For the uninitiated, Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name "Majesty" by John Myung (bassist) , John Petrucci (guitarist, chief lyricist) and Mike Portnoy (drummer), while they attended music college in Boston, before they dropped out to continue as a full fledged band. The present line-up after a series of changes also includes James LaBrie (lead singer) and Jordan Rudess (keyboardist).

Dream Theater has become successful in the progressive metal genre in spite of the decline in popularity of the genre as a whole. Although the band has only had a handful of successful hits ("Pull Me Under" is the band's only notable radio hit yet), they have a dedicated fan following. The band is well known for the technical superiority of its band members who have won many accolades from experts. Dream Theater's members have collaborated with many other notable musicians.


Keeping aside their obvious brilliance, I must confess that the first time I ever listened to Dream Theater I didn't like it much despite being an avid follower of rock and metal. But when I gave it a second listen after a couple of months when friend recommended their recently launched greatest hits album, Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs), I was totally hooked. From "As I Am" to "Peruvian Skies" to "Hollow Years" and the ilk, it was sheer brilliance all the way. So I got listening to their previous work and it was the same reaction all over again.

At the center of Dream Theater’s prog-metal whirlpool is composer, chief lyricist, co-producer, and guitarist extraordinaire John Petrucci. Listening to Petrucci play is similar to witnessing an epic artwork being created. The ideas expressed are his alone, but the sources—Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen etc —are well cited. It was no surprise then, when Petrucci was summoned by Satriani to be part of the annual G3 collective and has since been named as the third player on the G3 tour six times, more than any other invited guitarist.

Mike Portnoy is not less accomplished himself. Known for his drumming prowess, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer Magazine and has also been writing a substantial amount of Dream Theater's lyrics. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer''s Hall of Fame (at 37 years of age).

As for what "progressive metal" actually means, it can be best summed by what once Petrucci said in an interview.

"First off, there are no boundaries in this style. Within any given song, you can change direction any which way you want. You can have a jazz section, a ragtime breakdown, and then a full-on metal assault. Also, the songs tend to be longer, because you can be more creative with arrangements. You don’t have to stick to a strictly verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus format. There’s also a more intense musicality. Everyone’s musical ability is used to the fullest."

So, what can one expect from these guys in the future? Well only they have the exact answer but what I think (and hope) is that they keep churning out stuff similar in theme and treatment to what earned them a worldwide cult following that bought several million of the band’s CDs and DVDs at a time when they were still mainly an underground phenomenon.


(Fact and figures courtesy of Wikipedia)