Full Speed Ahead

A couple of days after the interview with Mike, I had the opportunity to talk to John Petrucci about the new album. After having interviewed the foundation of Dream Theater, I hope that you have a better understanding of where the album is coming from and how it was created. I, for sure, enjoyed doing the interviews and learned more about the band and their music. So let’s roll...

E: Long before you started working on Train Of Thought, you and Mike Had this idea of making a real classic metal album. Where did the desire to make such an album come from?

JP: Whilst we were on tour there where a couple of things that struck me. One of them was that when we play live there are certain songs that are really exciting to play and that the audience really gets into. These are the likes of Home, Peruvian Skies, Pull Me Under, Metropolis and I started to realise that those are the more dark and heavier songs. For some kind of reason that type of energy really goes over. The ones that are sort of medium, I don’t know, we change the pace as the show goes on, but there’s always those exciting moments. So, I thought, wouldn’t it be great to make an entire album of exciting songs. A lot of the classic albums are like that: Master of Puppets, Back in Black, Piece of Mind. There are certain albums where there isn’t a song on it that you’d turn off, so that was the goal when we went in to write and record this one.

E: Are you satisfied with the results?

JP: Absolutely, I think that we really accomplished what we set out to do. We were very specific about what we were trying to do and I’ m really happy with the way it sounds, the mix and the production.

E: Did you have to make any compromises to make a metal album with Dream Theater?

JP: No, there are no compromises. The only change was that we probably recorded a little less. Like, on the last two albums, there were a lot more overdubs, more layering and more experimental type things. This time I wanted to create a lot of space so it sounds bigger. We sort of limited the amount of tracks in the orchestration. So instead of having guitar in stereo and then piano, strings and choir it would just be guitar and strings. We scaled down the orchestration.

E: Is this the main difference between 6 Degrees and Train Of Thought?

JP: The big difference between this one and 6 Degrees and Scenes is that we didn’t write this album in the studio, whereas those two we did. In order to create the type of album we are talking about we have to go into a rehearsal studio, crank up the amps and get a real good powerful live feeling when we are writing. In this way we can tell what it felt like as we’re playing as opposed to being in the studio with headphones and doing it that way.

E: What do you think of the various reactions of the fans and the media to this album?

JP: I have seen a little bit of it. I have seen positive and not so positive reactions, it is the same with every album. Since the Internet, you get immediate responses and I have seen the mixed reactions with every album since then. I think that initially we got a lot of positive reactions and as we have a lot of long songs it takes some time to really get into them.

E: What would you say to the people that keep bashing on about the ‘too obvious’ Metallica influences?

JP: I would say: “Take me as I am”, that is what that song is about. Although that song is coming from my perspective, it really is the band speaking. In our whole career we have been known for doing our own style, not really going with the trend and a lot of times going against the trend. We sort of stick out and I think that is what people appreciate, that are into the band. There are so many people that are telling us: “you should write shorter songs” and “nobody does solos anymore”, “this is too Disney”, “this is too heavy”, blah blah blah. We just do what we naturally creatively want to do. A lot of people accept this and some people criticize. So that is basically what this song is saying. We are not going to change for people that try to mould us into a formula. We are just doing what we do and hopefully people appreciate it.

E: Knowing the background of this song a bit better, makes it an even more perfect opener for the album.

JP: Yeah exactly and at the same time it shows an appreciation to the people that are into it. For the fans that always stick by us, because it says: “To those who understand, I extend my hand”. It’s like “thank you for being there, understanding what we are doing and getting it”. So it’s also paying homage to our fans as well.

E: The solos that you play on this album are high speed shredding, never thought of doing a more melodic solo like in Goodnight Kiss?

JP: On the last album I had a lot of moments that were like that, that were more melodic and soaring. I love playing that stuff, I really appreciate those moments. But on this album I wanted it to be a full assault, very aggressive playing. I want to get that point across. The album has a lot of attitude, so when it came time to do the solos I said to myself: “I need to do something that is going to push that attitude further. To create more intensity” and that’s how I did it.

E: Did you use your 7 string on this album?

JP: I used the 7-string on This Dying Soul only. On the other songs I dropped the tuning. There’s something when making a record, there is sort of a balance. Like I was talking about before, we want to maintain our identity. But at the same time you want your album to stand up in the current environment. That’s why the production sounds more current. The lower keys sound more current. A lot of things get played out through the years and a lot of standard tunings get played out. It also contributes to the heaviness. Once you drop your guitar down, certainly a whole step or more, it immediately creates this dark heavy sound. It was totally necessary to do.

E: And what was the role of Kevin Shirley in this?

JP: Kevin was just mixing the album and when it came time to mix the album we had brought in several CDs that we were looking to get the sound of. Kevin did a fantastic job in keeping our identity but at the same time really making the album able to stand up.

E: So I guess you let him hear some Mudvayne?

JP: Yeah, Mudvayne was one of them, but that wasn’t the big benchmark. There were a couple of albums that I was really going by. The Shuvel album was one where the guitars just sound unbelievable. Some of the newer sounds also put emphasis on the bass, I noticed that a lot. If I listened to Linkin Park or Staind, it’s little more simple music, but one of the things that was making it sound kind of full and stand apart from some older stuff was the bass presence. So we really tried to dial that it in to separate the bass out and that is a comment that I have seen a lot, as people noticed the presence of the bass.

E: Do you think that fans of these nu-metal bands will digest Dream Theater?

JP: I don’t know, I’m not really sure. Obviously it’s a whole different thing. The songs are shorter, more commercial, it’s more pop and the subject matters differ. (laughs) It is also not something that we are trying to do, but there are certain elements of these new music styles that are great.

E: Okay, let’s go back to the lyrics on this album. You wrote In The Name Of God as well; can you tell me a little bit more about it?

JP: In The Name Of God asks the question: “Does religion promote violence?” I look at a lot of the cults that have popped up in the past years. There is a lot of extreme fundamentalist leaders that somehow convince people to follow them and in the process they also convince them to do violent acts. They say, it is in the name of God, if you do this you’ll be saved. It is kind of a backward way of thinking, twisting the fate of religion in order to achieve a violent end. These people have done mass suicides, killed individuals, killed groups of people. They commit suicide in order to do this in the name of God and that is what this song is about.

E: In the booklet we can see 3 men in the picture that is presented next to these lyrics. Is the song about these 3 leaders?

JP: The song was inspired by a bunch of different stories and situations and there are actually more than 3 leaders. If anything, in the booklet, because of the three, it always connotes trinity and holiness, but there were more people that I have picked out, that the story is based on.

E: Could you have imagined writing these kind of lyrics before 9/11 happened?

JP: Yes, because September 11th is one element of it, but there are so many of these situations that arise, even before that. You’re always hearing about cults and different things, that sound really abnormal and outrageous to us, but somehow they convince these people to do these things. Even a lot of individual killings that you don’t hear about, but when you dig into the story you realize that these people did it because they thought God told them to do it.

E: Moving on to Endless Sacrifice, which seems to be, again, a very personal one...

JP: Yeah, absolutely, it is very personal. It is not something that was written About for the first time, it is a common topic amongst anyone who travels Or is away. Whether you’re in a band or in the military, it is being away and longing for your spouse or your children, on both sides there is a sacrifice. Your family makes a sacrifice so that you are able to do what you do. In my case be away, tour, live out in the stream and at the same time I’m making a sacrifice because I’m missing out on what’s going on back home. There are just chunks of time that disappear and you really can’t get them back. That is a very intense feeling.

E: That message came across very well in the song.

JP: Thank you!

E: Apart from the lyrics, are there any typical John Petrucci songs on this album? Or in other words, where the main riff is your idea.

JP: You know, the way that we work, it kind of doesn’t work that way. The only one that I can say is like that is Vacant, because that is just John Myung and Jordan who wrote that together one morning. When we write, we write together, so some guys have more input than others. Of course this album is very guitar heavy and, in order to get that sound most of the time the riffs come from the guitar. They have to, but that is not to say that, for example, Jordan might come up with something and then I would play it on the guitar or Mike might sing a certain riff or time signature and I translate it to the guitar.

E: Let’s move on to another album: your solo album; when can we expect that one?

JP: Yeah, that’s the question of the day. (laughs) Well fortunately now that I’m done with the Dream Theater album and I have moved to my new house and that’s done, I’m actually going to finish it the first weeks of December. This way I’ll be wrapped up and I can work on a release in 2004. To those of you have been waiting very patiently I appreciate it and I know it has taken a long time, but hopefully it will be well worth the wait.

E: I think so. Have you seen any of the recent G3 shows?

JP: They played in New York last week and I had the privilege of going up on stage and jamming with the guys for 2 days at the Beacon Theater. It was really cool to jam with Yngwie, Steve and Joe and Neal Schon was also there.

E: And how was Yngwie?

JP: He was great, it was nice, like, in trading solos, I had never thought of trading solos with Yngwie, Joe, Steve and Neal, it was pretty unbelievable.

E: That must be awesome. Well anyway this was it from my side. Thank you very much! See you in Europe in 2004!

JP: My pleasure and see you soon!

Erik Hulsegge