A tour de force! Mind blowing! Insert your favorite cliché here, because they all apply. Dream Theater’s Parasomnia is not only the band’s best in decades, but also an early contender for metal album of the year.
Parasomnia’s seeds were first planted in March 2022 when founding member Mike Portnoy ventured backstage before Dream Theater’s Beacon Theatre concert to visit with James LaBrie. It was the drummer’s opportunity to reconnect and mend fences with the vocalist, with whom he had not spoken with since his acrimoniously departure a decade earlier. Within seconds, any hostilities were gone and hugs were exchanged. A year later, the band announced replacement drummer Mike Mangini’s departure and Portnoy’s triumphant return.
In Portnoy’s absence, Mangini had performed yeoman’s work, playing on Dream Theater’s aptly titled A Dramatic Turn of Events, Dream Theater, The Astonishing, Distance Over Time, and A View from the Top of The World. Portnoy, however, was more than just Dream Theater’s co-founder and drummer; he was also the band’s heart and soul, a lyricist, the wizard behind the band’s official web page, the keeper of the archives, and (along with guitarist John Petrucci) a bandleader. His return lit a fire under the band, giving them a renewed spirit and inspiring them to create their best work since Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory, which is, thematically, akin to the new album.
Parasomnia is a sleep disorder that causes abnormal behavior during slumber, including moving around, talking, sleep walking, and believing you’re awake when you are actually unconscious. Typically, you don’t remember the incidents. Each of Parasomnia’ epic tracks detail hellacious sleep issues. It begins with the powerful instrumental “In the Arms of Morpheus” before bursting into the infectious first single, “Night Terror.”
The only thing keeping “A Broken Man“ and “Bend the Clock” from becoming hits are their lengths – eight minutes and 29 seconds, and seven minutes and 24 seconds, respectively. “Midnight Messiah,” with lyrics by Portnoy, ties Parasomnia to the other dark dream-themed effort, Metropolis: Scenes from a Memory 2, by name-checking that album’s most popular track, “Strange Déjà Vu.”
Mixing virtuosity, strong storytelling, and musicianship, Parasomnia is not mere background music. It is a complete listening experience, so turn off cell phone and close your book!
Dream Theater are no ordinary songwriters, they are composers. They are the progressive metal equivalents of 20th Century neo-classical artist Igor Stravinsky, though unlike Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” Dream Theater’s music has not caused riots.
