DREAM THEATER Guitarist Talks About Decision To Re-Sign With ROADRUNNER RECORDS

Guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has spoken out about the band's decision to re-sign with Roadrunner Records. The group first joined forces with Roadrunner in January 2007 and has so far released three critically acclaimed albums with the label. Roadrunner first issued DREAM THEATER's ninth studio album, "Systematic Chaos", in 2007 and went on to release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" in 2009 as well as their most recent album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", in September 2011. The band will soon begin recording a new album as part of the new agreement with Roadrunner.

Speaking to Metal Insider, Petrucci said: "We've been with Roadrunner for about five years spanning the life of the three records we've done with them, and it's been amazing. They're a great record company, we love all the people there, they get DREAM THEATER, and they're truly on board with what we're all about. Having said that, when we heard there were some changes, especially some big ones, of course we were concerned. It's fairly common in the music industry, and we've experienced it before. We were on Warner since our original contract with Atco, and that deal, which we signed when we were really young, was for eight albums, which is insane. The label changed so many times, it was Atco, it was Atco/EastWest, it was Elektra, and there were constantly changes in personnel. There were presidents leaving, key people in A&R leaving. So we were concerned with it. It was really a matter of asking the right questions, and speaking to everybody there. Some of the key people aren't there any more, like Monte [Conner, Sr. VP of A&R] who I worked with so closely and become friends with over the years, that was a very upsetting change. And the recent change with Jonas [Nachsin] leaving, those are big changes. At the same time, there are people that are still there that are equally as big a part of our career. The idea that those people were staying and were still going to be a part of this was incredibly reassuring. We've also had a bit of a good experience with this kind of change that I wasn't even aware of. When similar changes happened a few years ago and the offices in Japan merged, I didn't realize that a lot of those people had merged into the Warner office, and our experience in Japan last time was incredible. So fortunately, I didn't notice anything that was a problem. Another big concern for us was Europe and the U.K., where we have a very big market presence. So the idea of those offices closing and not working with those people was very shocking to us. But it was a matter of speaking to Roadrunner and talking about the new arrangement between them and Warner. And we felt really good about it. We felt like re-signing and continuing to build off of the history. Doing three albums together means three tours, means a lot of promotion, and a lot of working together. So we felt like it was definitely the right move."

Asked if there were other labels sniffing around, Petrucci said, "Yeah. There were other offers that we were considering, but we definitely felt strongest about Roadrunner and building on the relationships and the history. With the people that are there, and what we've done together, and how they know how we operate and how we know they operate, there's a lot to be said for that. When the label understands the band, and the band understands the label, there's a bond. Every band's unique, and every band has a different kind of audience. We're definitely not your average band as far as the music we play and the audience we appeal to. It's hard to get people that understand that. Since that relationship was strengthened and developed over three albums, continuing made so much sense."

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