Images and Words is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the album has maintained its position as the band's most commercially successful studio album, and the song "Pull Me Under" has the distinction of being the only Top 10 hit (radio or otherwise) the band has had to date. This particular song has also had more recent success as it has appeared in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour. The album has received acclaim from music critics since its release. The German magazine Rock Hard elected Images and Words Album of the Month and lauded Dream Theater, using "the old [1970s] term 'supergroup'"; according to the reviewer, they set "standards and still perfect them, although they hardly appear to do so" and, even considering the many influences in their music, the "versatility, the linking of different grooves and melody elements within each songs" shows how Dream Theater are "style-transcending like no other band." In another contemporary review, Select gave the album a lower rating, referring to the album as "elaborate, layered prog-metal" and stated that "if this was a book, it'd be for the coffee-table, glossy but not essential." Phil Carter of AllMusic was taken by the band members' "impressive ability on their respective instruments" and by LaBrie's vocal range, writing also that the album is an "excellent mix of progressive metal stylings with heartfelt vocals and thought-provoking lyrics". Metal Storm reviewer calls Images and Words "a masterpiece and also a historical album", because it "brought something totally new to the scene, this famous progressive metal sound that would become Dream Theater's signature". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff in his Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal praised the band's musicianship and "the tricky arrangements", but was not thrilled by the album, which he found "a bit too self-aware and calculated to be in the true spirit of progressive rock."
Friendly reminder not to take any "Greatest Guitarists" list seriously if it doesn't include John Petrucci. Dream Theater sounded dated and kitsch from the get-go, but who cares when they can play this well?
Wow these guys are impressive! Progressive metal feel to this that I really loved. I've heard the song "Another Day" in the past somewhere and it was great hearing it again! Terrific!
Sometimes an album is better than even its most rabid, nerdy fanboys can describe. It's pretty rare, but it does happen, and this is one of those times. Something about the unashamedly-cheesy approach, the ambition, the incredible pinpoint technical proficiency, etc etc. It's basically the standard for any band full of conservatory graduates (either this or Toto IV). Either way, it's a 5/5.
I said this on the last Dream Theater album someone posted and I’ll say it again - there were some weird kids in my music program that wore Dream Theater merch everyday and this checks out. It’s kinda fun though
September 5, 2025 Half the songs are over 8 minutes, and the thing is still less than an hour. For a metal/prog band, that's efficiency! My only real exposure to Dream Theater has been "Pull Me Under", from Guitar Hero IV, but I'm looking forward to hearing more! Whoa the lead singer is a Canuck, instant 5 stars "Surrounded" is exactly the kind of maximalist madness I want from these kinds of bands. AOR power ballad + Dreamy synth + over-the-top guitar shenanigans. More Whitesnake than Metallica, but still
Dream Theater makes a kind of music that is a horror to me. Certainly the ballads like Another Day irritate me to the core of my listening experience. It's a collection of bombastic and pointless sounds that feel like eating like cheap prefab noodles. It sort of fills the room with sounds that are familiar, but add nothing to your life.
Easiest 5 in a while and an insane miss from the original list. Images and Words is a classic and should be cherished as such. It’s not my personal favorite of their albums, but if I had to pick one of their album to show to others this would be it every single time.
Interesting genre of metal. Like the name, it sound sort of 'theatrical'.
Great guitar playing, but the keening vibrato-laden singing dates this music as a product of its era.
When theater kids start to get the improper idea that they are cool/badass/not extremely beat-upable (I was a theater kid)
Overwrought
One of my all time favourites. Flawless.
Progressive metal. Ni fu ni fa.
Yeah calm whatever
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Take the time
Sounds like what I imagine Tool sounds like mixed with hair metal. An interesting combo that I don’t think I’m into. They seem a little late to the game. Instrumentation shouldn’t be stealing the show. Lyrics are fine, but the way this guy sings them makes me tune out. Also, there are five songs on here that are over seven minutes long. Fuck that shit. They didn’t need to be that long. It’s a fine album, but not for me. 3/5
An interesting genre bending album here. Primarily hard rock and metal, yet there are ballads, and sax solos. This album does feel a bit dated in the 90s metal era but it’s still an enjoyable album with lots of unique features that your typical metal album wouldn’t have. There is some replay value there but this is an album that is better artistically than it is enjoyable as a whole. 6.5/10
Creative and well-played progressive metal with some excellent guitar work. Leans a little theatrical for my taste but honestly, I kind of miss the days when bands went this big musically without a hint of irony. Good stuff. Fave Songs: Pull Me Under, Take the Time, Under a Glass Moon
Dream Theater are really conservatory players with metal hearts, and Images and Words makes that obvious from the very first note. The technical brilliance is staggering: Petrucci, Moore, Myung, Portnoy, and newcomer James LaBrie all sound like they are born for this. The production is crystal clear, every riff and run perfectly audible, and “Pull Me Under” remains a classic that deserved its unlikely MTV run. And yet, as much as I admire the skill, I’ve never fully connected to it. Too often the songs feel more like showcases of musicianship than pieces that grab you emotionally. It’s dazzling, but also distant. And at times it feels like fretwanking. I get why this album is revered as the blueprint for modern prog-metal, and it absolutely earns its reputation for influence. But for me, it’s a 3.5* listen: impressive, but it never resonated.
Great memories of playing ‘Pull Me Under’ on Guitar Hero World Tour so there is a nostalgia bump here most likely. There’s no denying the instrumental work here is incredible – everyone in the band is firing on all cylinders, and while the guitar parts are a standout I found myself entranced by the drums throughout. That being said, I can’t help but feel that sizable chunks of this album just feel kind of silly, with the synth parts and completely over the top arrangements evaporating the immersion at times. I’m being a complete hypocrite given I’m a huge Rush fan, but this early-aughts prog does sometimes feel like it fell victim to the rise of electronic instrumentation which can make it sound dated and overdone. All in all, though, this was a solid listen and a great modern add.
This kind of baroque metal (though this has a lot of shades of prog rock and frankly just pop) doesn't do a lot for me. Musically very competent. Less strong lyrically - simultaneously grandiose in attitude while being pretty basic in execution. Overall a nice e enough listen but not something I'd seek out.
Progressive metal. Ni fu ni fa.
I missed the window of my adolescence where I could have become a Dream Theater fan. As it stands for me they’re a band with good moments, but rarely a full good song. This record has many good moments though, and ”Metropolis - Part 1” is one of my favourite compositions of theirs. The synthetic production unfortunately dampens my enjoyment, and LaBrie should really sing more inside his range, but overall this is still on of their strongest efforts. This isn’t an album I would’ve but on this list, but I can’t really argue with the inclusion
Rush for even bigger nerds.
First record I listened to using lossless on Spotify connect on my main system. Never explored them before but I know the name. Enjoyable listen. Well recorded.
Ew Huh, thought Distance over Time was the most popular dream theater record. Thought Untethered Angel and At Wit's End were the popular ones. What is this compared. (Also might be the ugliest album cover yet except for any Marillion album) 2
Progressive metal. No me va.
Think this just sounds like dated over the top metal to me.
Prog metal is pretty darned close to prog rock and I’ve got a bit of an allergy to that. Still, there were some riffs that got my head nodding and the shredding is real.
I haven't given 2/5 and 1/5 marks to Rush in the original list to now give a higher grade to Dream Theater. I stand by what I said in those reviews. Inserting hair metal pyrotechnics into the prog rock vernacular just empties the latter of its poetic substance and cinematic potential. And it's the same if you do it the other way around and insert prog rock elements into hair metal. Call me close-minded if you will. I know how open-minded I can be, believe me (all you need to do is to compare galleries...). So I don't think I need lessons here, just like a lot of other people on this generator -- who also have very broad and yet demanding tastes -- don't need lessons about how to open their hearts to a vast array of musical styles. That said, I respect the stellar musicianship displayed in *Images and Words* a lot, and I admit that some of the extravagant, show-off flourishes in this record, such as the ones found in opener "Pull Me Under", can be kind of fun to listen to. But come on! If you take away the metal ingredients in "Another Day", "Surrounded" and "Wait For Sleep", what you have here is for all intents and purposes eighties pop dross. Without the metal guitar solo at its end, "Another Day" is basically an Avril Lavigne song, for instance. It's no dig against people who like Avril Lavigne, lol. It's just that the thought that Avril Lavigne and Dream Theater might actually have something in common would probably be considered ridiculous by fans of both acts. And yet... To conclude, the problem I have with this record might also stem from what I consider as flawed execution of an artistic vision. And this is where the prog rock elements actually sound worse than the metal ones, very ironically. Amazing how closer "Learning To Live" constantly goes from thrilling hooks and motifs to laugh-out-loud cheesiness in the space of its eleven minutes and thirty seconds, for example. Those sorts of medieval shenanigans in that closer hearken back to Genesis, sure, but they sound so awkward and overkill to my subjective ears... To the point where the totally clichéed metal elements felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison. Guess that overkill mode goes with the territory of the genre harnessed here, though. More power to you if that's your kind of thing. Metal power, of course. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes: 5+2 Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ----- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 48 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 62 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 114 (including this one) --- Hey, Émile. J'ai enfin trouvé le temps de répondre ! Regarde sous la review de *Young, Loud And Snotty* des Dead Boys !
I feel so conflicted on Dream Theater. At some points I really dig it, but at others it's so goofy and theatrical in the worst ways and it really takes me out. Overall not something I'd listen to super regularly.