Beyond This Life

Song infobox
Name = Beyond This Life


Artist = Dream Theater
Album =
Released = October 26, 1999
track_no = 6
Recorded = 1999
Genre = Progressive metal
Length = 11:21
Composer = Dream Theater
Label = Elektra Records
Producer = John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy
Writer = John Petrucci
prev = "Fatal Tragedy"
prev_no = 5
next = "Through Her Eyes"
next_no = 7

"Beyond This Life" (also known as Scene Four: Beyond This Life in context of the album) is the sixth track from Dream Theater's fifth studio album, . The song's lyrics were written by John Petrucci.

Plot

In the track, the main character, Nicholas, is taken back to when his former life, Victoria Page, was brutally murdered, as evidenced by the headline in the newspaper (Headline, Murder, Young Girl Killed, Desperate Shooting on Echoes Hill). After killing the girl, the killer then commits suicide, falling upon the dead girl. A witness to the crime then shouts out for assistance. We learn more details about the killing in Scene Nine: Finally Free, the final track of the album. A note is found in the killer's pocket later, which is apparently a suicide letter. It says that the killer would rather kill himself than live with losing his love.

Musical Structures

The song, at 11:21, is the third longest on the album and one of the heaviest in Dream Theater's run and arguably the heaviest up to that point (1999) in their career. It begins with a simple four-note-per-measure structure in 5/4 time in G# minor, which sets up as the main riff of the song. After the first two verses, the song breaks into a quieter chorus, then builds itself back up again. The song eventually builds up into a 4-minute long instrumental section, which has some obvious Frank Zappa influences. Starting at around 8:25 in the album version, Jordan Rudess utilizes a horn-like instrument on his keyboard, and at 9:04, Rudess changes into a xylophone-like sound, with Petrucci simultaneously playing every note Rudess plays. This rapid note style is reminiscent of a section of Frank Zappa's "Montana" from "Over-Nite Sensation". The song breaks then into one final chorus and quiets down merging into the next song, Through Her Eyes.

Live Performances

The song has been played numerous times in live performances, as it is one of their most requested songs. The song is on two of their live CDs, "" and "Live at Budokan". The performance on Live at Budokan featured a 8-minute long jam session before the second "Zappa section", bringing the total time of the track to 19:37.

Band

*James LaBrie - vocals
*John Myung - Bass guitar
*John Petrucci - Guitar, background vocals
*Mike Portnoy - drums, background vocals
*Jordan Rudess - keyboards