As Dream Theater celebrates its 40th anniversary, guitarist John Petrucci reflects on the band’s enduring legacy, the reunion with drummer Mike Portnoy, and the meticulous process of crafting their latest album, Parasomnia. With a global tour in full swing, the progressive metal icons are reconnecting with fans worldwide while exploring new musical territories in the studio.
The band launched their 40th anniversary tour in London on October 20, 2024, marking the beginning of a massive world tour spanning Europe, North America, and South America. The experience has been nothing short of incredible for Petrucci and his bandmates.
“We started in October. Our first show of this 40th-anniversary tour was on October 20th… We went to so many countries, and it was incredible. Really incredible. The audiences were fantastic. The shows were huge, and we’re having so much fun on stage,” Petrucci told Metal Hammer Spain.
One of the tour’s most defining elements has been the return of founding drummer Mike Portnoy, who rejoined the band after a 14-year absence. His presence has reignited the chemistry that originally made Dream Theater one of the most influential progressive metal bands in history: “It’s been great having Mike back in the band and just kind of reconnecting with that original chemistry that we all had together. We’ve known each other forever. We met when we were 18 years old, and you just feel like you’re back on stage with your buddy and your brother.”
While their live performances continue to captivate audiences, Dream Theater has also been focusing on elevating their recording process. In recent years, they expanded their personal recording space, allowing for a more dynamic and immersive sound.
“Actually, we have our own studio that we built, you know, probably about six or seven years ago. But we had actually just an expansion. We expanded the size of our live room,” Petrucci explained. “So that was something new that we were doing in there. I think that really helped the sound of the drums and everything. And, yeah, James or Jimmy T, as we call him, he’s always looking to experiment with new microphones, new ways of doing things.”
Petrucci emphasized that while the band embraces modern recording technology, they also revisited vintage gear to capture the essence of their classic albums: “Even with the guitar, we went a little bit retro and we were able to buy the original Neve preamps that were used to record the guitars on all the classic Dream Theater albums, from Images and Words to Scenes From A Memory to Train Of Thought. So, you know, we’re combining vintage gear with new techniques and new mic techniques, and it’s always a lot of fun. It’s very adventurous”
Their commitment to sonic excellence is further reinforced by the involvement of producer and engineer Andy Sneap, whose expertise in mixing has been instrumental in achieving Dream Theater’s signature sound: “He’s one of the best mixers out there now. And I think that he just understands guitars. I mean, guitars are a big, big part of heavy metal music, and so are drums, too. You know, whenever you listen to an Andy Sneap mix, it just immediately sounds big and aggressive and three-dimensional and he really understands it. And what I absolutely love about him is that he takes so much time on the details of the mix. He cares. He’s really passionate about mixing and, you know, making sure that the music would sound as best as it can. So he’s always questioning and refining and going back.”
When it came time to write Parasomnia, the band took an organic approach, working together in the studio to create an album that reflects both their musical roots and evolution: “We wrote the record together. We started in February. We wrote it with everybody in the room. And, you know, as a guitar player, of course, I always prepare riffs and chord progressions and ideas and things like that. And I always bring that into the so we have some starting points, we have some direction.”
The album’s title, inspired by sleep disturbances, had been in Petrucci’s mind for years before he finally brought it to the band: “I came into the band with the idea of calling the record Parasomnia, which is an idea I had a few years ago. I just thought it was the perfect title for a Dream Theater album because it deals with sleep disturbances and we’re called Dream Theater. So it couldn’t be more perfect. And it also led to like a really sort of dark and mysterious and heavy dream state kind of record. So that was great. The whole band was on board with going in that direction. And, yeah, we did write it together in the studio.”
Despite the modern trend of singles and playlists, Petrucci remains a firm believer in the traditional album format, encouraging listeners to experience Parasomnia as a complete work.
“This is our 16th album. We’re celebrating 40 years as a band, so we’re definitely old school where we still think that albums and we call them albums should be listened to from beginning to end because that’s what we used to do when we were growing up. We would get a new album, whether it be from Rush or Pink Floyd or whatever, and we would invite our friends over and put the album on, turn down the lights, and listen to the whole thing as if we were watching a movie. And so we still feel that way. So we still write records in a way that we want the listener to experience the whole thing from beginning to end, just the way you did.”
Thematically, Parasomnia leans into darker subject matter, which in turn influenced the music’s heavier direction: “It’s definitely a heavier album. I think that the theme, the Parasomnia theme, is very dark. That lyrical content is very dark. And so that led to the heaviness. “Dead Asleep” is one of my favorite songs on the album. The chord progression that starts that song off and the main riff is something that I had worked on for a while. I was trying to get that classic, sort of dark, mysterious… like almost Randy Rhoads, Diary of a Madman vibe to it.”
“Sometimes it’s great to have stuff that’s really heavy and technical and progressive because that is exciting. And then sometimes it’s great to have things that are more mysterious or mellow or beautiful because that kind of gives you relief. But also, when you have stuff that’s more straightforward, more heavy metal, more traditional, that also brings a sense of like, it makes the album more interesting, because all of a sudden, ‘Oh man, there’s a song I could rock out to and I could, headbang and fist bump or whatever the things you’re doing’. And so I think that’s important to keep the album diverse.”
Given its conceptual depth, the band is considering performing the album in full at some point on the tour: “That’s something that we hope to do, later in the tour. Eventually, we’d like to kind of shift things to more focus on Parasomnia. And it would be great to play it from beginning to end. I think it would be a cool experience for the fans. I think that we could do some great imaginative things with the visuals of the show. And I look forward to that. Yeah, it’s going to be great.”
