If you are a fan of progressive music then you’ve probably heard of Dream Theater. They are an American progressive metal band and started around 1985. They changed their name from Majesty to Dream Theater and founding members John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy and John Myung were students at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. James LaBrie is the lead singer who replaced Charlie Dominici after they changed their name to Dream Theater. There have been three keyboardists play for DT, Derrik Shennan Kevin Moore and Jordan Rudess. Jordan is the current keyboard player.
DT are proficiently the most technical and most popular band in the progressive music arena. All three founding members have won numerous awards and have been featured on magazines that focus on their talent. John Petrucci plays lead guitar and has been a guest on the G3 tour more times than any other guitar player. Mike Portnoy is a technically incredible drummer and has received 23 awards from the magazine Modern Drummer. John Myung plays the bass and seems to be the quietest of the band members; he warms down after a show, which means he continues to play bass backstage even after the concert has ended.
Counting down from 10 to 1, here are my favorite songs from Dream Theater and why I chose them.
10. “Pull Me Under”, this song is taken from their “Images And Words” disc that was released in 1992 and the first disc with James LaBrie singing. Back when MTV played heavy metal music I caught this video and even though it was granny and shot with dark lights the song still hooked me on their progressive heavy metal style. The beginning riff just crunches and the drums gallop along. The guitar started to push out of the musical boundaries that music was doing at the time. The guitar solo blew me away because it wasn’t lightning fast but it was so well written I knew I had to find out more about this band. Most of the songs by Dream Theater are six or more minutes long so you really feel like you get the most music for your listening experience.
9. “Lie”, this monster track comes from their 1994 release titled, “Awake”. Usually the music grabs me and I intently listen to all the timing changes and wish I could play as well as they do, but, the lyrics on this track are full of clichés, and they rhyme so well and intertwine each memorable saying and tell a story. The music is great no doubt, and the guitar solo is towards the end of the track which makes it an odd listen just because of that fact.
8. “6:00”, is my next favorite song from Dream Theater. It’s also taken from the disc, “Awake”. It’s the starting track from the disc and has spoken words from different characters from the movie “The Dead” by John Huston. The track length in only 5:31 and has confused some as to why they didn’t just make the track length the same as the title. “Awake” has a darker tone and the two songs I chose from this disc really have a creepy backdrop to them. Kevin Moore was the keyboard player on this offering but left soon after.
7. “Perfect Strangers” is a Deep Purple tune. It was recorded on their “Perfect Strangers” disc that came out in 1984. Dream Theater covers it quite well on this disc “A Change Of Seasons” that was released in 1995 just one year after “Awake”. It is considered an EP live album. The original “Perfect Strangers” song did not have a solo but John Petrucci rips a solo out anyway, that’s what makes this song so cool. I’ve seen Deep Purple perform this song in concert. This song is the shortest on this disc clocking in at 5:33. The longest medley on “A Change Of Seasons” is 23:08.
6. “You Not Me” is my next favorite track from Dream Theater. It was written in 1997 and captured on the disc “Falling Into Infinity”. This track albeit written about someone else’s relationship really nailed a failing relationship of mine to the flagpole and I had to run it up high so the guilty party knew how I felt. I would play this song and hit the repeat button hoping the other person would get the hint. This is definitely not a track that a couple would call “Our Song” just because of the vitriol that it says about one person running the other off.
5. “Peruvian Skies” marks the halfway point. This song is also from “Falling Into Infinity” Since I had started with Dream Theaters first disc and progressively, pun intended, started to follow them more closely I picked up the guitar to see if I could match tabs with John Petrucci. I then read that he practiced six hours a day while he was at Berklee, so I committed to at least two hours a day. This disc had great production and they seemed to have a lighter tone and I was able to figure out some guitar riffs and that helped me to stick with my gitfiddle playing.
4. “As I Am” is taken from “Train Of Thought”. It was released in 2003 and leaned back towards a heavier tone. It became the first mainstream disc that most fans actually found out about Dream Theater. DT was considered underground because they don’t rely on radio to play their music. Their fan base is loyal and even though I had to listen to this disc a few times just to let it sink in, I still enjoyed it like all the others. The lyrics are darker and deal with alcoholism, I don’t have any relation to the words but they show a bruised man and his struggles. The thing I love most about Dream Theater is that they’re not angst ridden, they will sing about issues and certain topics and put incredible music to it and make it concept album. The guitar on this track is intense, the solo is so well played that I just hit the repeat button at least twice.
3. “The Root Of All Evil” is my third favorite song from Dream Theater. It comes from “Octavarium” that came out in 2005. The reason this one climbs higher on the totem pole is because of the guitar and drums. If you listen to the guitar it has “pinches”, this is a note and harmonic sound, it’s usually played on the top strings E or A. By this time, I was fully immersed into the Dream Theater sound and even though their style changed, the music just kept getting better. James LaBrie really sings his heart out on this track. This song has more time changes than a cross country flight, and that makes it so unpredictable but incredible still.
2. “Constant Motion” and my number one favorite track could switch places if they wanted to, the reason I listed it as number two is because it was the first single that they released from “Systematic Chaos” that burst out in 2007. I had anxiously awaited this disc and my wife bought it for me at Christmas. James LaBrie and Mike Portnoy share vocal duties, James sings and Mike more or less shouts his part. The guitar intro just mows over you; the drums are so prevalent that you feel a battle between instruments is happening. My kids even like this song because it gets your blood pumping and when they request it my wife just rolls her eyes. Plus it goes along with my motto “Ever Forward”.
1. “The Dark Eternal Night” is currently my favorite track from Dream Theater. The guitar is dark and it sounds like its hammering a wall down with its quick riff. The drums and guitar stomp along and James and Mike again share vocal duties. It has that classic Dream Theater style but it stretches your mind because it has odd little piano injections and a jazzy tone for a few bars. But it soon comes full circle and then heads off into the wild blue yonder with another incredible guitar solo from John Petrucci.
