Dream Theater Releases New Album and Announces Tour Dates
Dream Theater has released their twelfth album, Dream Theater. Not only is this the band’s first self-titled release, it is also the first to fully feature the band’s newest drummer, Mike Mangini, who replaced Mike Portnoy in 2010. Dream Theater’s longest tenured members, bassist John Myung and guitarist John Petrucci are also joined by vocalist James LaBrie and keyboardist Jordan Rudess on the new album.
Petrucci said having Mangini involved since the beginning made a big difference.
“When people hear the drumming on this album, they’re gonna be pretty freaked out,” the guitarist said. “On the last album, he did a great job, but he wasn’t there for the writing process and he was interpreting drum parts that I had programmed. Even though he used his creativity, of course, to change them up and do his thing, I feel like now he’s just Mike Mangini unleashed. It’s all him. It’s all his creativity, all his decisions and ideas and man, the guy’s an animal.”
Writing for Dream Theater began during the band’s 2012 “A Dramatic Turn of Events” tour. The band tried new ideas during soundchecks, while Petrucci tried out his compositions. The band hit the studio in January 2013 and wrapped things up in May.
“I see every new album as an opportunity to start over,” says Petrucci. “To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We’ve fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We’re incredibly excited about Dream Theater and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
For the first time since the 2003 release, Train of Thought, the new album features an instrumental track, “Enigma Machine”.
Dream Theater is out now on CD, Deluxe Edition (CD and DVD), vinyl and digital formats (iTunes and Amazon MP3). The Deluxe Edition includes a 5.1 audio mix, plus expanded packaging with artwork by Hugh Syme.
The band recently participated in a webchat where they answered questions submitted by members of the fan forum, DreamTheaterForums.org:
The band has announced tour dates in Europe will begin in January 2014. A North American tour is planned to kick off in March, 2014.
Dream Theater UK and Europe Tour Dates:
| Date | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| January 15, 2014 | Porto, Portugal | Coliseum of Porto |
| January 16, 2014 | Madrid, Spain | Palacio Visalegre |
| January 17, 2014 | Pamplona, Spain | Anaitasuna |
| January 18, 2014 | Barcelona, Spain | St. Jordi Club |
| January 20, 2014 | Milan, Italy | Mediolanum Forum |
| January 21, 2014 | Florence, Italy | Obihall |
| January 22, 2014 | Rome, Italy | Palalottomatica |
| January 23, 2014 | Padova, Italy | Geox Theatre |
| January 25, 2014 | Vienna, Austria | Gasometer |
| January 26, 2014 | Munich, Germany | Zenith |
| January 27, 2014 | Zurich, Switzerland | Volkshaus |
| January 29, 2014 | Prague, Czech Republic | Tipsport Arena |
| January 30, 2014 | Ludwigsburg, Germany | Arena |
| January 31, 2014 | Paris, France | Zenith |
| Feburary 1, 2014 | Offenbach, Germany | Stadthalle |
| Feburary 2, 2014 | Zagreb, Croatia | Cibona |
| Feburary 4, 2014 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | Small Tivoli |
| Feburary 5, 2014 | Katowice, Poland | Spodek Hall |
| Feburary 7, 2014 | Bamberg, Germany | Stechert Arena |
| Feburary 8, 2014 | Deinze, Belgium | Brielpoort |
| Feburary 9, 2014 | Hannover, Germany | Swiss Life Hall |
| Feburary 10, 2014 | Saarbrucken, Germany | Saarlandhalle |
| Feburary 12, 2014 | Lille, France | Aeronef |
| Feburary 13, 2014 | Manchester, UK | O2 Apollo |
| Feburary 14, 2014 | London, UK | Wembley Arena |
| Feburary 15, 2014 | Wolverhampton, UK | Wolverhampton Civic Hall |
| Feburary 17, 2014 | Amsterdam, Holland | Heineken Music Hall |
| Feburary 18, 2014 | Dusseldorf, Germany | Mitsubishi Electric Halle |
| Feburary 20, 2014 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Falconer |
| Feburary 24, 2014 | Helsinki, Finland | Icehall |
To say this is an incredible album isn’t doing it justice. The musicianship in this album is jaw-dropping…. as with most Dream Theater albums. Best album yet!