DREAM THEATER – Parasomnia (2025) *HQ*

With great drummer / songwriter Mike Portnoy back in the fold, DREAM THEATER is about to release their new opus “Parasomnia“. The album marks the first record featuring the iconic line up of vocalist James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, keyboardist Jordan Rudess and drummer Mike Portnoy since 2009’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’.
”Parasomnia” is full of renewed vigor, reflecting the palpable excitement of their dedicated fanbase. It’s tasteful, technical when it needs to be but not overly so, making it accessible for just about anyone but still with plenty there for theory nerds to sit down and dissect.
It’s not just great progressive metal, it’s great music, period, and anyone who appreciates music in any capacity will surely find something to enjoy about this album. It’s not exhausting to listen to – quite the opposite, in fact. It’s a ton of fun, and hopefully a portent of many more great things to come.

There are certain bands for whom extremely high expectations come part and parcel. It can’t be helped; when you spend an entire 35-plus year career setting a gold standard, that’s just how it goes.
Dream Theater are a household name at this point, known throughout the world for their airtight mile-a-minute shredding and fearlessly outside-the-box approach to songwriting. Each individual member is a music nerd’s music nerd, a virtuoso unto himself, and they all come together like some kind of musical grail to create a very special kind of magic that has kept them at the pinnacle of the progressive metal pantheon from the beginning.

Well, the time has finally come to hear “Parasomnia”, and I for one am pleased to report that their brand new album ”Parasomnia” is indeed everything you would want and expect from a band of this caliber.
It’s heavy enough to be palatable for today’s modern audience, but still heavily steeped in all of the epic, pensive melodies and jazzy stop-go grooves that a die-hard fan could hope for, ultimately achieving a delightfully satisfying balance.

Going back to 1992’s masterwork ”Images and Words”, the group’s second album and first with LaBrie, Dream Theater has advanced their analytical approach to music – Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy attended the Berklee College of Music – by leavening elaborately performed 10-minute songs with lyrical inspiration that draws from Shakespeare to the Twelve Steps to recovery.
Parasomnia’s eight tracks revolve around sleep disturbances; the music, suitably, exists in a space somewhere between sweet dreams and a nightmare.

Right from the start of the opening instrumental track “In the Arms of Morpheus”, the album kicks off with a straight-up djent riff but still peppered with plenty of that signature flair to keep things grounded and recognizable. Dream Theater have always had heavy, groovy sections at some point or another, but this one is particularly gnarly. It’s a statement, a deliberate flex to show that they haven’t lost any steam, and that they still have what it takes to not only stand toe-to-toe with their contemporaries but to lead the charge.
About halfway through, the proverbial fists begin to unclench and the familiar triumphant melodies take the reigns, but by now the message has been sent loud and clear.

Now that the dramatic entrance is out of the way and the door has been thoroughly kicked off its hinges, it’s time for the follow-through. The second song “Night Terror” is a near-perfect representation of everything that this band embodies. It’s got all the usual ingredients: catchy, memorable riffs, unorthodox time signatures and unexpected transitions that keep you guessing but never get too far out ahead of themselves, multiple blistering guitar solos as only John Petrucci can provide, and of course, every single member is firing on all cylinders, marching in perfect lockstep with one another from beginning to end.

It should surprise no one that the musicianship on this album is absolutely stellar, or that every single song has its own distinct sense of personality, from the genuinely creepy and heavy opening track to the kinda-cheesy-but-it-still-rules peak ’80s vibe of “Midnight Messiah”, to the pseudo-ballad “Bend the Clock” towards the end. As I said in the beginning, this thing was always going to come with very high expectations, but that doesn’t make it any less satisfying to have those expectations met.

We all knew that Petrucci was going to shred so fast that lightning would shoot from his fingertips, and that Portnoy was going to lay down some tasteful jazzy beats and fills that make liberal use of those high pitched, tightly tuned toms on the far side of the rack, but one thing that I found particularly exciting was just how much they let Jordan Rudess cook on this one as well. The guy has a sick keyboard solo in just about every song, with a notable example being the almost honky-tonk-like piano shredding during the 19-minute epic closing track “The Shadow Man Incident”. That one came completely out of left field and left a big dumb smile all over my face.

Melody, head-spinning solos and rhythmically complex musical passages were essential to defining Dream Theater’s reputation – they’re no less exciting here, the 16-year break from each other rarely reveals any cobwebs.
“Parasomnia” shakes off any doubts about their return.
HIGHLY Recommended

01 – In the Arms of Morpheus
02 – Night Terror
03 – A Broken Man
04 – Dead Asleep
05 – Midnight Messiah
06 – Are We Dreaming?
07 – Bend the Clock
08 – The Shadow Man Incident

James LaBrie / lead vocals
John Petrucci / guitars, backing vocals
Jordan Rudess / keyboards, backing vocals
John Myung / bass, backing vocals
Mike Portnoy / drums & percussion, backing vocals

Pre order:
www.amazon.co.uk/PARASOMNIA-Special-Digipak-Dream-Theater/dp/B0DJTH2N4J