Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory is a 1999 Rock Opera/Concept Album by the progressive metal band Dream Theater. It follows the story of a man named Nicholas and his hypnosis-induced exploration of a past life involving love and murder as a young woman named Victoria Page.

The album is a sequel to Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, a song from the band's 1992 album Images and Words. Scenes from a Memory greatly expands on the story and thematic concept originally presented in the song using narrative lyrics from the points of view of multiple characters interspersed with technically and rhythmically detailed music and instrumentals.

An in-depth plot summary is available at the Other Wiki.

Tropes used in Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory include:
  • Arc Words: The phrase "Open your eyes" appears many times throughout the album. The first person who says this is the Hypnotherapist at the beginning of the album, but the words are later repeated by Edward right before he kills Victoria and by the Hypnotherapist before he kills Nicholas.
  • Break the Cutie: Nicholas starts as a relatively happy man and slowly is broken as he learns about Victoria's life and premature death until the point at which he breaks down crying at her grave.
  • Downer Ending: It's heavily implied that, at the end of "Finally Free", Nicholas is killed by the hypnotherapist, who is a reincarnation of Edward, the man who killed Victoria.
  • Epic Rocking: The album is almost 80 minutes long, spread across 12 songs, the longest (Home) at twelve minutes and 53 seconds, followed closely by Finally Free (11:59) and Beyond This Life (11:22).
  • Genre Shift: The last few minutes of "Finally Free" contain no music, playing out like a radio show instead.
  • Gospel Revival Number: "The Spirit Carries On" has shades of this.
  • Ironic Echo:

"Open your eyes, Nicholas." *yelp* *static*

  • Murder Ballad: "Fatal Tragedy" and "Beyond This Life."
  • Spoken Word in Music: The album contains voice acting for the Hypnotherapist, Victoria, Julian, and Edward.
  • Triumphant Reprise: "The Spirit Carries On" contains a full-band reprise of the acoustic track "Regression", complete with a gospel-style choir.
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