The beginning of an era. Although it might not be apparent on this release, Dream Theater were ready to emerge as one of the few bands which could successfully write interesting progreesive metal compositions. Very ambitious musical showmanship is present all over this album, each member is allowed to stretch out ala Rush. You could argue that here Dream Theater sound too much like a hybrid of Queensryche, Rush and Styx, but this was their first release, and they were pretty damn young when this came out. Criticism aside, this is an excellent progresiive metal album, and their heaviest, as well. Missing is action is the outstanding collective ego that seems to cloud this band's later releases. While The Ytse Jam is the instrumental on the track, and does sport some incredible guitarwork, I'd say that other songs hold the key to why this band is so great. These guys are tight, and they put a lot of time into getting that way. They also have a knack, even on this release, of playing well off of one another. Again, a lot of what appeals is definitely Rush oriented, but the band was coming into their own. They were definitely wise, however, of removing the vocalist from the picture. He does an adequate job, but in my opinion, it parallels the change Fates Warning went through from John Arch to Ray Alder, it boosted the entire band 3 notches. I strongly recommend this, especially now since you don't have to go to Germany (where I finally found it) to get it!