DREAM THEATER

In my humble opinion Parasomnia is Dream Theater's best effort since Black clouds and silver linings. The drumming of comebacker Mike Portnoy and the tight production of his drums alone make me smile. And most of the songs are real good, interesting and entertaining stuff. So, no complaints from my side. Great return for the S-Tier Prog Metal drummer, Mike Portnoy

Overall this is pretty solid, The album features a recurring melodic motif throughout, which is something they haven't done in a long time. The last two tracks are probably the highlight of the album, with The Shadow Man Incident finishing on a Petrucci solo that reminds me strongly of the finale to Octavarium. Probably their best ~20 minute Opus since that one, actually. Some of the rest of it is pretty forgettable. In general, they overuse the recurring melody (when doing this approach I think it's better to define 3-5 distinct melodies that can be reshaped in various ways rather than just one). There's also a bit with halting notes over an overlapping rhythm that sounds like the first part of The Dance of Eternity.

The first studio reunion of the classic DT lineup since 2008! 1. "In the Arms of Morpheus" (5:22) the spacious time-bent opening 90 seconds of this sounds and feels like a soundtrack to one of those child-slasher horror movies. It's very well done--and very effective in conveying disorientation from "real world" reality--even when the full band starts its power chord march through to the 2:45 mark. The chugging motif that follows is impressive for the technical prowess on display from each and every musician. The "mountaintop" motif that opens up at 4:05 is a bit clichéd but definitely reminds us of the "glory days" of all that was 1990s DT. And no vocals! It's totally instrumental. (9.125/10)

2. "Night Terror" (9:55) a slowly-building wall of auspicious gloom turns, after 90 seconds, into a fast-paced run through the dark forest. When the band wants to open up for James LaBrie's singing of the verses they step into a syncopated stop-and-go kind of motif--very effective--but then revert to the smooth-racing run for the choruses. Four minutes in and I find myself totally surprised at the like of pyrotechnics or fireworks: everybody seems to be completely synchronized and attuned to the whole-band wall(s) of sound they're creating. When there is space opened up for instrumental solos, the guitar and keyboard solos are, unfortunately, almost embarrassingly cliché-filled. (Those guitar overdrive harmonics were so 80s!) Still, it is really nice to hear that RUSH-like unity in the eighth minute--and this is the motif in which John Petrucci reminds us of why he was one of the kings of technical metal guitar playing. Great solo highs in the ninth minute! The chorus, which is really maxed-out in the final minutes, is a little too anchored, stylistically and melodically, in 1980s "hair band" sound. (17.875/20)

3. "A Broken Man" (8:30) a song that I enjoy for its steadfast forward motion, even when Mike decreases the number of beats per minute he deploys with his drums; this is an impressive song! While Mike Portnoy is putting on a show for the first two minutes Jordan Rudess's keyboard prowess is in full effect with his "calming"/balancing synth wash chord progressions. James La Brie steps into the fold in the third minute to divulge the story line, he's good--very theatric and committed--but it's John Myung's bass play that now has all my attention--especially when there are any spaces afforded the instrumentalists between James' vocal lines. The metal motif in the instrumental sixth minute is cool with lots of tempo and chord-progression changes as Jordan and John Petrucci take turns proffering their pristine solos (even courting totally different stylistic motifs with each solo stint). Even the bridges are really fun to hear/follow--especially with the various fills each instrumentalist might "sneak" into them. The vocal is good but not nearly as breath-taking as the work of the instrumentalists. (18.75/20)

4. "Dead Asleep" (11:06) John Petrucci really gets some great guitar sounds on this one--which may feed into his inspired-sounding lead solos. The creative interplay between John-John and Mike is so exciting that I find myself pretty much tuning out/oblivious to James' vocal performance--until, that is, the muted effect is applied (briefly) in the fifth minute. The subject matter is quite obviously inspired by both Edgar Allen Poe and Blue Öyster Cult's albums of the mid-1970s (Agents of Fortune and Spectres). Jordan has some decent time in the instrumental mid-section to solo--and he is quite impressive. (I often have trouble appreciating much less "feeling" the emotional keyboard artists are trying to convey with their instruments.) Smooth multi-voice choruses also remind me of BÖC's iconic songs (as well as those of Def Leppard). From a perspective of instrumental virtuosity, this may be the album's most impressive. The song ends with some on-the-water creaking wood noises beneath a piano playing the melody of a famous Nineteenth Century classical piece. (18.5/20)

5. "Midnight Messiah" (7:58) DEF LEPPARD-like musical motif opens this within which a recorded voice is relaying his concerns about how to "really wake up." Syncopated Tech Heavy Metal ensues with John Petrucci and John Myung chugging masterfully along, Mike and Jordan riding along beneath, each adding their own subtle rhythmic and harmonic accents. It has quite a bit of Metallica's "Enter the Sandman" feel to it--though not during the choruses, there it sounds more like Uriah Heep, Iron Maiden, Megadeth or that ilk. This song is one that feels as if the band is kind of "dialing in" a mélange of their most comfortable riffs and styles. Not my favorite style or song. (13.125/15)

6. "Are We Dreaming?" (1:29) gongs, church organ, and tubular bells set up another voice-under of whispered vocals--this time from two actors. (4.425/5)

7. "Bend the Clock" (7:25) opening with some awesome-sounding distorted guitar chords and arpeggi brings me back to times long begone (the late 1960s and early 1970s). When James enters, using a breathy-delicate voice, immersed within piano and strumming acoustic guitars, it is equally awesome/nostalgic. Then they really get going: reviving a sound palette that is so familiar, so comfortable from the AOR Classic Rock bands of the mid- to late 1970s (Styx, Alice Cooper, Journey, or even Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, or Bryan Adams). This is my favorite James LaBrie vocal of the album! And my favorite John Petrucci guitar solo (despite the fact that it is totally old-school pre-80s Metal). Great if "classic" song! Just great! (14.5/15)

8. "The Shadow Man Incident" (19:32) a long intro that definitely highlights the band's unity and discipline--two elements that I consider marks of maturity and effort--the song really kicks into forward motion at the three-minute mark and then really around the four-minute mark when they're finally ready to launch some solos (with John Petrucci's rock guitar starting things off). At 4:50 things are brought down a couple notches--especially in tempo--allowing the tender (though portentous) side of James LaBrie's voice to go on full display. There is an awesome Freddy Mercury-like control and focus that James is putting into each and every syllable/vowel that is very impressive. At 7:50 the guitar and bass suddenly take off: speeding along like a dog suddenly seeing a squirrel. Mike, Jordan, and James follow suit (without missing a beat, of course). The unity is really quite remarkable--as is James' pronunciation of each and every syllable. The melodies are fairly good--especially the "night ? endless nights" ones: catchy and memorable. The instrumental passage begun at the ten-minute mark owes a lot to the twin guitars of bands like THIN LIZZY as well as the sounds of Brian May. In the twelfth minute the band shifts into "catch me if you can" mode with many short ever-shifting motifs and time signatures--the two Johns again shining while Jordan and Mike reinforce, embellish and accent. In the fourteenth minute Jordan surprises us with some classical music themes slipping out of his piano (as the rest of the band holds fast to their hard-driving metal motif beneath!) Petrucci goes off on one of his inimitable series of Lightning Flash flurries in the 15th minute but then the band melts into a bombastic theme for James to re-emerge singing in a crescendo/dénouement during the sixteenth and seventeenth minutes. Petrucci soars and dives in the eighteenth while Mike punctuates every second of the song beneath him and then, with over a minute left remaining on the clock, its over! We're left with eerie water-in-the-underground sewers, echoing shadow man laughs that turn to dripping in the bathroom sink followed by the ringing of a mechanical alarm clock and a "wake up" voice being whispered loudly into your ear. Classic, high-quality DT with very tight formation, classic Petrucci guitar solos, and a wonderful if limited (in terms of minutes) performance from James LaBrie. It's really hard to find fault with this other than it not being my true kind of preferred music to listen to for pure enjoyment. Still, there is no doubt that this is a brilliant product! (38/40)

Total Time 71:17

Though Dream Theater music has always been impressive, it has rarely resonated with my specific musical tastes. (So far, Awake is the one exception: there is something about that album that drew me in from the first time I heard it.) A long break from collaborating with one another as well as maturity may have served James, John, Jordan, John, and Mike well because the music on Parasomnia, while still being as impressive as ever, is both interesting and enjoyable! It may not end up being one of my favorites of the year but it certainly earns high marks for skill and power. (I'm actually a bit embarrassed to see that my favorite song on the album is the one that ticks off the most "retro" marks on the nostalgia scale.) I'm also incredibly impressed how little filler there is with "over the top" bombast and show: this is a band that is showing their maturity by being content with impressing as a whole band more than as a gathering of virtuosic individuals.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of prog metal from one of America's iconic bands reunited one more time.

Alright. Let's imagine an alternate universe where Dream Theater didn't create this. Instead, a promising new prog band - let's call them Shmaken, Shmeam Theater, whatever - releases their debut album, Shmarasomnia. It sounds exactly like this album, the only difference being that it's by an unknown band. Or, more piercingly, the difference is that it's by a band that isn't buried under the weight of decades of expectation by fans and critics alike. How would we rate this?

Seriously, if a totally unknown band released Parasomnia, I strain to see how it wouldn't create shockwaves in the prog metal community. This is an excellent record, not just Dream Theater spinning their wheels. Petrucci's performance especially blew me away; the guitars here are no less memorable than those of classic Thrash albums (think Master of Puppets-era) and it's clear that, had this been released in a different era by a different band, it would earn far more enthusiastic reception. It's okay to admit that Dream Theater made a good album, even if it's not literally the 2nd coming of Scenes from a Memory.

Some minor criticism: while Parasomnia works well qua album - that is, you can listen to it start to finish without feeling the urge to skip anything - it doesn't feel like there's a standout track. If pressed, my vote would go to the instrumental intro "In the Arms of Morpheus", which is a pretty telling choice - but damn, what a nice intro! Just such a creative musical interpretation of slipping into a dream (if you didn't know, Morpheus was the Greek god of dreams, not just a Laurence Fishburne character). Other bands have done their own interpretation of this (consider Gazpacho's "Night"), so it was interesting to compare.

Further, I don't think this was the best use of James LaBrie's vocal talents. I phrase that deliberately to imply that LaBrie has vocal talent, since that seems to be a matter of contention among weirdo critics. Where LaBrie usually shines is his creative melodies and wide range of vocal styles, yet on this album he feels a bit constrained. I consider Dead Asleep an exception, and Midnight Messiah was a bit more adventurous, though I wasn't fond of the execution. There are probably others I'll warm up to on my 4th or 5th listens. Not a bad performance by any stretch, just below his standard, and I wish his sections were catchier.

An easy 4/5.

Talk about your dramatic turns of events! With Mike Portnoy returning to Dream Theater out of the blue and Mike Mangini bowing out with good grace (so far as we can tell), expectations where high for this album. It's not that the Mangini era of the band is outright bad, so much as it's rather mixed; A Dramatic Turn of Events was pretty solid, but their self-titled album was less celebrated and The Astonishing met with a serious backlash.

Notably, with the latter they abandoned their usual full-band collaborative approach to songwriting, Petrucci and Rudess handling all the music themselves and Petrucci writing the lyrics solo, further contributing to the sense that the well-honed Dream Theater creative engine wasn't quite working as it should. Then again, Distance Over Time and A View From the Top of the World seemed to find the band back on an upward swing - the question was, would the return of Portnoy reinvigorate the band or disrupt them just as their creative process was recovering from the weird experiment of The Astonishing?

Before you even get to the music here, you're confronted with cover art that seems designed specifically to build high expectations. Sure, it's a spookier, gloomier image than we've become used to from Dream Theater (though not so much that it feels completely uncharacteristic), but what really jumps out about it is that it's a big riff on the Images and Words cover; we've got an older girl stood next to her bed, and whilst the surreal features of the Images and Words cover suggested the colourful imagery of dream, here we're stepping more into the realm of nightmare.

So not only is this Portnoy's big comeback, but it's being set up as this big thematic sequel to the band's breakthrough album - if Images and Words was Songs of Innocence, this is Songs of Experience. Lyrically and thematically, this continues right into the album itself; "Parasomnia" is a term for a particular category of sleep disorders, and the songs here are all about sleep paralysis, nightmares, and other things of that nature. It's not a narrative concept album so far as I can tell, but it's definitely a thematic one, with the band taking us all on a thrilling trip through the realm of nightmare.

If the album's cover and lyrics showcase thematic unity, the credits suggest the return of the fivefold creative partnership responsible for the success of this lineup's successful run from Metropolis Part II to Black Clouds & Silver Linings. To the extent that Mangini got credits for songwriting, he did because Dream Theater typically share the credit for all of their musical compositions and generally only go for individual credits when it comes to song lyrics - which Mangini notably contributed much less of than Portnoy had. Portnoy's back on the lyrics again here, and one can only assume that he's settled back into making contributions to the musical compositions too, since all five men in this lineup had become well-used to workshopping ideas with each other.

All of this show of unity and co-operation would come to nothing if the music didn't hold together of course, and I'm happy to report that this is a decidedly strong Dream Theater album. It's not on the level of albums I'd personally put on the absolute tippy-top tier of the band's output - Images & Words, Metropolis Part II, and Octavarium - but it's a decidedly solid effort which refreshes their customary style with the combination of a well-defined and tightly targeted atmosphere and mood on the one hand, and on the other an injection of a few more gleeful retro-prog influences into the mix than we've heard on recent albums from the group.

One suspects Portnoy may have had a hand in that, given that he'd spent much of his time away from the group working with Neal Morse (both on Morse's own projects as bandleader and in more collaborative contexts like Transatlantics), and anyone who's that keen to keep contributing to Neal's prog projects probably has a healthy appetite for old-school prog stuff, but at the same time this isn't so much of a divergence from A View From the Top of the World as to represent an outright repudiation of that album, or the Mangini era as a whole.

Really, my biggest criticism of it is the needless Images and Words nod on the front cover - I think it's silly of the band to implicitly invite such comparisons when this isn't really a throwback to that era. The group aren't rewinding the clock here or pretending the last few albums didn't happen - they aren't hopping back to a pre-Mangini period, it's more like Mangini tagging out and Portnoy tagging in back in, the group carrying the lessons learned forward. It remains to be seen whether this new era of the band will have the staying power of the last time this particular lineup was all together - like I said, the Mangini era did start strong before it got into the weeds a little - but whilst this isn't a revolution in the band's sound, it's still a promising start.

It seemed that Mike Portnoy's departure from Dream Theater was a closed chapter in 2010, but surprisingly the prodigal drummer returned to the band to take his place fifteen years later, after which his determination and energy at the helm of the percussions and his compositional talent came to bring a revitalising breath of fresh air to "Parasomnia" (2025), the sixteenth album by the New Yorkers, wrapped since 2011 in a self-referential web that produced five very good albums technically, but with a somewhat dull creative spark.

With a conceptual theme centred on sleep disorders and their various manifestations, "Parasomnia" flows between charged hypnotic and sombre atmospheres, sustained by a rocky rhythmic base built by Portnoy's drums and John Miyung's always diligent bass. From the powerful and disturbing instrumental "In the Arms of Morfeus", a myriad of sonic constructions and deconstructions intertwine in tracks of great forcefulness such as the dark classic prog metal of the nightmarish "Night Terror" and John Petrucci's irrepressible haemorrhage of riffs, the tormented and muscular "A Broken Man" including a brief and inspired jazz moment, the oppressive and murky "Dead Asleep" that contrasts a great guitar solo by Petrucci with the synthesized dalliances of Jordan Rudess, and the raw and powerful "Midnight Messiah" and the virtuoso overlapping play of guitars and keyboards once again.

And preceded by the whispering and brief ambient interlude "Are We Dreaming?" and by the splendorous power ballad "Bend the Clock" with a convincing voice of James LaBrie (of very good performance on the album by the way), the extensive suite "The Shadow Man Incident" unfolds stupendously, alternating emotive peaceful valleys and peaks of instrumental grandeur drawn from the most genuine progressive metal, on a par with other huge tracks like "A Change of Seasons" or "The Count of Tuscany" and with some subtle nods to the magnificent "Metropolis Pt.2 : Scenes from a Memory". An unbeatable closing of what is probably Dream Theater's best work since 2002's "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence".

Very good

4/4.5 stars

Review Nº 873

As we all know, Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band that was founded in Boston in 1985 by John Myung, Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci while they were studying music at Berklee University. They became as one the pioneers of this style of prog with other bands like Fates Warning. Dream Theater is a very successful and charismatic band with fans all over the world. They released sixteen studio albums till now, including this new one, "Parasomnia".

Before begin to talk about this new DT album I need to say something. In a very short time two of my favourite and most important prog bands released two new studio albums. I'm talking about "The Last Will And Testament" from Opeth released in the end of 2024 and this one "Parasomnia" of Dream Theater released this year. By itself, it's a noteworthy event for me. But there are two things that made of this an even most important event. In the case of Opeth we had the return of growls of Mikael Akerfeldt, a very much unexpected thing for many of their fans. In the case of Dream Theater we had the return of Mike Portnoy, a thing that many of us considered unlikely or even impossible after so many years.

So, with the return of the legendary drummer Mike Portnoy, the band released "Parasomnia", a conceptual album that reaffirms their status and shows that, despite the years, creativity and energy remain intact. The impact of this return is evident from the first seconds of the work. With its eight tracks, if there's one thing "Parasomnia" does well, it's finding a balance between instrumental sophistication and the ability to captivate listeners less accustomed to more complex structures. But the album is not limited to technical displays. There's room for different atmospheres full of contagious energy. With a very well balanced work and a band in a perfect shape with landscapes with a jazzy groove and others with a rock melancholy, Dream Theater, with its classic formation, proves, once again, why it's the leader of the genre.

"In The Arms Of Morpheus" is an instrumental track that sets the general tone of the album. This opener sets the dark atmospheric tone of the album with its instrumental prowess foreshadowing the themes and motifs to come. It's clear this is Dream Theater at their most grandiose. It's a powerful warm-up track for a concert opening. "Night Terror" is a classic progressive track, dark, eerie and heavy and where LaBrie's vocals are clear. It dives into the nightmarish theme with aggressive riffs and a memorable chorus, showcasing the chemistry between the band's members and where each member gets a moment to shine. "A Broken Man" has an astonishing energy and an emotional depth, a real descent into pain where Portnoy kill on the drums. The track balances between intense metal sections and more introspective moments, echoing the storytelling prowess of their past epics. It's one of the heaviest tracks of Dream Theater. "Dead Asleep" is one of the two lengthiest tracks on the all album. This is a pretty standard solid track with the classic Dream Theater's sound. It's one of the most focused tracks on the album, ominous, eerie and slightly oppressive. This track is an evolution of the band's ability to weave complex narratives with music. This is a masterclass dark prog metal track. "Midnight Messiah" is a concentrate of technique and power. Those who love "Train of Thought" will love it. The tempo changes and accelerations in particular, take the sound to another level, making us go wild. The interplay between the instruments shows the unchanged chemistry of the band's members. "Are We Dreaming?" is a very short interlude with atmospheric sounds and layered vocals, a moment of reflection with its minimalist approach. "Bend The Clock" is the most accessible track on the album, a beautiful power ballad. It showcases LaBrie's vocal range and the band's ability to craft emotional and melodic tunes. Despite LaBrie is a fine singer, are in these type of songs with a greater harmonic emphasis were he truly excels. "The Shadow Man Incident" is a 20-minute sprawling epic that encapsulates the album's themes and showcases the band's technical and compositional excellence. It has epic solos, hard riffs, quiet melodic sections, blazing fast keyboard work, great guitar solos and LaBrie singing in top form. The track moves through various moods and styles encapsulating everything Dream Theater does best a reminiscent of their long form classics.

Conclusion: "Parasomnia" marks a moment of renewal of Dream Theater. It's well known that the announcement of Portnoy's departure in 2010 marked one of the most dramatic moments in the band's history. With Mangini, the band released five great technical studio works but what lacked a certain creativity and innovation. Mike's return brought a new energy to the band and this is reflected in the way each song overflows with vitality and creativity. I agree with my colleague reviewer rdtprog when he says that what Portnoy has brought up to the band is more of an inspiration on the songwriting side than on the technical side. Besides, he is the real soul of Dream Theater. For me, "Parasomnia" is the best work of the band since "Black Clouds & Silver Linings". With each listen, the album grows on me, revealing new layers and intricacies. With this album, the band reinforces their position as one of the greats of the prog metal scene.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

DREAM THEATER 16th album and the return of drummer Mike. A word for the title and this distressing perception of abandoning oneself in the arms of Morpheus with elegiac and hypnagogic images.

"In the Arms of Morpheus" with the cinematic, atmospheric intro that kills; drops of water in the distance, a synth behind that surprises, the invasive guitar, hard nauseating enjoyable, the typical drums of Mike. In short, the mechanics of the dream theater has awakened; John and his 8 strings already in the firmament accompanying the other John; symphonic air with the cello keyboard flirting on 'A Scene', 'Overture 1928', divine memory. "Night Terror" follows, intro of two explosive minutes with a powerful sound, even stronger as if to pass to the nightmare state of the hero in spite of himself; the complex instrumentation, between triplets and dry pads that change from the heavy fire of Mike the old; John assures by machine-gunning while Jordan covers with muffled notes; James assures his voice without going too high. The progressive development on LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT with a crazy dreamlike and wacky flamenco guitar; in short we wanted to know, I want to continue the dream. "A Broken Man" bursts forth on a monster tempo, aggressive, inquisitive, spatial with this metallic pad and its voiceovers of military veterans. A musical wall symbolizing the lack of sleep, the trying side with James singing like a God, more phrasing in fact and unfolding the story. The piano break à la Jerry LEE then the organ of a DEEP PURPLE then DREAM THEATER. A fruity bluesy break, illuminating before the return of the heavy artillery symbolized by the riff, the 10 fingers of the two Johns and the pad. Long but effective, trying like the state of this 'man'. "Dead Asleep" begins sleepwalking on tiptoe with these delicate strings; the metallic riff like 'Paralysed' or 'Awaken The Master' choose, setting the song and the atmosphere on fire. It is about murder anyway and this guitar-pad hammering indicates the passage reality and parasomnia. James comes after a marshmallow solo, understand fruity and melting. Brutality of the song coupled with the electric bluesy solo worthy of guitar heroes, energetic cover with a note reminiscent of the SAXONS at their best. Jordan throws his notes at full speed before starting again on the thunderous chorus, 40 seconds of outro on the evanescent piano cleaning our ears, close the door and sleep now.

"Midnight Messiah" with the sampled voice, the riff on a Gregorian choir then the rogue wave, it's fashionable in my notes at the moment. I nod like the two idiots in 'Wayne's World'. James signs the radio edit to the supercharged MUSE, the energetic piece bringing back to METALLICA, not the first time. A continuous fire of sounds with many samples. Let's note phrasing references from their albums of yesteryear, 'Home', 'Déja Vu' and the loop is made. The machine-gunning with James who pushes his strings, proving to his detractors that he can impose. Well the violent piece on the edge of thrash for grandpas is not bad at all, a long piece with the instrumental as a bonus. "Are We Dreaming?" arrives, a little atmospheric escapade, chimes, stereo muffled voices, solemn passage inside a cathedral and divine Jordan on the organ yes I assume; interlude to remain suspended, launching "Bend the Clock" bluesy from the start, a note of ANGEL is to say and not to laugh. James is sparkling on this sumptuous ballad putting him in the spotlight; heavy vintage hard US riff, a beautiful unfolding with John also brilliant, the chorus looks at 'Hollow Years' which I had trouble before conceiving that DREAM THEATER could make beautiful ballads. A Gilmourian solo comes along, enjoyable, orgasmic, over- excited, listened to in the car at full blast with one of my sons, time had stopped, I digress. James and John are having a blast, enjoying themselves, the final melancholic solo, enjoyable in fade out, it's done on purpose my son; I become a believer and hope that the hero will go back in time.

"The Shadow Man Incident" with the little dancer in the bottle, between dream, memory and reality. After the intro with proven reminiscence of 'A View from the Top of the World' and the sounds of the departure the ship takes off; five minutes to have a languid James with phrasing narrating the character of the cover; we have DREAM THEATER on the facade without a hitch, lacking a bit of madness. Halfway through the chorus is obvious, calm and the war machine starts up on the part 'Endless Nights'; struck pad at the gallop, Mike shows his talent; Jordan arrives, doing the same; John with his 12 fingers on bass, the same. The flight is a faultless course to demonstrate the talent of the musicians. A dark, tenacious riff accompanied by a South American keyboard, electric samba or bossa nova for the catch-all progression that drives you crazy: where do they get that from? It shreds, it machine-guns for a while before returning in fits and starts to the original sound that we had forgotten, James raising his voice, easily going into the studio. Pad in front, guitar that imposes itself in order to finally wake us up from this debilitating parasomnia. A last drum roll, silence is felt, a door, a car, a drop of water, it is indeed the awakening, wake up.

DREAM THEATER tells a journey into the meanders of our brain in the grip of sleep! 15 years after his departure, Hugh SYME's cover makes a nice nod to the revival of the group, go see 'Images and Words'. This sound of DREAM THEATER offers a nice melting pot of their discography, making this album a magnificent but not exceptional opus. (4.75) Originelly on Profilprog.

I can't tell if I was feeling some Dream Theater's fatigue with the last albums since the departure of Mike Portnoy on drums or if the band was starting to run out of ideas with some predictable prog metal that they give us over the years. Sometimes using the same recipe can be too much for listeners expecting some fresh music. With Portnoy's return, many were excited or curious to see if the band would return to the glory days or give us something different. The first single was something that surprised me with the dark and heavy intro Black Sabbath style. The concept of the album about different experiences of sleep disorder can justify the dark atmosphere of the album. The heaviness is nothing new if we think of Six Degrees or Train of Thought. There are some groundbreaking parts throughout the album as the less exciting parts are rare. John Petrucci delivers some impressive guitar parts including many solos. After 3 strong tracks, "Dead Asleep" keeps the momentum with a nice interplay between John and Jordan. "Midnight Messiah" has a strong Metallica influence with the progressive rock complexity of the band. "Are We Dreaming"? is a cool ambient interlude as the next track has some acoustic guitar before Labrie vocals. We have here the beginning of a ballad with the piano. But then the tempo picks up with every member playing together. We are in a familiar territory here with 2 guitar solos from John. The last 19 minutes track reach another level like all of the epic songs of the band. The intro is an inspiration from the classic song "Mars, Bringer of War". Then the guitar takes us back to the greatness of "Scene from a Memory". James's singing brings the first break with the pace slowing down. There is some great vocal performance here. Mike is delivering his powerful drum parts and Jordan showcases his skill with the keys. The second break displays some impressive drum parts in this instrumental section with many twists which is the trademark of the band. Jordan's heroic keyboard parts and John doing his thing with another fast and furious guitar solo. Then the classical arrangement of another break brings things down before the vocals come back

This is a great album with a solid return to some of the best Dream Theater period. I can see that what Portnoy has brought up to the band is more of an inspiration on the songwriting side than on the technical side. 4.5 stars for sure

I've been avoiding to many potential "sure-fire" metal albums to get my yearly top 100's more diversified, but this is a new year, and there are some bands I will make that exception for. Dream Theater was the band that got me into prog metal, and although they're not my favorite anymore, if they've got an album the fans like then I will check it out on the day of its release. And this is an event to look forward to for fans everywhere, and why? Simple...

Portnoy's back.

Since Dream Theater mastered the standard style early in their career, we must already deal with some sense of familiarity. So all that's left is how far they drive it. And they're driving it all the way from NY to CA. Some of these bits here are straight-up thrash metal with a strong edge backed up by some of their most clever riffs since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, and especially Portnoy's drumming. This is the album where he blew the mercury out of the meter. He outperforms everybody here without even thinking. Anything familiar or maybe even only decent about the songwriting is empowered by him. This is easily some of the best metal drumming I've ever heard, IMO.

As for the rest of it, the short story is that this is yet another "cool" entry into their catalog. Instead of choosing more meta concepts like the "octave," or telling another rock opera, they went right into a more conventional type of concept. Much like Metallica's Ride the Lightning covered various forms and themes concerning death, this album's all in the title. This is probably the perfect theme for Dream Theater of all people to tackle. I mean, if the band name didn't say it all, albums like Scenes from a Memory should tell you. Lyrically, they're doing everything they can to bring out the fear factor in each song, almost like we're hearing horror stories but we're supposed to pity the subjects rather than be scared for them. Instrumentally, even though their riffs aren't always the most original, they're effortlessly heavy and easier to get behind. Although, once again, Portnoy's masterful performance helps.

Parasomnia seems like a creative splurge for the band, but it doesn't get in the way of the style they developed for a single second. In fact, I could even say it makes the same mistake as Paramainomeni in the sense that all tracks are following the same goal, but every song shows them doing everything they can at that point to recall the classic era with something a little new. They never really stopped being relevant, but this feels kind of like a comeback album in a sense. Dream Theater, ever since Metropolis Pt. 2, has been the kind of prog metal band you need to immerse yourself in, much like a good old ambient album. And this is the album where they got that back. No overdoing metal themes like Octavarium, no 2112 knockoffs, just Dream Theater being dreamy and heavy.

Rounded: 9/10

Three-and-a-half years is a relatively long gap between Dream Theater albums. In fact, this is the longest it's ever taken them to put out a new album. However, this record also saw some rare churn (or maybe un-churn) in the band's lineup. Mike Portnoy is back behind the drums after a 15-year absence.

For my money, though, I don't notice much of a difference. I wasn't nuts about a lot of Dream Theater's work with Mike Mangini, but Portnoy has his share of spotty records with the band, too. The music here is pretty typical of the band. They write big, majestic melodies, and they also engage in astounding amounts of instrumental wankery. C'mon. It's a Dream Theater album. If you're reading this, you probably know what you're getting into.

"In the Arms of Morpheus" takes its time getting going, but after about two minutes of introductory sound effects, it blasts into some lurching riffage. Portnoy wastes no time in announcing his return, with tom fills out the wazoo. Parts of this song almost sound like Pantera riffs run through a prog filter. It's kind of interesting. But it also features a lot of typical DT cheese. I like DT cheese, but I do have my limits. If it's coming on this thick in the first track, that isn't necessarily a good sign for the rest of the album.

"Night Terror" has a long introduction, too, but instead of it being ambient noises like the first track, it's a pretty fun instrumental passage. Petrucci's riffs are impactful and engaging, and there's minimal showing off for the sake of it. When LaBrie's voice enters, it's strong. His performances over the last decade or so have been a bit uneven, but he sounds great. I really like how the band plays with uneven meters, too.

This song isn't all good news, though. The instrumental passages in the song's second half drag on for longer than they need to. I can certainly respect Portnoy, Petrucci, Rudess, and Myung for their chops. What they play is very complicated, and I'm really excited to see them do it live later this month. But in a studio context, all this soloing can come off as sterile and pointless. In other words, this is pretty typical latter-era Dream Theater. There is exciting songwriting alongside endless guitar and synth show-off sessions.

The above two paragraphs can be repeated for most of the album, so I'm not going to go over every song in excruciating detail. I will cover various highlights and lowlights, though.

"A Broken Man" channels Tool at a few points, and that's a nice change of pace. It's also less bloated-feeling than "Night Terror", but I wouldn't exactly call it concise. The instrumentals in the second half remind me more of Liquid Tension Experiment than Dream Theater with their jazzy and bluesy tones.

The galloping intro of "Dead Asleep" is solid, and this is a pretty standard DT track. Despite being the longest song so far, it's also the most focused.

Cliched narration kicks off "Midnight Messiah". That's another trope this band loves to trot out. This is not LaBrie's strongest performance, but I do like that Rudess is relatively restrained for a lot of it. The chorus isn't their strongest work, and this song grows repetitious by its end.

"Bend the Clock" is the obligatory ballad. Skip it.

Parasomnia ends on "The Nightman Cometh" "The Shadow Man Incident", a 19-minute opus. Its opening passage is fun and interesting, but it does suffer from a bit of the unnecessary-overture-itis I diagnosed in their last big epic. The first real part of it, though, is sluggish and kind of dull.When they pick up the tempo it gets good again, but Dream Theater isn't doing anything new here. In isolation, stripped of context, it's a great piece of prog metal that balances heaviness and melodicism. However, when looking at this band's past output, it's de rigueur.

Parasomnia, Dream Theater's 16th full-length release, is alright. It's not dreck like their self-titled or garbage like The Astonishing, but it holds a similar place in my mind as the last two Mangini Theater albums, Distance over Time and A View from the Top of the World. It's enjoyable, but it doesn't do much to stand out within their oeuvre. It is one of the Dream Theater albums of all time.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2025/02/17/album-review-dream-theater-parasomnia/