by DAN SOUTHALL
DREAM Theater surprised world fifteen years ago when drummer and band mastermind Mike Portnoy suddenly left, citing burnout and a need to spread his musical wings, among other things. Fast forward to 2024, and they surprised everyone once again by welcoming their old drummer into the fold and knuckling down on what could be the most important album of their career thus far, proving the creeping doubters wrong.
Famed for building music on a cinematic scope, Dream Theater do not disappoint, beginning this album with footsteps and a sigh as ‘In the Arms Of Morpheus’ winds towards a welcoming crescendo, showing off guitar tones and drumming not heard from this band since Train of Thought in 2003.
This focus on the heavier side of their sound continues through the opening flurry of tracks in a way that is uniquely Dream Theater. Heavy and experimental all at once, giving every instrument an opportunity to lead the cacophony while always ensuring John Petrucci’s guitar crunch is never too far off.
It wouldn’t be Dream Theater without great story telling, and while they have struggled in recent years, it’s obvious this is a large part of what the return of Portnoy brings. He has helped tighten up the musical meanderings and sub par story telling with a focus or ear for detail that makes every track play past without dragging or making time feel like its standing still.
The best case in point here being the twenty-minute album closer, now perhaps one of the most powerful tracks in the band’s catalogue as it ebbs and flows through several moods and back again, without ever giving the listener any kind of fatigue.
If you gave up or missed out on the band after their initial releases without their once fearless musical ideas man, rejoice as he has made a triumphant return. This is the dawning of a new musical age for this band, taking all they have learned in their time apart and making it all make sense musically again.
