Dream Theater – Behind The Curtain

Somewhere in the interview the band Kansas came up. That was the first clue. John Petrucci, guitarist for Atco’s Dream Theater, ain’t no ordinary guy. But then again, this quintet ain’t no ordinary band. What happens when you combine the influences of the great ‘70s and ‘80s progressive rockers with the crash-and-burn wonder kids of today? You get a band that refuses to be categorized and isn’t afraid to say that KISS wasn’t one of their influences.

“For some strange reason, bands that came along to influence us when we were in high school were more like Rush, Genesis, Zappa and King Crimson,” says Petrucci. “I go to a party and everybody knows all the KISS songs and I’m completely lost. but if you put on a Yes album I totally know what I’m talking about.”

That’s not to say that Petrucci, singer James LaBrie, bass player John Myung, keyboardist Kevin Moore and drummer Mike Portnoy completely bypassed heavy metal on the way up. On the contrary, says Petrucci “We’re also influenced by people like Van Halen and Zeppelin, and the newer heavier stuff like Metallica. If we tried to emulate the progressive music of the 70s now, I think it would be really dated.”

Dream Theater’s second album, Images And Words, came out three years after the band recorded its debut, When Dream And Day Unite. It wasn’t a moment too soon and several too late!

So what we’ve got here contends as meaningful lyrics backed by solid musicianship that doesn’t force you back to the days when rock stations played rock instead of new age, and “just say no” had yet to be coined. Tunes such as ‘Take The Time’ combine reflective lyrics (“I need a new voice, a new law, a new way”) with powerful, driving guitar licks. Track four opens with melodic keyboard riffs and track five, ‘Metropolis Part I – The Miracle And The Sleeper’, can headbang with the best of ‘em. Sounds so divergent within one album give cause to wonder what exactly goes on when the members of Dream Theater sit down to write.

“The real purpose of music is to be a higher or deeper form of communication,” claims Petrucci “It’s a reaching form of communication and I think the musician’s point is to convey that; to be a conduit. Our writing is a collective process. It usually starts out instrumental, then somebody writes lyrics to it – whoever feels closest to it or thinks they have a topic.”

Topics vary, but according to Petrucci, despite the current onslaught of criticism levied on rock music, this band won’t enter the political mosh pit and sling the insults back. To him, music is sacred and even if there’s an issue to be contended with, it’s the musician’s job to keep it indirect. Flagrancy, he feels, is in very poor taste.

“I really don’t think bands should [be political]. I don’t like it when bands are blatantly political. If you can do it in a subtle way... poetically, so it has to be read into – metaphorical analogies to current political situations, without making it so obvious – to me that’s the better way.” Which doesn’t mean the band shies away from playing benefits. They’ll gladly put their music where their collective mouths are.

Aside from wandering riffs that take the listener on literary journeys through surrealistic worlds on one tiny CD, Dream Theater stands alone on the image stage as well. While the current trend seems to be whole body tattoos offset by baggy shorts, shaved heads and combat boots, the guys in this band cling to the idea that grungier is not always better. Image is not the forbidden five-letter word, but it’s not the magna carta of band behavior either.

“It’s funny to see things change,” comments Petrucci. “I was looking through a couple of local papers and they had this band in pinstripe suits on the cover. I saw The Black Crowes and they’re wearing velvet. I don’t know how bands come up with stuff like that. I guess you have to be really into doing something. I don’t think we’re very conscious of it. I’m not saying we’re not interested in our image, because we are. You don’t want to look like a dirt bag on stage, you want to look good. For bands that do [work on an image], I think it’s cool; it makes things interesting.”

Looks aside, what stands as most interesting about Dream Theater, besides the fact that four of the members met in school at Boston’s Berklee School Of Music only to find they all came from the same town, is the combination of styles they Incorporate into their tunes. “Genre-wise, we don’t segregate,” emphasizes Petrucci. “It we want a section of our music to have a Latin influence, then it will. If we want a section to sound really heavy, sort of post-Metallica, like crunch, it will.”

All this makes for a cornucopia of styles ranging from jazz to thrash with symphonic stylings in between, and songs that defy the prescribed three-to-five-minute radio staples as they delve into options that last up to 12 minutes at times. This is music to listen to, to live and love, not to leave in the background or take lightly. Philosophers, poets, musicians. Five guys in a band. Dream Theater wears all these hats and then some. And all seriousness aside, they’re one hell of a rock group.