Throughout an August 6 look on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy spoke about what it has been like for him to be touring with the band as soon as once more after a 13-year absence. The progressive metallic legends performed their first live performance with Portnoy in 14 years on October 20, 2024 on the O2 Area in London, United Kingdom. The drummer, who co-founded DREAM THEATER, performed on 10 of the band’s albums over a 20-year interval, from 1989’s “When Dream And Day Unite” via 2009’s “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”, earlier than exiting the group in 2010. Portnoy returned to DREAM THEATER in October 2023 after being changed by Mike Mangini, who performed with DREAM THEATER throughout 5 studio albums and accompanying world excursions. Portnoy instructed “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It has been unbelievable — the most important tour the band has ever finished. We began on the O2 in London, which was extremely emotional, after which we wrapped the U.S. tour at Radio Metropolis Music Corridor… There’s so many highlights. It has been unbelievable. We did all of Europe as soon as with [the] ‘An Night With’ [run of shows], then we did South America. We did North America, then we did this [European] competition run, and now we’re about to shift into lastly doing a tour for the brand new album, ‘trigger via all this we put out a brand new album in February, and we’ve not actually had an opportunity to correctly give consideration to that but, ‘trigger we have been so busy with the Fortieth-anniversary factor. So we’re about to shift into ‘Parasomnia’ mode, and we’ve a North American tour kicking off subsequent month. And we’ll be all via the States in September and October with a totally totally different present. So if anyone noticed us within the final spherical, this can be a utterly totally different set, utterly totally different stage, and we’re gonna play the entire new album in its entirety, which can be quite a lot of enjoyable and eventually give it its due.”
Requested if the tracks from DREAM THEATER‘s sixteenth studio album, “Parasomnia”, can be carried out in the identical order that they seem on the LP on the upcoming tour, Portnoy stated: “Yeah, it was written to be carried out that method. The entire album may be very very like an idea album in that respect. So we have performed a few the songs this previous yr on the Fortieth-anniversary tour, however now we might dig into it and provides it a full top-to-bottom presentation. After which gonna have fun the thirtieth anniversary of ‘A Change of Seasons’, which was like the primary massive epic the band put out 30 years in the past. So we’re gonna play that as nicely.”
Portnoy added: “We have nonetheless acquired quite a lot of gasoline left within the tank. We’re gonna go over to Asia proper after New 12 months, after which we’ve a 3rd European run subsequent spring to do the ‘Parasomnia’ over there. So it has been unbelievable, however the feelings at each present — the followers, you simply look on the market and also you see grown males crying, and it is all smiles and tears.”
After Trunk famous that quite a lot of the feelings surrounding DREAM THEATER‘s present tour are primarily based on the truth that Portnoy is again within the band after such a very long time away, Mike stated: “I am so grateful that it is come again full circle. It might’ve been actually unhappy if we by no means did reunite. I’ve seen different bands, like PINK FLOYD with Roger Waters, or GENESIS with Peter Gabriel, sure bands that by no means do reunite. And as a fan, it is a disgrace. I’d like to see these lineups collectively once more earlier than all of it ends. So for us to be again collectively once more and celebrating the Fortieth anniversary of the band and driving off into the sundown collectively, it is poetic. It is the way in which it needs to be, actually. And I am so glad that we’re right here collectively once more.”
DREAM THEATER kicked off the spring/summer season 2025 leg of its “Fortieth Anniversary European Tour” on June 3 at Logomo in Turku, Finland.
DREAM THEATER‘s summer season/fall 2025 “An Night With Dream Theater” U.S. tour is scheduled for 30 cities throughout america, kicking off September 5 in Studying, Pennsylvania and working via October 25, when it wraps in Lengthy Island, New York. The tour will make stops in Orlando, Floria; Detroit, Michigan; Kansas Metropolis, Missouri and Windfall, Rhode Island, amongst others. DREAM THEATER can be performing its newest album in its entirety in addition to classics and fan favorites from the band’s catalog in what guarantees to be an unforgettable night of music.
“Parasomnia” got here out on February 7, 2025 through InsideOut Music. The LP marked DREAM THEATER‘s first launch with Portnoy since 2009’s “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”.
“Parasomnia” was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James “Jimmy T” Meslin, and combined by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returned as soon as once more to lend his artistic imaginative and prescient to the duvet artwork.
“Parasomnia” is an eight-song, 71-minute set which was recorded at DREAM THEATER‘s DTHQ studio on Lengthy Island, New York. It’s the follow-up to 2021’s “A View From The Prime Of The World”, which debuted at within the prime 10 of Billboard‘s Prime Laborious Rock Albums, Prime Rock Albums and Impartial Albums charts. Six songs on “Parasomnia” are over seven minutes and the closing epic “The Shadow Man Incident” clocks in at almost 20 minutes.
The North American leg of DREAM THEATER‘s Fortieth-anniversary tour kicked off on February 7 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The trek was “An Night With Dream Theater” and was the primary tour of North America since Portnoy‘s return to the lineup, becoming a member of Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, bassist John Myung and keyboardist Jordan Rudess. The tour concluded on March 22 in New York Metropolis.
Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung began DREAM THEATER as MAJESTY in 1985, after assembly on the Berklee School Of Music in Boston. LaBrie got here on board in 1991, whereas Rudess joined in 1999.
Previous to Portnoy‘s return to DREAM THEATER, the drummer and Petrucci labored collectively on the latter’s 2020 solo album, “Terminal Velocity”, and toured collectively. Portnoy and Petrucci additionally joined Rudess and bassist Tony Levin for a 3rd studio album as LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT in 2021.
