Raw Hidden Gems from the Early Years of the Progressive Metal Legends - A Review of Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986)

Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986) is the sixth release of Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives that goes into its second year of existence. This collection of demos has been published for the first time nineteen years ago by Ytsejam Records. This release includes seventeen instrumentals songs and six tracks featuring guest vocals by Chris Collins.

The quality of the material has quite a few ups and downs. The earliest recorded tunes are heavily underproduced which makes them sound muffled yet very loud. Those elements make tracks such as short opener ''Particle E. Motion'' quite nerve-firing and tough to digest.

The band's instrumental talent however shows through in the longer instrumental tracks. ''Cry for Freedom'' is a highlight for avid collectors and fans with its adventurous, fast and melodic guitar play, surprisingly dominant, heavy and playful bass guitar patterns as well as vivid, ever-changing and diversified percussion and drum patterns. This song exemplifies three talented school friends playing for sheer pleasure best.

The record's shorter instrumental tunes are rather brief parodies of numerous other bands that were popular back in the mid-eighties from Yngwie Malmsteen over The Ramones to Stormtroopes of Death. Tunes like ''Mosquitos in Harmony Song'' might make you chuckle once but are overall extremely forgettable.

The record's final six tunes feature vocals by Chris Collins and keyboards by Kevin Moore. The former has an energetic, high-pitched and youthful voice reminding at times of Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate. The only issues are that the singer tries a little bit too much to copy his idol instead of focusing on his own style and that his vocals end up sounding quite exchangeable, repetitive and unimaginative after a while. Kevin Moore's first performance with the band is more promising as he adds a few atmospheric layers that rate several songs up. However, his chemistry with the three core members is far from excellent and his instrument sounds at times too loud in the mixture. Despite such minor flaws, the final six songs show a very promising start to a career that would lead to the establishment of the world's most famous and successful progressive metal band. The technical talent is already exceptional while the songwriting still needs some focus but is already an improvement over the first instrumental recordings.

At the end of the day, Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives: The Majesty Demos (1985-1986) is highly recommended to fans of the group's early years from the release dates of When Dream and Day Unite to A Change of Seasons. The band's first steps show much promise and excellent technical skills in the instrumental execution. Chris Collins' often forgotten guest vocals on the first demo are also decent enough and worth being discovered. Occasional fans might however complain about at times poor prodiction values and several lengths in the record's middle section. This compilation isn't among the archives' strongest outputs but can nevertheless be considered a hidden gem for avid collectors and faithful fans.

Final Rating: 75%