Since the release of 1992's "Images And Words," with the jaw-dropping, 9+ minute "Metropolis, Part I," "Dream Theater's" fans have been waiting for a sequel. With the release of "Scenes From A Memory" late last year, the band delivered on that request, and more. Rather than merely confining "Metropolis, Part 2," to a single song, "Dream Theater" constructed an entire concept album around the characters first introduced 8 years ago.

It's not the only way in which the band has made an album targeted to please it's core fans. Besides the return of the classic "Dream Theater" logo, this album musically follows more in the footsteps of the band's previous work with Kevin Moore than it does the stuff from the Derek Sherinian era. Part of the explanation might be the replacement of the flamboyant Sherinian with the classically (Julliard) trained Jordan Rudess on keyboards. Over the past couple of years, Rudess teamed with new bandmates Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci (along with Tony Levin) to create a couple of improvisational style discs under the name "Liquid Tension Experiment." While those musical free-for-alls aren't to my liking, they did provide a preview for what they might do in a structured band setting. If you ask me, the keyboardist change has paid off fully. Rudess' inclusion in "Dream Theater" has allowed the rest of the band to resume playing to their strengths.

As story lines for concept albums go, it's a grand affair, with the corporeal body (Nicholas) of a reincarnated soul going to a psychiatrist to try and find explanations for the dreams that are haunting him. Beginning with vague memories of an old house, and stairs leading to an attic, the protagonist eventually discovers a tragic love triangle involving two brothers and a woman named Victoria. To reduce a complex, and very interesting tale to simplest terms, her original beau (Julian) is laid low by addiction (possibly gambling) and replaced in her affections by the other brother (Edward). When Julian reappears, free of his curse, Victoria attempts to go back to him. The two are subsequently murdered by a jealous Edward, who arranges the crime scene to make it look as though Julian committed murder-suicide. The story is told over the course of 10 tracks, labeled as acts and scenes, and the disc opens with a psychiatrist (portrayed by legendary producer Terry Brown) hypnotizing his new client. It is not, however, laid out in a linear manner, due to the fact that it is revealed from many points of view, including all three of the pre-reincarnation characters, and Nicholas. The lyrics in the liner notes are notated to make it easier to understand who's point of view is being represented at which point.

Musically, too, "Scenes From A Memory" is an ambitious statement. The instrumental "Overture 1812" provides the musical introduction to the album in more ways than one. Most importantly, it shows off the new keyboard/guitarist duelists going after each other from the first minute. As mentioned above, Rudess' entry into "Dream Theater" lets the band go back to what it does best, and "Overture 1812" lays a foundation for the fireworks to follow. Tracks like "Fatal Tragedy" and the up-tempo portions of "Beyond This Life" positively smoke from the interaction between Petrucci and Rudess.

This album also hits the mark in its quieter aspects. While I haven't been a big fan of the band's ballads over the years, "Through Her Eyes" works really well. Heavily influenced by "Pink Floyd," it's my second favorite track on the disc, behind only "Home." That track opens with a sinuous Middle Eastern/Indian rhythm, somewhat similar to that heard on the "Tool" song "Forty Six & 2." As it progresses, a synth sitar enters the mix, pointing toward the Hindu belief in reincarnation, and the intro builds to a distorted guitar explosion. "Home" is easily the heaviest song on "Scenes," and it also includes the most important point of the story, the moment when Edward decides to pursue Victoria. "Her ecstasy means so much to me/ Even deceiving my own blood/...Help! he's my brother/ But I love her/ I can't keep away from her touch." There's also a few moments in which the story is crystallized into simple terms - while the music continues, samples of a gambling scene and a bedroom scene play out through opposite speakers.

As "Home" ends, "The Dance Of Eternity" begins, and it turns out to be one of the more bizarre and cool things "Dream Theater" has ever done. Another instrumental, it shows off some of that free-form, "Liquid Tension Experiment" style, and while it fails as a stand-alone instrumental, it holds plenty of meaning if the listener is familiar with the band's prior output. Through the entire album, hints of earlier "Dream Theater" songs found their way into the album's mix. "The Dance Of Eternity" proves to be a "Best Of Dream Theater and more!" crammed into a six-minute space. Highlights include snippets from songs like "Metropolis Part 1" and "The Mirror," a short ragtime piano part courtesy of Rudess (recalling the 1920's setting of the love triangle), and even a bass solo from John Myung.

In the end, "Metropolis Part 2" delivers on all the things "Dream Theater's" fans expect. Even more important than that, it stands up as a decent concept album, with an interesting story (reminiscent of the movie "Dead Again") and the music to back it up. "Scenes From A Memory" is definitely a worthy addition to the "Dream Theater" discography.