Dream Theater – Parasomnia

This year marks Dream Theater’s 40^th anniversary. Formed in 1985 (originally as Majesty), 2025 sees the release of   their 16^th studio album” Parasomnia.”  My own personal encounter with them began in 1992 when I discovered their ’Images and Words’ album and I’ve followed them ever since. The last album ’A View from the Top of World’ was released in 2021. That’s a gap of four years which is the longest period to date between any of their studio releases. The original drummer Mike Portnoy has rejoined after a 13-year absence. Old grievances have been repaired, and the band is back together again.

During his previous stint with the band Mike was generally considered to be an integral part of the writing process. Opinion is split as to whether the material suffered because of his departure in 2010. For me the jury is still out on that particular issue. For those who had that view, Mike’s return to the fold must be very welcome. So, has it made a difference? Eight tracks spanning over 70 minutes should hopefully tell us, as they herald in a new era of Dream Theater.

The first 50 or so seconds of the opening track ‘In the Arms of Morpheus’ are just sound effects (sirens and someone moving around). The music then fades in almost cautiously and finally explodes into crashing chords. Eventually it settles into a satisfying rhythm with keyboards joining courtesy of Jordan Rudess and a comforting solo from guitarist John Petrucci. Incidentally, he used an 8-string guitar to play those crunching chords I mentioned. The track is instrumental, but a great start nevertheless, so far so good.

The video to ‘Night Terror’ has been out for a few months now and served as an early taste of things to come. The loose concept of the album involves sleep related issues, nightmares and such.  This track is everything you would expect from Dream Theater. Specifically, ten minutes of driving complex riffs, catchy hook lines and a screaming guitar solo. I find it reminiscent of the ‘Scenes from a Memory’ album in parts.

“Parasomnia” is a term for disruptive, sleep-related disturbances including sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, and night terrors. John Petrucci elaborates, “Since our band name is literally a theater that plays while you’re dreaming, it’s crazy we didn’t think of this sooner.” Looking at it like that, the band name and album title are practically synonymous.

The pace picks up for ‘A Broken Man’ with new/old boy Mike delivering a blistering performance. Lyrically the song is about PTSD, typically suffered by combat veterans. The accompanying video is a “visualizer” depicting scenes of war and destruction. Despite the subject matter, the song is empathetic and adopts the perspective of a soldier’s trauma from experience in battle. This is Dream Theater just how I like them, complex, heavy and varied.

Following on is another great track, this time with a disturbing tale within. ‘Dead Asleep’ tells the story of a sleepwalker who accidentally kills his wife. Again, I get hints of ‘Scenes from a Memory’ probably due to James Labrie’s delivery. It starts with an eerie intro that fades in before a strident riff takes over, letting in a melancholic solo from John Petrucci. Then the story begins, clearly enunciated by James with all its traumatic detail. A second guitar solo followed by a keyboard solo fill the middle of the track backed by the rumble of John Myung’s bass lines. As the man protests his innocence, the track finishes with a dramatic section leading to a short piano outro.

Now, here’s the rub (small moan coming up). Whilst it is difficult to select my favourite tracks from this album, ‘Midnight Messiah’ is definitely not one of them. Don’t get me wrong, the song is OK, but I find the switch from verse to chorus to be disjointed. Lyrically it is Mike’s first contribution since 2009. It tells of a person feeling powerful in a dream and wanting to go back to sleep to be that again. But that chorus is not pleasing to my ears, and it doesn’t sit well with the rest of the album. It’s a shame because the song has a nice guitar solo in it. That’s just my opinion though – anyway – moving on; ‘Are we Dreaming’ brings things down a few notches. It’s a short sombre instrumental piece with a faint eerie voice speaking in the background and leads nicely into the final stretch.

Laid back and ballad in nature ‘Bend the Clock’ asks a question. “If I could turn back the clock or bend time and experience life without these nighttime traumas, would life be better?”. James Labrie gently expounds on this fanciful idea. Mr Petrucci delivers a long, sumptuous solo, putting the icing on the cake as it gradually fades out to the end.

The band had planned to write an epic track for this album. It has materialised as the final 19:32 minutes by way of ‘The Shadow Man Incident’. The sound of a music box being wound and played acts as the intro and it’s almost five minutes before the vocals come in. Between the two various changes occur including a grand military style staccato section. This is a track that you can immerse yourself in. The music finishes around a minute from the end and then there’s a surprise.

Over the years that I have followed this band I have seen them grow from a band that you could talk to in the pub a few doors from the gig, into a headlining stadium act. They are still going and still producing music that I love, well most of it anyway. I’m glad they are still around; there aren’t many bands that I have stuck with for this long. Scorpions are celebrating their 60^th anniversary (strange, as I saw them on their final farewell tour in 2010) so hopefully there will be much more to come from Dream Theater. If this album is representative of their future musical direction, then count me in for the ride.

Track list:

1. In the Arms of Morpheus
2. Night Terror
3. A Broken man
4. Dead Asleep
5. Midnight Messiah
6. Are we Dreaming
7. Bend the Clock
8. The Shadow Man Incident