DREAM THEATER

When it was announced that Mike Portnoy would be rejoining DREAM THEATER, back in October 2023, the response from the band's global legion of diehard fans was unequivocal. With no disrespect to the inestimable Mike Mangini, who kept Portnoy's seat warm for the best part of 15 years, there was a sense of inevitability about the band's decision to reconvene with their iconic drummer. Portnoy is one of those rare beasts: a drummer whose sound and style is instantly recognizable. Much like Dave Lombardo, Nicko McBrain and the late, great Joey Jordison, he has such individual flair and originality, that hearing DREAM THEATER without his multi-faceted backbeats took some getting used to. But now he is back where he belongs, and "Parasomnia" is the first fruits of this renewed collaboration. 16 years after this lineup's last album together — 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" — and four years on from 2021's "A View from the Top of the World", prog metal's perennial standard bearers have ensured that their 16th studio album is a bigger deal, at least in terms of attention received, than anything they have released this century. Portnoy's back. Let's get at it.

There is no doubt DREAM THEATER released some spectacular records during their time with Mike Mangini, but as the opening "In The Arms Of Morpheus" erupts into life, with Portnoy peeling off some of his trademark, octopoid fills, this new era has officially begun. Evident from its first few minutes, "Parasomnia" is a heavier record than the majority of post-split releases. Even more apparent is how much fun DREAM THEATER are having. From the dramatic, theatrical intro, to crunchy, artful riffing and a blissful, immaculate guitar solo from John Petrucci, this new incarnation of the band is not going to ruffle feathers with some radical musical departure. Instead, this is a partial return to the classic sound of early albums like "Awake" and "Images and Words", but with many years of additional, creative experience sewn into the fabric of every sprawling, elaborate tune. Recent single "Night Terror" is the perfect encapsulation of DREAM THEATER circa 2025: epic, adventurous and pointedly heavy, it sounds like the good old days, but revitalized and brimming with euphoric, shared energy. Frontman James LaBrie has seldom sounded more aggressive or characterful, but he nails every melody with his customary grace and sounds genuinely fired up by the ornate but thunderous racket that surrounds him. John Petrucci and keyboard maestro Jordan Rudess both put in outrageous performances at various points, but while DREAM THEATER have always been known for wild showmanship, "Night Terror" is a song with a purpose: everything feeds into its grand melodic payoffs, and even the most florid, indulgent moments contribute to the efficacy of its scintillating, emotional highs and lows. Portnoy, of course, is a blur of brilliance throughout.

"Parasomnia" knows its goal is to celebrate the return of Mike Portnoy while proving that DREAM THEATER still have plenty of grand ideas to explore. It also celebrates that the essence of their sound has weathered 40 years without being sacrificed to some arbitrary change or personnel reshuffle. A melodic tour-de-force with a brooding, unsettled atmosphere, "A Broken Man" is a relatively straightforward, heavy prog metal song, until the first of several insane instrumental breaks enable every member of the band to enjoy a moment in the sun. Again, it is clear that DREAM THEATER are having a fantastic time. A sublime transition back into the song's core melody is executed with ludicrous, casual skill, and seven minutes have whizzed by in what seems like a fraction of that time. Similarly, "Dead Asleep" begins in full-bore metal mode, with clear echoes of the "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" / "Train of Thought" era, but swiftly broadens its horizons. An extravagant prog metal noir, it marries dark-hued riffs to ruthless tempo and time signature shifts, topping it all with a fabulous LaBrie vocal, embellished with subtle effects and ghostly atmosphere. Petrucci's bluesy, understated (no, really!) solo is a joy, and keyboard maestro Jordan Rudess is right behind him, with a genuinely dizzying strafing of the ivories that threatens to take off into orbit. DREAM THEATER sound delighted with themselves, and rightly so. In fact, they are enjoying themselves so much that they have reverted to snotty adolescence. "Midnight Messiah" gives the initial impression that it is another sophisticated whirl of technical prowess and killer melodies, but the looming specter of '80s metal will not be denied. A ferocious, hell-for-leather refrain that sounds like METAL CHURCH on amphetamines explodes from nowhere, and immediately conjures mental pictures of Portnoy, Petrucci, Rudess, LaBrie and bassist John Myung facing each other in a rehearsal room and grinning like madmen. If nothing else, "Parasomnia" is the most fun album that DREAM THEATER have made in a long time. Luckily, they can back up all their moments of elated self-indulgence with incendiary musicianship and great songwriting.

Ostensibly the album's big ballad, "Bend The Clock" is one of the most beautiful things the band have written in decades. Tense and dark, it never quite embraces serenity, but with every languorous twist in the tale, it becomes more potent and impressive. Like a fizzing, box-fresh follow-up to "Misunderstood" (a largely unsung gem from "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence"),it taps into deep, emotional reservoirs, defying the notion that prog metal is a clinical exercise in showing off, and provides "Parasomnia" with an authentic misty-eyed moment to savor.

Of course, diehard DREAM THEATER fans will expect nothing less than a colossal epic to bring the album to a close, and "The Shadow Man Incident" fulfils the brief with room to spare. Even ignoring the obvious delight that both band and fans will gain from it, it rattles through countless aspects of its creators' past and present, and feels like a sort of potted greatest hits, with everything from Petrucci's peerless soloing to Portnoy's perfectly paced grooves and miraculous fills present and gently enhanced to fit a new era. Time will tell if "The Shadow Man Incident" will become a live staple, but it certainly brings "Parasomnia" to a close with the vigor and invention that the occasion demands. From a bittersweet, low-key beginning, and a punchy interlude that nods towards HOLST's "The Planets", to another gorgeous instrumental / solo section, the basic components of a DREAM THEATER epic remain the same, but rarely have they been expressed with such cohesion. The always underrated LaBrie is a troubled, twisty presence, armed with melodies that snap between joyful and disturbed, and an underlying arrangement that could hardly be more sumptuous and elegantly conceived. There are moments of white-knuckle metal along the way, but the overall vibe is progressive and, every now and then, endearingly self-referential. As a grand finale to an album of this significance, it succeeds on every metric.

DREAM THEATER are back — despite, in truth, never going anywhere — and the magic that informed their early, timeless classics is plastered all over this absolute triumph of a recorded return. Welcome back, you obnoxiously talented bastards.