Dream Theater: New Definition For Progressive Rock

The term “progressive rock” can bring many conversations to a screeching halt, polarizing even the most mild-mannered music aficionados. For some, it conjures complex, compelling, sometimes classically derived rock, while others view it as bombastic musical excess. Both sides generally concede that, for the most part, it died with the ‘70s. However, Dream Theater is cutting a path into a new territory that’s heavy on the metal, light on the classicism, and thick with excitement. Their debut album, When Dream And Day Unite [MCA/Mechanic] shows the quintet taking chances in odd meters, scaling complex harmonies, and burning on their instruments. At times they travel the road paved by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis, Kansas, and Rush, while laying down a thick coating of grit that only comes from the type of metal forged by Iron Maiden, Metallica, et al.

The quintet has its roots on Long Island, where guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung, and keyboardist Kevin Moore played in bands together during their teens. The guitarist and bassist attended Berklee in 1985, primarily to enhance their musical abilities, but also to meet new players. Petrucci recalls their brief tenure in Boston: “We wrote heavy progressive tunes as trios—guitar, bass, and drums—while all around us were people doing standard jazz. We did our stuff for about six hours a night, the whole time disturbing the acoustic players in the practice rooms next door.” After two semesters, they returned to Long Island with new drummer Mike Portnoy in tow.

As Majesty, they worked day and night creating and refining their tunes, and soon added vocalist Chris Collins (who was replaced in late ‘86 by Charlie Dominici). The band gigged in New York and recorded a four-tune demo that quickly sold 1,000 copies. When the demo came to Mechanic Records’ attention in early 1988, the band was immediately signed for its debut album. While recording, the band abruptly changed its name when they found that there was already another band calling itself Majesty. The other band had a trademark and wouldn’t relinquish it; thus, Dream Theater was born.

When Dream And Day Unite features speedy licks and complex interplay by the guitarist and bassist (both 22 years old) as keyboards swirl and the drums tear through the songs like a Ferrari down a narrow alley. The high-speed, always-in-control picking styles of Al Di Meola, Steve Morse, Steve Howe, and Yngwie Malmsteen are all reflected in Petrucci’s lead work, but more important, he fuses his influences in a well-balanced blend that quivers with whammyfied electricity from his leopard skin-patterned custom Ibanez. The guitar is outfitted with a DiMarzio P.A.F. Pro at the bridge and a Double Whammy at the neck, as well as a coil-tap in the tone control. His other equipment consists of a Samson Stage 22 wireless, a T.C. Electronic 2290 for chorusing and flanging, a T.C. Electronic parametric EQ, a Korg DRV-2000 digital,reverb, a Hush IICX noise-reduction unit—all controlled via MIDI using a MESA/Boogie MIDI Matrix with an Abacus footcontroller, and shaped by a MESA/Boogie Quad Preamp driving a MESA 295 Simul-Class power amp and two Randall 4 x 12s with Celestion speakers.

Despite the heap of equipment, Petrucci insists that his primary weapon is his technique: “I still work on picking every day. The day I discovered a metronome was the best day of my life. But it’s a double-edged sword. I worked so hard on picking everything that I never really got into flashier left-hand stuff. I have tried to develop both, though, because no matter what, you can use another approach to round things out in your own style. You always open up new doors. By trying to learn some of Frank Gambale’s stuff, I found that I came up with all sorts of new ideas. His way of phrasing is totally different because of his approach. It was the same thing with using a tremolo. I listened to Steve Vai’s Flexable [Urantia], and then Brad Gillis when he played with Ozzy Osbourne. Another guy who has an interesting approach to the bar is Alex Lifeson. He doesn’t use it in a really radical way, but he uses it to put vibrato on chords and to slur into notes—like Allan Holdsworth. I want to learn a lot more.”

Holding down the bottom while adding precise, complex licks is John Myung’s bread and butter. He flavors Dream Theater’s songs with daring Jaco-style harmonics that punctuate his pulsating lines and leave room for tasty fills by his rhythm-section counterpart, Portnoy. Only a five-year veteran on the bass, he got into the instrument at age 17 after playing violin for 12 years. “I played in competitions and orchestras, where your performance was graded and criticized,” he explains. “When I was 16 or 17, I felt much closer to progressive music than to classical, and I made the decision to play bass. I took it very seriously, trying to outdo the local players. Healthy competition. I transferred the challenge of playing violin to the bass, as far as having to play fast and accurate go. I was always trying to shoot beyond my capability. My main influences came from Iron Maiden, Rush, Yes, and Jaco Pastorius. Then, when I heard Billy Sheehan, I didn’t know where he came from. He really showed me the way to a sound.”

John Myung’s Music Man StingRay bass has a replacement Gibson EB-O pickup added near the neck for grunge and bottom, but for clean playing and harmonics, the stock pickup is the ticket. The bass is strung with Rotosound Swing Bass strings, and amplified via two Pearce BC-1 preamps (one has the Billy Sheehan Modification—heavy on the overdrive), plus a QSC MX1500 1,500-watt power amp that drives two Ampeg SVT 8 x 10 cabinets. “It’s definitely overkill, more than I need,” he admits. “But I have power to spare, so I don’t have to push the amp very hard. That way, it’s always clean power.”

Although Myung is a fiery soloist whose workmanship is reminiscent of Billy Sheehan’s, he insists, “I’m not a solo maniac. I’m a team player. The way I get the most out of myself is working with a very good combination of people. And those are the ingredients of Dream Theater.”

Despite the band’s progressive-rock leanings, Myung emphasizes, “We’re not trying to bring back anything. We’re trying to have a certain standard of musicianship, as far as composition, arrangement, depth of complexity, and subtlety go. We set a goal, and we’ve been following it. There’s too much in-your-face playing without great musicianship. We love being heavy, but if you’re heavy all the time, it locks you in. And if you’re too wimpy, you get known only for that.”

To date, the band’s strongest response has been from Europe and Japan. American tours have fallen through, but as of this writing, a tour of Europe was scheduled for late November ‘89. Dream Theater isn’t waiting for success to come easily, nor are they waiting for their debut to play itself out before knuckling down for their second album. “We’re constantly writing new songs,” says Petrucci. “As far as writing for the new album is concerned, we’re at work on the material now. Success is just a matter of time.”

—Tom Mulhern