# The Spirit Carries On guitar solo > John Petrucci's guitar solo on The Spirit Carries On by Dream Theater (1999) starts at about 4:15. From the album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Canonical URL: Dream Theater, 1999, from *Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory*. Solo by *John Petrucci*. Petrucci's melodic solo on this Scenes from a Memory ballad is one of his most emotional. The Spirit Carries On is the emotional heart of Dream Theater's Scenes from a Memory, and John Petrucci's solo is one of his most heartfelt. Known for blistering technique, he leans here on melody, with long, sustained notes, slow bends and carefully shaped phrases that follow the song's hopeful, reflective mood. The solo builds gradually, adding faster flourishes only when the music swells, so they feel earned. It shows that progressive metal can deliver emotional weight as well as complexity. Listen for how Petrucci lets the notes sing and ring out over the piano and gospel-tinged backing vocals, and how he saves his most intense phrases for the solo's climax. The Spirit Carries On by Dream Theater is ranked #492 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by John Petrucci and the song was released in 1999. ## In our lists - [The 25 Greatest Prog Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/prog/) — #23 - [The Best Dream Theater Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/dream-theater-guitar-solos/) — #6 - [The Best John Petrucci Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/john-petrucci-guitar-solos/) — #3 - [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1999](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1999/) — #9 - [The 18 Best Progressive Metal Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/prog-metal-guitar-solos/) — #3 ## Sources - [Thomann: 25 Iconic Guitar Solos](https://www.thomannmusic.com/blog/inspire/25-iconic-guitar-solos/) ### Who played the guitar solo on The Spirit Carries On? John Petrucci played the solo on Dream Theater's The Spirit Carries On (1999). ### Where does The Spirit Carries On rank among the greatest guitar solos? #492 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 80 published lists; it appears on 1 of them. --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)