DREAM THEATER's JOHN PETRUCCI On Vinyl Resurgence: 'It's Huge'

In a new interview with CBS New York's Chris Wragge, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci spoke about the ways we listen to music have changed in the last few decades — from cassette tapes and CDs to MP3 files and streaming. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's wild. We saw the change happen. And, of course, the CD came out and that changed everything. Then, when everything went to digital and streaming, that was a whole another advancement in music delivery. But here's the weird thing: I guess things kind of come full circle. All of a sudden vinyl is coming back. And not only coming back — it's huge."

Addressing the fact that vinyl has had resurgence in recent years, with sales of vinyl records surpassing that of CDs for the first time since 1987, Petrucci said: "There is definitely a charm to that sound. For me, it's funny that… A lot of musicians might relate to this. There's a moment when you're in the studio and it's the perfect listening environment and it's as hi-rez as you're ever gonna get. And you're, like, 'I wish everybody could hear it like this.' But then people are getting it streaming and everything else."

Although streaming is still the biggest driver of the music industry's growth, vinyl revenue grew 17% and topped $1.2 billion last year, making up nearly three-quarters of the revenue brought in by physical music, according to the Recording Industry Association Of America's year-end report released in March. In 2022, listeners purchased 41 million vinyl records, compared to just 33 million CDs.

Vinyl has been on the comeback for about 15 years, with sales increasing by 17% since 2021.

"The Alien", a track from DREAM THEATER's latest album, 2021's "A View From The Top Of The World", landed the band its first-ever Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April 2022 in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER's previous Grammy nominations were for the song "On The Backs Of Angels", from 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" album, and the single "The Enemy Inside" from 2013's "Dream Theater".

"A View From The Top Of The World" was described in a press released as "DREAM THEATER at its musical finest, expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe." The seven-song album also marked the second studio album with InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR). "A View From The Top Of The World" was produced by Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James "Jimmy T" Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.

Photo credit: Rayon Richards