Dream Theater

Hammersmith Apollo, London

In today’s musical era, all too frequently defined by advertising muscle, momentary fads, and the type of cynically sanitised acts that The X-Factor manufactures, the men in suits would argue that there’s no market for a band like Dream Theater. After all, here are a band who don’t release singles, are as likely to appear on MTV as Pavarotti is, and who resolutely refuse to take heed of any attempts to steer them in a commercial direction. But, by continuing to produce progressive metal albums that are crammed with astonishing levels of instrumental skill, Dream Theater have fostered an immensely loyal fan base, and thus ensured that this two-night stand at the Apollo was completely sold out.

Amazingly, both performances lasted for close to three hours, and yet with the sole exception of lively opener ‘The Root Of All Evil’ the band played completely different sets on each of the two nights. Considering most touring bands churn out the same 90 minutes of material each night- songs that perhaps possess half the complexity of an average Dream Theater track – the magnitude of that achievement is put into perspective.

With the tour billed as a celebration of their 20th anniversary, and with six-hours to fill, Dream Theater were able to delve into their back catalogue and add fresh impetus to songs such as ‘Afterlife’, ‘The Mirror’ and ‘Learning To Live’. The brave inclusion of the rarely performed ‘Raise The Knife’ may have put quizzical looks on the faces of the band’s more casual followers, but it will also have brought the many hard-core DT fans to the brink of hysteria. Indeed it’s difficult to recall a time when the band have sounded quite this tight, with even the frequently criticised James LaBrie’s vocals being faultless – and, mercifully, screech free. But the evening wasn’t merely designed to celebrate Dream Theater’s past accomplishments. Their latest album, Octavarium, was represented by the likes of ‘I Walk Beside You’ and ‘These Walls’, both of which illustrated the band’s continued inventiveness and which fit snugly into the set.

The second night proved to be exceptional, with Dream Theater continuing their tradition of covering another band’s classic album in its entirety whenever they play a two-night stand in a city. Previously they have faithfully reproduced Metallica’s Master Of Puppets and Maiden’s Number Of The Beast, and on this brace of shows they turned to their more progressive roots to play a sublime, note-perfect rendition of. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon.

An album as subtle as Dark Side... may not have been the obvious choice for a band regularly accused of embellishing songs with thousand-notes-a-minute histrionics, but guitarist John Petrucci played the solos in ‘Time’ and ‘Breathe’ with all the understated presence of David Gilmour’s originals. There were also guest appearances by the saxophonist who played with Roger Waters, and vocalist Theresa Thomason to hit the high notes in ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’. The visual experience was raised by the projection of the original footage used by Floyd.

It’s easy to genuinely run out of superlatives to bestow on a band as overwhelming as Dream Theater on this kind of form. They remain prog metal’s standard bearers and standard setters. God only knows how they can surpass performances as stunning as these. Worryingly for their contemporaries, you just know that by the next time they play over here, they will somehow have found a way.

—Rich Wilson