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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The sensational (and underrated) debut., February 12, 2001
The fact that Dream Theater's nucleus (guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, drummer Mike Portnoy, and keyboardist Kevin Moore) were able to produce an album like this in their very early 20s is astonishing. Implementing various influences, most prominently those of Rush and Queensryche, Dream Theater became one of the torchbearers for the progressive metal movement. The instrumental faculty they display at this early stage in their careers in amazing, and their creativity is incredible. From the progressive metal trappings of "A Fortune in Lies" to the dazzling feat of virtuosity that is "Ytse Jam" to the grandiose, gorgeous epic "The Killing Hand," Dream Theater shows that they are a band with talent, brains, and ingenuity.There's a slight element of 80s' cheese, especially with Charlie Dominici's vocal style and the amusing pop-metal banality of "Status Seeker," but it doesn't undermine the album's inherent quality. Dominici's voice, however, lacks the skill, power, and emotion that Dream Theater's music necessitates. (He's not awful, he just doesn't fit the music too well.) It's also unfortunate that the record's production can't complement the band's fervor. Terry Date is generally a fine producer, so I attribute the rotten production to the low budget with which this album was made. If you're a Dream Theater fan, you owe it to yourself to own this one. It has some of their best songs (especially the phenomenal "The Killing Hand"), and you can gloss over the shortcomings with your love for this band. If you new to Dream Theater and looking for a place to start, DON'T BUY THIS ALBUM. The crappy production and iffy vocals may turn you off of the finest progressive metal band on the planet. Get Images and Words instead. It's a good place to begin.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 stars - For a debut album, this is definitely milestone material, August 23, 2005
When Dream & Day Unite(1989). Dream Theater's debut studio album.
Most fans already know the story of Dream Theater: how the band originally started as "Majesty" but had to change it at a later time due to another existing band already using the name, how it was formed by virtuoso musicians John Petrucci(guitars), Mike Portnoy(drums), Kevin Moore(keyboards), and John Myung(bass), and how the original vocalist Chris Collins makes this album's Charlie Dominici sound like Bruce Dickinson in comparison to him(trust me on this). So I won't divulge much on that.
The first thing I noticed when listening to all the albums again is how much each album doesn't sound like the ones before and after it, yet they still maintain the signature style DT is known for. The same applies with WD&DU. It certainly doesn't have the clean and polished sound that Images & Words(1992), Awake(1994), and any of their later albums have, and the band hasn't quite found their niche yet. Its low budget production quality may be to blame for the lack of a top-end treble and bass, but the decent remastering job does help this. There is a real rawness and a sense of "urgency" in the debut's sound that hasn't been prevalent since then, and for this you can tell that DT didn't take the music too seriously and just wanted to rock out. Though DT were certainly influenced by many different bands most of these influences hadn't surfaced quite yet, and so at this point DT carried a sound which resembled a mid-80s Rush with 70s Rush's songwriting style and Queensryche's metallic edge. The fact that Dominici sings much like a nasally Geddy Lee makes the band lean into this quality even more. James LaBrie hasn't come along yet and his range definitely outclasses Dominici's, but he still isn't bad at all.
Still, taken for what it is, this sound is definitely a GOOD thing in my book because I dig every era of Rush (Older Rush fans shouldn't slag off their 80s stuff because they don't seem to realize that keyboards have always played an important role in a fair amount of good progressive rock, but that's a story for another time... 'ahem' moving on..). Kevin Moore not only knows how to write outstanding songs and melodies, but his atmoshperic keyboard flourishes and solos are quite unique. And everyone knows about the excellent musicianship interplay between Moore, Petrucci, Portnoy, and Myung, so I won't go into that. WD&DU has its own unique "feel" generating from it and you can't really say that about a lot of music. Not only that, but the song compositions combining Rush and metal here were ahead of their time! Before their breakthrough I&W and Awake albums came along and spawned HUNDREDS of clone bands (not all good I'm afraid), there was hardly ANYONE doing this kind of stuff in the late 80s. Prog metal had Queensryche, Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, Voivod, and even some Justice-era Metallica to an extent, but I think Watchtower were the only other band that was making complex metal like this at the time.
'A Fortune In Lies' starts the debut off well, which is still a concert favorite to this day. By the end of the track, you have a clear picture on what DT is all about. 'Status Seeker' comes next and it's actually a personal favorite of mine, despite being underrated. Everyone who's seen DT live has heard the concert staple 'Ytse Jam' (that's "Majesty" backwards), which sports some stellar instrumental musicianship, and it never comes across as "wankery" which sadly the band is often accused of doing by non-fans. The best song on here has to be 'The Killing Hand', containing incredible buildup throughout its 8-minutes and is probably the closest thing to their songwriting mastery on the following few albums. There's some other overlooked material on here, such as the ever-changing 'Light Fuse And Get Away', the melodic 'Afterlife', and the dark and mystical sounding 'The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun'. 'Only A Matter Of Time' finishes on a strong note.
This album marks as a solid entry in the DT catalogue, yet a lot of their later material still surpasses it, so for new fans I would NOT start here. It certainly doesn't have the instant appeal that I&W, Awake, 6 Degrees Of Inner Turbulence(2002), or even the new album Octavarium(2005) contains. However, like a lot of DT's albums, its charm and genius opens up over time. Despite being remastered, there are NO bonus tracks on here! And I KNOW DT is fully loaded with unreleased material. In fact, they probably have twice as much of it as officially released stuff, so there's definitely a potential to make a massive b-side box set collection someday. Do make sure to check the debut out. No DT collection is complete without this one.
Other recommendations:
-Rush's "Grace Under Pressure" and Marillion's "Fugazi" (both are different prog rock, but contain a similar atmosphere to WD&DU).
-Any other DT album. ALL are worth hearing (despite what many ridiculously picky fans will tell you).
-Any of the last few Symphony X albums and Kamelot's new "The Black Halo" album.
(ALSO: If you really don't like Dominici's vocals, go to the ytsejamrecords site and get the bootleg "When Dream & Day Reunite", which is a 15 year celebration of DT's existence where they play the entire WD&DU album live with LaBrie at the helm and Rudess on keyboards.)
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
shows potential, July 4, 1999
By A Customer
There are two types of DT fans: those who listen to DT as heavy metal, and those who listen to them as adventurous, progressive music. I am the latter, so I was dissapointed that this album, while showing immense potential, is ultimately an above-average 80's metal CD. Charlie Dominici, the original vocalist, is not as bad as everyone says, and reminds me somewhat of Labrie, but with nowhere near the range + power. Kevin Moore on keys is a nice touch, though, and I prefer him to Derek Sherinian. (DT's new key man, Jordan Rudess, is sure to trash 'em both, however!) There are a few glimpses into odd meters (one song is in 9/4) and, of course, the classic Ytse Jam (DT's original name, Majesty, spelled backwards) is worth the entire price of the CD. If you've never heard DT, however, this is not the CD for you (unless you're a fan of 80's shred metal). Images + Words, or Awake would be a better jumping off point.
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album When Dream and Day Unite 
