DREAM THEATER Guitarist JOHN PETRUCCI Announces New Solo Album, 'Terminal Velocity'

DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci will release a new solo album, "Terminal Velocity", in the fall. The cover artwork was created by Sean Mosher-Smith at Echo Designlab and can be seen below.

Petrucci announced the long-awaited follow-up to 2005's "Suspended Animation" in a pair of Instagram posts on Wednesday. He wrote in one (see below): "In 2005, there was SUSPENDED ANIMATION. And now, 15 years later, THE WAIT IS NEARLY OVER! #JohnPetrucci #TerminalVelocity #Fall2020"

Since the 2010 departure of drummer Mike Portnoy, Petrucci, along with keyboardist Jordan Rudess, has taken on much of the songwriting load for the progressive metal giants, including 2016's controversial double concept album, "The Astonishing", and last year's "Distance Over Time".

In a 2019 interview with "The Everyman Podcast", Petrucci was asked when fans can expect to hear a new solo album from him.

"It's something that I'm just almost embarrassed about, because my first one — only one — was released in 2005," he responded. "And I do — as people may know, from watching the 'G3' tours — have plenty of material for that. So, next time I can sit down and get into a studio and I'm not making a DREAM THEATER record or touring with DREAM THEATER, I will record music for a follow-up solo album."

Petrucci told Guitar World magazine in 2018 that the song "Damage Control" from "Suspended Animation" was particularly challenging to play in a live setting. "It's just a crazy... I've said this before — I feel like I'm doing damage control the entire time I'm playing," he said. "It just has so many weird things about it — time signatures and technical challenges and things. A concentration song, that one."

DREAM THEATER's latest album, "Distance Over Time" was released in February 2019. The disc, which marked the band's first for their new label InsideOut Music, was produced by Petrucci, mixed by Ben Grosse and mastered by Tom Baker.