Make no mistake, though, this is the most intricate pop metal album humans could conceive of. The keyboards on this album aren't overwhelming, and while they do soften the sound quite a bit, they enhance the feel of the album and the pop metal act is pulled off perfectly.
Kevin Moore is the band's original keyboardist, although not as great as Jordan Rudess who later joined the band. To find five guys this talented, and whose styles work well enough to create catchy songs that don't drag on too long (we're still in '92 here) is something truly remarkable. From a technical standpoint, there isn't a band that touches Dream Theater when it comes to what they can do with their instruments. Now, the instrumentation of this album is about as flawless as possible. It's truly a shame he blew his chords out a few years after, as his voice was never the same. Fueled by charismatic lyricism about life and hardship, James LaBrie delivers the best vocal performance of his career. Songs like the aforementioned "Pull Me Under" and "Another Day" are simply brilliant, as is the Michael Jackson thing he does on "Take the Time" and the harmonic passages of "Wait for Sleep." Every song, no matter how lengthy, is filled to the brim with emotional and beautiful singing, and although the music never gets too heavy, the contrast to metal riffing gives the album a very likable quality. The best part of this album, to get this out of the way, is James LaBrie's legendary vocal performance. On their sophomore album, they accomplished this, thanks in part to breakout singles like "Another Day" and "Pull Me Under." Taking inspiration from bands like Rush (and yes, there is a TON of Rush in DT's sound), along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, the quintet of musical virtuosos sought to write catchy, melodic metal with more complexity and technical ability than any other band in the world. Dream Theater in the '90s (and even in '89) was a much different band than the one that is often clowned today.
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