Derek Sherinian

Listening to the new material, I think you’ve brought a harder edge to it. Very attacking and aggressive on a lot of the songs. Do you feel this yourself?

Oh cool. Yes I do. I wanted to stay away from all that J.R.R. Tolkien soundtrack sounds.

Particularly on ‘Just Let Me Breathe’ – it’s very aggressive and driving. The new Korg set-up you are now using, it gives a very cool sound.

Yeah, thank you. I think so, too.

What are your favorites of the new material?

I like ‘Just Let Me Breathe’ – I think it’s a great song. There’s not a second of... there’s nothing boring in it. It moves...

It’s like a rollercoaster ride.

Yeah. A rollercoaster ride all the way through. I love ‘Lines In The Sand’ – because it is very progressive. I always – like before I joined Dream Theater – I always wanted to play in a band that was influenced by the band UK, but with more of a hard rock guitar edge to it – and I think ‘Lines In The Sand’ that was the first riff that I brought to the band, that whole front of it, and that sound I was always hearing years ago, and I was finally able to get out with Dream Theater.

This is an important album for you guys. What are your thoughts?

It’s very important! Absolutely. It’s crucial, and I’m just hoping our material gets the attention it deserves.

I’ve asked this of a couple of guys, but your hopes for ’97?

I hope that we can expand our popularity in America and the UK; that’s like the biggest priority.

The UK definitely needs a kick up the back-side!

So does the US!

Anything else you want to add?

I appreciate everybody’s patience, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone sometime in 1997, and hope you like the new material.

I think they will. There is so much in there once again; a lot to take in.

Does this sound a lot more different to you – the approach?

Yeah it does. Like last time we spoke at your apartment, you said to me “trimming the fat” – that you can definitely notice, and even in the live environment, too. Okay, there are still indulgences, but they are more concentrated and focused.

I wish we had five more like ‘Just Let Me Breathe’ because it has all the crazy progressive stuff in it, but it’s all within that parameter, and it’s like five minutes long. It’s perfect. That song rocks, and I think it might be a single. That routine, Petrucci wrote a unison routine between the guitar and keyboard in the middle of that where we both doubled the solo, and it’s very sick, very incredible.

Finally, the new version of ‘Caught In A Web’ (or the now retitled ‘Caught In Alice’s Nine-Inch Tool Garden’), James said to ask you about how it came about.

That song? We were in rehearsal and the guys wanted to do it, and then I got these sounds from my new Korg, and there’s this one patch that is really industrial, sounds like Nine Inch Nails; and I started dicking around on it and Mike suggested we start the song off that way, so I was messing around with it and we went into it. Actually I was playing this bit that kinda sounds like drums, and they started jamming along with it an Petrucci started playing the ‘CIAW’ groove to it, but it was a lot slower than the normal one. And then Mike said we should make a whole production out of it. So we totally rearranged it, and it has a Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains kinda feel.

When it started up the other night, I knew that it was, but obviously I hadn’t heard it, and you could see the people in the crowd trying to work out what it was.

Do you think people liked it? I don’t know.

You’ll get some people who’ll think you’ve messed it up, but for me, in the live environment it is perfect, and makes it more interesting. It brings a whole new feel to it.

Yeah. I think so. It’s cool. I hope no one got offended by it.