Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory by Dream Theater, album cover
Album

Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

LabelElektra
Popularity69.6
Also cited25 October 1999

Scenes From a Memory is Dream Theater's fifth studio album and their first full concept album. It picks up the story begun in "Metropolis—Part I: 'The Miracle and the Sleeper'", a song from their 1992 record Images and Words, and stretches it across a whole record. It came out on 26 October 1999 through Elektra, and the band recorded it at BearTracks Studios in Suffern, New York, the same place they made Images and Words and the EP A Change of Seasons.

It also marks the arrival of Jordan Rudess on keyboards, a change that shapes the band's sound from here on. For progressive metal fans, it's the record where Dream Theater's long-form ambitions are most fully realised. The band played it in full on the Distance Over Time tour for its twentieth anniversary, documented on Distant Memories - Live in London, and a novel adaptation by Peter Orullian followed in October 2024.

Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory: tracklist, credits and charts

12 tracks · 1:17:15

Tracklist

  1. 1Act I: Scene One: RegressionJohn Petrucci2:07
  2. 2Act I: Scene Two: I. Overture 1928Dream Theater3:38
  3. 3Act I: Scene Two: II. Strange Deja VuDream Theater and Mike Portnoy5:12
  4. 4Act I: Scene Three: I. Throug My WordsJohn Petrucci1:02
  5. 5Act I: Scene Three: II. Fatal TragedyDream Theater and John Myung6:49
  6. 6Act I: Scene Four: I. Beyond This LifeDream Theater and John Petrucci11:23
  7. 7Act I: Scene Five: I. Through Her EyesDream Theater and John Petrucci5:29
  8. 8Act II: Scene Six: I. HomeDream Theater and Mike Portnoy12:53
  9. 9Act II: Scene Seven: I. The Dance of EternityDream Theater6:14
  10. 10Act II: Scene Seven: II. One Last TimeDream Theater and James LaBrie3:47
  11. 11Act II: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries OnDream Theater and John Petrucci6:38
  12. 12Act II: Scene Nine: I. Finally FreeDream Theater and Mike Portnoy12:02
Produced by
Terry Brown, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy
Recorded at
BearTracks Studios in Suffern, New York, Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario (vocal parts)
Recorded
1999
Mixed by
David Bottrill, Kevin Shirley
Mixed at
Electric Lady Studios, Power Station at BerkleeNYC
Engineered by
Doug Oberkircher, Terry Brown
Mastered by
George Marino
Artwork
Lili Picou, Dave McKean
Photography
Andrew Lepley, Ken Schles
Label
Elektra
Length
1:17:15

Line-up

  • John Petrucci · guitar, background vocals
  • Jordan Rudess · keyboard
  • James LaBrie · lead vocals
  • John Myung · bass guitar
  • Mike Portnoy · drums (drum set), percussion, background vocals
  • Theresa Thomason · vocals · guest
  • Clarence Burke, Jr. · choir vocals · guest
  • Mary Canty · choir vocals · guest
  • Carol Cyrus · choir vocals · guest
  • Dale Scott Robinson · choir vocals · guest
  • Sheila Slappy · choir vocals · guest
  • Jeanette Smith · choir vocals · guest
  • Mary Smith · choir vocals · guest

Singles

  • “Through Her Eyes” · February 2000

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 199973
Finnish Albums · 19996
German Albums · 19998
Hungarian Albums · 199913
Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 199919
Dutch Albums · 199928
Norwegian Albums · 199928
French Albums · 199940
Swedish Albums · 199944
Swiss Albums · 199944

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

69.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
913
ListenBrainz listeners
102k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
31k
Deezer fans (all editions)

Released the same week

Also released on 26 October

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Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1999-10-25 (musicbrainz)
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz25 October 1999
Wikipedia infobox26 October 1999
Wikidata26 October 1999
US release26 October 1999earliest US date
UK / Europe release25 October 1999earliest UK or European date
12 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
1999ARElektra075596244824other
1999AUElektra9325583005039other
1999USEastWest075596244824other
25 October 1999XEElektra075596244824original
26 October 1999USElektra075596244824other
27 October 1999JPElektra4988029708748other
24 June 2009JPElektra4943674090662other
25 November 2011USEnjoy the Ride Records850372002061other
2014USEnjoy the Ride Records850372002061other
14 July 2014XWAtlantic075596244862other
3 October 2014XEMusic on Vinyl8718469534975other
1 March 2019XEElektra8718469534975other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓1425×1425upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled