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11-17 R.I.P. Charlie Dominici
10-25 Mike Portnoy back in Dream The
09-22 Dream Theater's 'Invisible Mon
08-13 Dream Theater Launch 'The Alie
07-28 Dream Theater Announce New Alb


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Dream Theater

The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal music.While its lineup has continuously evolved, the Long Island-based quintet has consistently delivered sharp-edged music. Dream Theater isknown for its high-energy concert performances. While they've released several live albums -- Live at the Marquee, recorded at theLondon club; Live in Japan, recorded during the Music in Progress tour in 1993, and a triple-CD and DVD, Live Scenes from NewYork -- they remain one of heavy metal's most bootl ...read more

The technically proficient guitar playing of John Petrucci elevated Dream Theater to the upper echelons of contemporary heavy metal music.While its lineup has continuously evolved, the Long Island-based quintet has consistently delivered sharp-edged music. Dream Theater isknown for its high-energy concert performances. While they've released several live albums -- Live at the Marquee, recorded at theLondon club; Live in Japan, recorded during the Music in Progress tour in 1993, and a triple-CD and DVD, Live Scenes from NewYork -- they remain one of heavy metal's most bootlegged bands.Originally named Majesty by Berklee College of Music students Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and drummer Mike Portnoy, the band soonexpanded with the addition of keyboard player Kevin Moore and vocalist Chris Collins. Releasing an eight-tune demo, Majesty Demo, asMajesty, the group sold 1,000 copies within six months. The departure of Collins in late 1986 left Majesty without a vocalist, and after a longperiod of auditioning possible replacements, the group settled on Charlie Dominici in November 1987. Changing its name, the group agreed on "Dream Theater," inspired by a now-demolished California movie theater. Signing with Mechanic Records, the group began working on its firstfull length album. Delays caused by label mismanagement limited the group to performing at small clubs and bars. Frustrated by itsexperiences with the label, Dream Theater finally severed its ties with Mechanic.This was only one drastic change in the band's course of action. Firing Dominici, the group spent the next couple of years searching for avocalist. The search ended in late 1991 when a demo tape from Canadian vocalist James LaBrie, formerly of Winter Rose, arrived. After flying to New York to audition, LaBrie was invited to join the band. Signing with Atco Atlantic (which came to be known as East West), DreamTheater released its second album, Images & Words, in 1992. One of three videos based on songs from the album, "Pull Me Under,"became an MTV hit. Although Theater showed considerable growth with their third studio album, Awake, recorded between May and July 1994, the group continued to be hampered by personnel changes. Before the album was mixed, keyboardist Moore left the group to focus onhis solo career. Hired as a temporary replacement for the band's Waking Up the World tour, Derek Sherinian later became a permanentmember. His first recording with Dream Theater was a 23-minute epic, "A Change of Seasons," written in 1989 and released in September1995 on the album of the same name.Following a mini tour, Fix for '96, the members of Dream Theater separated for several months and became involved with a variety of outside projects. Petrucci was the busiest. In addition to joining Portnoy and keyboard player Jordan Rudess in the Liquid Tension Experiment -- agroup that included influential bassist/stick player Tony Levin -- Petrucci played guitar with Trent Gardner's Explorers Club and made a guestappearance on Shadow Gallery's Tyranny album. Myung and Sherinian collaborated with King's X vocalist Ty Tabor in the band Platypus. LaBrie worked with Mull Muzzler, a group formed with Matt Guillory and Mike Mangini.Dream Theater experienced yet another change when Rudess was tapped to replace Sherinian, who had been fired in 1999. The band released the progressive rock-heavy Scenes from a Memory that year, a conceptual piece that followed the story of the 1928 murder of a youngwoman and how a modern man is haunted by the crime. It was followed by Live Scenes from New York in 2001, which suffered from an unintentional bout with controversy when its original cover featuring the city of New York in flames was pulled due to the events ofSeptember 11. The group continued in the progressive metal vein in 2002 with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, followed by the leanerTrain of Thought in 2003 and Octavarium in 2005. The live album Score: XOX was released in 2006 and featured the bandbacked by an orchestra. It was followed a year later by the new studio album Systematic Chaos, and by Black Clouds & SilverLinings in 2009.Sherinian went on to record as a soloist and to play with a prog and jazz fusion band, Planet X. Petrucci released an eponymously titled soloalbum in 2003, featuring accompaniment by Dave LaRue of the Dixie Dregs and Boston-based drummer Dave DeCenso. In late 2010, MikeMangini joined the group, replacing drummer Mike Portnoy, who left the band in September of that year. With a rigorous touring schedule tofirmly break in Mangini, Dream Theater somehow found time to record. They pre-released the track "On the Backs of Angels" to YouTube viatheir label, Roadrunner in June of 2011, followed by the CD release of the aptly titled full-length, A Dramatic Turn of Events, in the fall.After a period of rigorous international touring, the band took a break though its members continued writing. They reconvened in early 2013and returned with a self-titled studio album in September -- this one with Mangini completely involved in the writing process -- followed inNovember with the concert recording Live at Luna Park on CD and DVD, which was recorded during the Dramatic Turn of Events tour over two nights at the Buenos Aires soccer stadium. « hide

Similar Bands: Symphony X, James LaBrie, Fates Warning, Liquid Tension Experiment, Rush

LPs
A View from the Top of the World
2021

3.5
310 Votes
Distance Over Time
2019

3.5
587 Votes
The Astonishing
2016

2.5
792 Votes
Dream Theater
09/23/2013

3.2
1,105 Votes
A Dramatic Turn of Events
2011

3.5
1,491 Votes
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
2009

3.7
2,092 Votes
Systematic Chaos
2007

3.3
2,233 Votes
Octavarium
2005

3.6
2,712 Votes
Train of Thought
2003

3.9
2,648 Votes
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2002

4
2,240 Votes
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
1999

4.4
3,536 Votes
Falling into Infinity
1997

3.2
1,536 Votes
Awake
1994

4.1
2,483 Votes
Images and Words
1992

4.3
3,391 Votes
When Dream and Day Unite
1989

3
1,135 Votes
EPs
Wither
2009

2.9
171 Votes
A Change of Seasons
1995

4
1,226 Votes
Live Albums
Live at Madison Square Garden
2023

2.5
3 Votes
Live at Wacken (2015)
2022

2.4
4 Votes
Live in Berlin (2019)
2022

3
5 Votes
...And Beyond - Live in Japan, 2017
2022

3.2
7 Votes
A Dramatic Tour of Events - Select Board Mixes
2021

3.3
8 Votes
Images & Words: Live in Japan - 2017
2021

3.1
8 Votes
Distant Memories
2020

3.8
25 Votes
Another Day in Tokyo
2016

3.7
8 Votes
Breaking the Fourth Wall
2014

3.9
46 Votes
Happy Holidays
12/25/2013

3.7
20 Votes
Live at Luna Park
11/05/2013

3.8
68 Votes
LIVE AT BUDOKAN (DVD/BD)
2011

4.1
29 Votes
Santiago, Chile 12/6/05
2009

4.5
12 Votes
Uncovered 2003-2005
2009

3.4
22 Votes
Chaos in Motion
2008

3.4
136 Votes
Made in Japan
2007

3
19 Votes
New York City 3/4/93
2007

3.9
10 Votes
Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02
2007

3.8
11 Votes
Score
2006

4.2
384 Votes
Old Bridge, New Jersey 12/14/96
2006

3.4
7 Votes
Dark Side of the Moon
2006

3.1
131 Votes
When Dream and Day Reunite
2005

3.4
30 Votes
The Number Of The Beast
2005

2.6
76 Votes
Live at Budokan
2004

4.1
367 Votes
Master of Puppets
2004

2.5
115 Votes
Tokyo, Japan 10/28/95
2004

3.5
12 Votes
Los Angeles, California 5/18/98
2003

3.6
10 Votes
Master of Puppets - Live in Barcelona, 2002
2002

1.8
2 Votes
Live Scenes From New York
2001

4.2
274 Votes
Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York
2000

4.1
30 Votes
5 Years in a LIVEtime
1998

3.8
27 Votes
Once in a LIVEtime
1998

3.5
190 Votes
Images and Words: Live in Tokyo
1993

4.1
42 Votes
Live at the Marquee
1993

3.8
208 Votes
Compilations
Distance Over Time Demos
2023

3.5
1 Votes
The Studio Albums 1992-2011
2014

3
2 Votes
The Triple Album Collection
01/01/2012

3.3
3 Votes
Original Album Series
2011

3.3
3 Votes
Black Clouds and Silver Linings: SE
2009

4.2
15 Votes
Train of Thought Instrumental Demos
2009

3.8
16 Votes
Take The Time (The Warner Years 1992-2005)
2009

1
1 Votes
The Making of Falling Into Infinity
2009

3.1
9 Votes
Greatest Hit
2008

3
161 Votes
Falling Into Infinity Demos
2007

3.8
43 Votes
Awake Demos
2006

4.1
23 Votes
Images and Words Demos
2005

3.9
21 Votes
When Dream and Day Unite Demos
2004

3.3
17 Votes
The Making of Scenes from a Memory
2003

3.2
10 Votes
The Majesty Demos
2003

3
37 Votes

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