Falling into Infinity

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Falling into Infinity
Falling into Infinity cover
Cover art by Storm Thorgerson
Studio album by Dream Theater
Released September 23, 1997
Recorded June 2 - July 30, 1997 - Avatar Studios, New York
Genre Progressive metal
Progressive Rock
Length 78:12
Label EastWest
Producer Kevin Shirley
Professional reviews
Dream Theater chronology
A Change of Seasons
(1995)		 Falling into Infinity
(1997)		 Once in a LIVEtime
(1998)

Falling into Infinity is the fourth full-length studio album by progressive metal band Dream Theater, released in 1997.

Contents

[edit] History

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Please improve this article if you can (February 2008).

Falling into Infinity is the second and last studio release on which keyboardist Derek Sherinian appears. Due to graphic artist Storm Thorgerson's insistence on not working with other people's fonts, this became the second of the four Dream Theater releases (after their debut, When Dream and Day Unite and following live album and video/DVD, Once in a LIVEtime and 5 Years in a Livetime, which both were also done by Thorgerson) to not contain the classic Dream Theater font in the title. However, on all the releases the traditional Dream Theater "Majesty"[1] / "Mary, Queen of Scots" icon appears in some form. This was also the last album in which the band worked with a typical record producer - between changeovers at their record company Atlantic which left them with few "die hard" supporters and two years "down time" between the end of the tour for their last major release and beginning of the recording of Falling into Infinity, Atlantic's desire for the band to produce a more "radio/MTV-friendly" sound, and some conflicts with producer Kevin Shirley over those issues, the band has since "self-produced" their following albums by members Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "New Millennium" – 8:20 (music by Dream Theater, lyrics by Portnoy)
  2. "You Not Me" – 4:58 (Dream Theater, Petrucci/Child)
  3. "Peruvian Skies" – 6:43 (Dream Theater, Petrucci)
  4. "Hollow Years" – 5:53 (Dream Theater, Petrucci)
  5. "Burning My Soul" – 5:29 (Dream Theater, Portnoy)
  6. "Hell's Kitchen" – 4:16 (Dream Theater, instrumental)
  7. "Lines in the Sand" – 12:05 (Dream Theater, Petrucci)
  8. "Take Away My Pain" – 6:03 (Dream Theater, Petrucci)
  9. "Just Let Me Breathe" – 5:28 (Dream Theater, Portnoy)
  10. "Anna Lee" – 5:51 (Dream Theater, LaBrie)
  11. "Trial of Tears" – 13:07 (Dream Theater, Myung)
    • I. It's Raining
    • II. Deep in Heaven (Instrumental)
    • III. The Wasteland

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Additional Personnel

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • In December of 1994, lead singer James LaBrie fell violently ill from food poisoning during a trip to Cuba, and ruptured his vocal cords due to excessive vomiting. Due to the timing of the incident (in the middle of a world tour cycle) and lack of ability to take time off to heal James' vocals were significantly weakened from the incident for years, and LaBrie felt it took eight years for him to return to his previous abilities and range.[2]
  • Falling into Infinity was originally conceived as a double album, though the label refused the idea. One of the songs that was removed was a twenty-three minute epic known as "Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from A Memory." The idea was expanded and became Dream Theater's next album.
  • During their final show of the 20th Anniversary Tour in early 2006, the band performed songs from each of their records. However, for this album, the band chose to perform "Raise the Knife", an unreleased demo recorded during the recording sessions of this album, instead of performing one of the songs that did make the final cut of the record.
  • In Japan, a limited edition of Falling Into Infinity comes with a bonus 3" CD that contains demos of "Take Away My Pain" and "Speak to Me"
  • "Take Away My Pain" is dedicated to John Petrucci's father who died of cancer in 1996. Previously, John Petrucci wrote "Another Day" accounting his father's struggle with cancer[citation needed].
  • Hell's Kitchen is a New York City neighborhood where Avatar Studios, the recording studios for this album, are located. It was also originally performed as a jam during live performances of "Burning My Soul" before the album was released and was reworked as the instrumental track for the album[citation needed].
  • New Millennium was originally a jam song first called "Caught In Alice's 9-Inch Tool Garden"[citation needed]., then "Caught in Alice's New Nine-Inch Millennium Tool Garden", performed live with the lyrics of "Caught in a Web". The name comes from the obvious influences by Alice in Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Soundgarden[citation needed]..
  • "Peruvian Skies" contains portions of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and during the "Touring Into Infinity" tour of 1997-'98 Dream Theater also inserted the main motif from Have A Cigar after the first "Floydian" chorus as well as the main riff from Metallica's Enter Sandman near the heavy end which recalls that song as well. This version can be heard on their 1998 live album Once in a LIVEtime'.
  • iTunes lists the track Anna Lee as Falling Into Infinity in its digital, online store. It also lists the album twice, with one being only a partial album.
  • The working titles for some of the songs on Falling Into Infinity (according to the FAQ on www.mikeportnoy.com) are: "Lines in the Sand" was "Cat's Tail","Burning My Soul" was "Carnival of Clams",and "Raise the knife" was "Showdown".
  • Graphic artist Storm Thorgerson, best known for creating the majority of album covers for Pink Floyd, submitted to the band two sketches for possible covers. One became the cover that was used on the final release. The second, rejected by the band, ended up being used by Pink Floyd for their greatest hits double-CD Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd four years later. The two original sketches are framed and hanging in the home of drummer Mike Portnoy and is pointed out by Mike on in his Hudson Music instructional drum DVD "In Constant Motion"[3].

[edit] Chart performance

Billboard 200:

  • Falling into Infinity - #52

UK Album Chart:

  • Falling into Infinity - #163

Billboard Mainstream Rock Singles:

  • Burning My Soul - #33
  • You Not Me - #40

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/0/07/200px-Majesty.svg.pn
  2. ^ http://www.musicstreetjournal.com/jameslabrieinterviewgo.htm
  3. ^ http://www.hudsonmusic.com/products/portnoy_ICM.html
v • d • e
Dream Theater
James LaBrie · John Myung · John Petrucci · Mike Portnoy · Jordan Rudess
Chris Collins · Charlie Dominici · Kevin Moore · Derek Sherinian
Studio albums
Live releases
Compilations
EPs
Videos
Singles
Suites
Associated acts
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