Review by Rexorcist for Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)

I've lost some of my love for Dream Theater over the years.  Metropolis, Pt. 2 was the album that got me into the progressive side of metal, so I had a special place in my heart for it for a while.  But after exploring so much prog, I grew out of that album because all of the songs were pretty much trying to do the same thing.  Such is not the case with Images and Words, which is constantly trying to reinvent itself.  The album is much heavier and more melodic than Metropolis, Pt. 2 ever was, and it doesn't keep the album from being heavily accessible.   It's a little experimental, too.  Another Day has a sax solo that sounds exactly like Kenny G (although that's not a bad thing in this instance because it somehow fits right in), and Take the Time's first verse has a funky bass solo and the 80's synths you'd get in all those later disco albums or even Prince songs.  And let's be honest, the guitar tones of Surrounded belong in an AOR song.  It's like the album is deliberately experimenting with the concept of accessibility.  If that was the mindset, then Dream Theater did a perfect job.