New York (2001)
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
Train of Thought (2003)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: The Majesty Demos: 1985-1986 (2003)
Official Bootleg: Studio Series: The Making of Scenes From a Memory (2003)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Los Angeles, California: 5/18/98 (2003)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Tokyo, Japan: 10/28/95 (2003)
Live at Budokan (2004)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: When Dream and Day Unite Demos: 1987-1989 (2004)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Master of Puppets (2004)
Octavarium (2005)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Images and Words Demos: 1989-1991 (2005)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: When Dream and Day Reunite (2005)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: The Number of the Beast (2005)
Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour (2006)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Awake Demos: 1994 (2006)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Dark Side of the Moon (2006)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: Old Bridge, New Jersey: 12/14/96 (2006)
Official Bootleg: Covers Series: Made in Japan (2006)
Systematic Chaos (2007)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Falling Into Infinity Demos (2007)
Official Bootleg: Live Series: New York City: 3/4/93 (2007)
Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) (2008)
Official Bootleg: Cover Series: Uncovered 2003-2005 (2009)
Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
Official Bootleg: Studio Series: The Making of Falling Into Infinity (2009)
Official Bootleg: Demo Series: Train of Thought Instrumental Demos 2003 (2009)
A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
Happy Holidays (2013)
Live at Luna Park (2013)
Dream Theater (2013)
Breaking the Fourth Wall (2014)
The Astonishing (2016)
Distance Over Time (2019)
Distant Memories - Live in London (2020)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: Images and Words - Live in Japan, 2017 (2021)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events – Select Board Mixes (2021)
A View From the Top of the World (2021)
Lost Not Forgotten Archives: ...And Beyond - Live in Japan, 2017 (2022)