Dream On...And On! Dream Theater Prepare Prog Metal Monster!

Gail Flug

Dream Theater, the New York-based Progressive Metalheads, begin work on their third studio album in Los Angeles on May 1. The follow-up to the much acclaimed ‘Images And Words’ will be produced by John Purdell and Duane Baron, whose past credits include Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘No More Tears’ and ‘Desire Walks On’ by Heart.

Some 11 songs have been written for the as-yet-untitled album. The quintet originally intended to record some of the unreleased tracks which they had played on the last tour, but have now decided against this.

“When we got into writing mode, we ended up churning out so much new material,” explains drummer Mike Portnoy. “At the moment, the only thing we plan on using is ‘Puppies On Acid’, which was an instrumental that we played before ‘Take The Time’, which we have now expanded into a full song.”

Fans may also be disappointed that there are no plans to record their 20-minute instrumental ‘A Change Of Seasons’.

“We know a lot of people want to hear that song, but we had so much new material and we wanted to keep things fresh,” says Portnoy. “We also have ‘Eve’, which we’re not putting on the album, and because we put ‘To Live Forever’ on the live video, we didn’t think it would be appropriate to mix in such an old song.”

Working titles include ‘Kittens On Crack’, ‘Blowfish’, ‘Squid’ and ‘The Key Master’ and, having heard some of the new material, it’s clear that the band are playing heavier and sharper than ever before, but with the same interesting chord changes and musical textures.

“People are going to be surprised at how heavy it is. It was real important that the songs were strong , but we did it consciously, and without compromising the musicianship. This is the album that will please every single fan, but will also silence the sceptics who say we’re just Pomp Rock,” elaborates Portnoy. “It’s the most extreme stuff we’ve ever written in every direction; by far some of the heaviest stuff, but some of the most mellow and dynamic, too. It has some of the most complicated and progressive stuff we’ve written, but also some of the simplest. It’s a mixed bag that will please everyone.”

Of course, the epic songs will remain, and one piece called ‘A Mind Besides Itself’ will last about 20 minutes.

“That one’s three songs which make up a trilogy,” explains the drummer. “The first part’s an instrumental, the second a ten-minute, almost Jane’s Addiction sort of thing called ‘Voices’, and the third part brings it back down with an acoustic piece called ‘The Silent Sun’.

“A lot of songs are going to be interconnected with re-occurring themes that run throughout the album,” he continues. “It’s not a concept album as far as a story, but we’ll be taking various musical themes and repeating them to add a real flow. When you listen from start to finish, it will really sound like an album. not just a bunch of songs.”

Dream Theater hope to record 75 minutes of music and will fit as much of this as they can onto the finished record, which they hope to have ready for a September release.