Second Act

Stunned by the departure of founding drummer Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater get back on track with A Dramatic Turn Of Events. John Petrucci talks about the making of the prog-metallers’ shockingly diverse new album.

Interview by Joe Bosso

It was the summer of 2010, and Dream Theater were on a serious roll. Their 10th studio album, 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings, had entered the Billboard charts in the Top 10 and would become one of the biggest-selling releases in the band’s career. Not only that, but the celebrated prog-rock/metal group was opening for Iron Maiden on a sold-out tour of arenas and stadiums. “Everything was looking up,” guitarist John Petrucci says. “Our record was big, we played Madison Square Garden to a packed house, we were looking forward to going into the studio. And then the bomb dropped.”

That detonation – one which was heard round the world – occurred when drummer Mike Portnoy announced in September 2010 that he was leaving the group. Portnoy, together with Petrucci and bassist John Myung, founded Dream Theater at the Berklee College of Music in 1985. At the time of his departure from the group, he was moonlighting with Avenged Sevenfold, filling in for the band’s late drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. But as Portnoy continued to play with A7X, the more he liked it, and the more he discovered he needed space from Dream Theater.

“Mike had played on Avenged’s album [Nightmare], and that was fine,” Petrucci says. “We all do side projects when time permits. But touring with the band, that was a different story. That was taking significant time away from Dream Theater at a point when we were all planning to start recording. Initially, we put off recording to go on tour with Iron Maiden – that was too good an opportunity for us to turn down. And then when Mike said he was going on the road with Avenged Sevenfold right after the Maiden tour, that didn’t feel right.”

At first, Portnoy wasn’t going to quit Dream Theater. At a band meeting, held several weeks into the A7X tour, he asked the band to take an extended hiatus, with no firm date in sight for reconvening. “In the end, it was something we couldn’t do,” Petrucci says. “Mike wanted to hold all the cards. He wanted to get back together when it suited him. We couldn’t abide by that. So he decided to quit. It was quite a blow. As much as we wanted to continue as a band, we didn’t want Mike to leave.”

Portnoy, undeterred, continued to tour with Avenged, hoping that his place with the band would become permanent. “I guess Mike was looking at them as the new girlfriend or something,” Petrucci says. “They were younger, up-and-coming... you can definitely draw the parallels.”

Late in 2010, however, Avenged Sevenfold decided to part ways with Portnoy in favor of a younger, unknown drummer named Aren Ilejay, which led Portnoy to ask his old band to take him back. Only problem was, Dream Theater had already auditioned an array of the world’s greatest drummers and had chosen Mike Mangini, whose credits include stints with Steve Vai and Extreme, as well as a professor of drumming post at Berklee. “Mike Mangini was astounding,” Petrucci says. “We couldn’t have been more thrilled to have him on board. Mike Portnoy asking to be back in was a problem on a few levels. First, we were very happy to have selected Mike Mangini. Second, he had quit his teaching gig at Berklee. We certainly weren’t going to hang him out to dry when he sacrificed so much for us. Mike Portnoy was too late in asking to come back. We had moved on.”

And so, Dream Theater – Petrucci, Myung, singer James LaBrie, keyboardist Jordan Rudess and Mangini – entered the studio in January of this year to create the aptly titled A Dramatic Turn Of Events. Produced by Petrucci and mixed by Grammy Award winner Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine), it’s an album that keeps revealing its many splendors even after repeated listens. Its nine cuts run the gamut from grinding, progressive metal (‘On The Backs Of Angels,’ ‘Build Me Up, Break Me Down’) to mind-numbing musical workouts (‘Lost Not Forgotten,’ ‘Outcry’) to a surprisingly stripped-down yet altogether moving ballad (‘Far From Heaven’).

“I’m so proud of this record,” Petrucci says. “It says everything that I could have wanted musically, lyrically. And obviously, to hear Mike Mangini performing so brilliantly says a lot about the current state of the band. We’re definitely back on track. That’s the last thing our fans have to worry about.”

Petrucci sat down with Guitar World to reflect on the trying times and tribulations that led to A Dramatic Turn Of Events, and why he thinks Dream Theater’s best years lie ahead.

Joe Bosso: How did the recent European tour go with Mike Mangini in the fold? Were there any rough spots, or was it smooth sailing all the way?

John Petrucci: It was so smooth that it was almost scary. Even though we felt very good about our decision to hire Mike Mangini, we couldn’t predict how things would’ve gone during our first tour with him, because we’re still getting to know him on a variety of levels. But recording with him was fantastic, touring was great, every night onstage got better and better. I feel like I’ve been playing with him for 20 years already.

JB: I get the feeling that Mike Portnoy’s leaving is still something of a mystery.

JP: I can’t speak for him. I can only see things from my point of view. For him to leave a successful band, one he had been with for 25 years... he must’ve had his reasons. I guess he really needed a change. Maybe he was confused or conflicted at the same time. I don’t know. The biggest thing for me is to not be negative or resentful. I understand the way life is, and change is part of that. People get divorced, they leave companies, they quit bands – it happens. Mike needed a change in his life. That’s really the only way I can look at it.

JB: In the past, you and Mike wrote the bulk of the lyrics, with James contributing to some songs. Who wrote most of the lyrics for the new album?

JP: I did. And I had no problem with that. In fact, I’ve been begging the guys for years to let me write all the lyrics. It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved words and creative writing. For such a long time, I’ve said that I was going to write the lyrics to an entire album, and then somebody else would say, “Hey, I’ve got ideas for this one song.” And I’d be like, “Dammit!” [laughs] So for this album, it was great to almost get there. I wrote seven of the nine songs, and co-wrote ‘Breaking All Illusions’ with John Myung.

JB: For the last 10 years, you and Mike coproduced the band’s albums. This time, however, you were the solo producer. How did that feel?

JP: Again, another passion of mine. I loved taking on the responsibility and sitting in that seat. The fact that the other guys trust me to such a degree means a lot. It’s something that I take on with all of my being. It’s many, many hours in the studio, but it’s something I really love. For me, the whole process of making this album was very fulfilling.

JB: What was Andy Wallace like to work with?

JP: Oh, man, he was incredible. I’ve been such a fan of his work, and I’ve wanted him to mix Dream Theater albums in the past, but it never worked out for whatever reasons. But this time, it all lined up. He was available, and he was interested. From the first conversation I had with him, I knew I liked his concept of mixing. He likes records where everything is clear, you can hear everybody, things are big and cinematic and dramatic... all the things that I love. He was amazing. He was mixing these songs that he hadn’t heard before, and a lot of them are pretty long, they have all of these different time changes and moods, and he just tackled it and paid attention to every little detail. I was blown away by what he did.

JB: You get a tubey guitar tone in your second solo in ‘On The Backs Of Angels.’ How long does it take you to get just the right sound?

JP: As far as tone is concerned, everything on the album was done with my Music Man JPXI guitar and a Mesa/Boogie Mark V. It was just a matter of how I would utilize the Mark V to get what I wanted. In the case of that particular part you mentioned, I was going for something that was very expressive, so you hear a lot of overtones and that tubey quality. I was adamant about not using any overdrive, that I wanted to go straight into the amp without a lot of gain, so you can hear all the details of the notes.

When I’m recording, I’ll dial in a tone ahead of time. Then I’ll play along to the track and maybe do a couple of scratch passes. After that, I’ll listen back and tweak the tone. Once I have the sound, where the guitar is sitting in the track just right, I’ll start going for it. I like to have a few different qualities, a bit of improvisation, but I also have to make sure that I hit the right target notes over the chord changes. It’s a fun process.

JB: In the intro to ‘Build Me Up, Break Me Down,’ you have a neat hip-hop rhythm going on. Whose idea was that?

JP: That was my idea. I was programming the drums on the record using the Superior Drummer program in Logic, and it enabled me to type in some beats to whatever music we were coming up with. Having that element of electronica is something we wanted to do on a few albums. It mixed up the arrangement and gave a nice contrast. When you hear the electronica beat and then the real drums kick in, it’s pretty powerful.

JB: There’s some stupefying unison playing in the intro to ‘Lost Not Forgotten.’

JP: Yeah, it’s pretty wild. [laughs] I wrote that because I wanted an insane passage that was based on a diminished tonality. I constructed it one lick at a time, wrote it out, recorded it and put a drum tempo down so that it’s basically all there, and then all we have to do is record it for real. At that point, I teach it to Jordan – and teaching it to Jordan just means playing it for him, because he has perfect pitch. We’ll work out some harmony parts. Then we have to think about what the bass is going to do, so John will come up with his parts. Mike Mangini then came in and turned some things around, added some cool fills and did some crazy bits. Again, it’s a fun, cool process.

JB: In ‘Breaking All Illusions,’ you play a solo that is pretty bluesy. You’ve cited David Gilmour as a blues-based guitar player who’s influenced you. Are there others?

JP: Sure. Stevie Ray Vaughan is probably the biggest guy for me. The first time I heard him on the radio, his sound just drew me right in. I was like, “Wow, I love this guy!” [laughs] Ever since then, I’ve loved everything I’ve heard him do. If I could get even an iota of his sound, I’d be satisfied. David Gilmour, too. When I’m thinking of memorable, melodic solos with a soulful, bluesy edge, I think of him. All the great things he’s done, like the solo in ‘Comfortably Numb.’ If I could just tap into a brief moment of that kind of genius, it’d be great.

JB: Tell me about your first solo in ‘This Is The Life.’ It sounds very poignant.

JP: Thank you. The very first solo is a reprise of the head melody of the song. I just wanted to play the main theme. I had a Jimmy Page thing going on in my head, so I kind of plucked the strings. Actually, that’s a scratch track that was from my original demos. I’m using a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx [preamp/effect processor and modeler], which is what I used for all of the writing and demoing. The guys at Fractal came down and modeled my Mark V, so that when I was writing I could tap into a bank in the Axe-Fx and just go direct. It was really easy to write and record with. When we did the album, that’s when I miked up the amp.

On ‘This Is The Life,’ for that particular solo, Paul Northfield, who engineered the record, said that he really liked what I did on the demo. I was concerned because the sound was direct and not through an amp, but no matter what I did to try to better the demo, I couldn’t. Something when you’re not overthinking it, you do something really good. That first thing you play can have that magic spark.

JB: Were the guitar tones on ‘Bridges In The Sky’ all done with the JPXI and the Mark V?

JP: Absolutely. On that song, I’m using the seven-string version of the JPXI straight into the Mark V. I’m using the amp’s Mark IV mode, which is the same rhythm sound that’s on the whole album. I put that through a Boogie 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30s.

JB: The extended solo section in ‘Outcry’ features an outrageous display of unison playing.

JP: [laughs] In that particular section, we wanted to have an unrelenting series of notes going by that would be tight and in unison, that we would alternate pick. It would be this cascading thing that doesn’t stop. After we came up with the concept, it was all about picking the notes. In my solos, even when notes are going by quickly, I try to have a melody outlined. Then it’s just a matter of tracking the notes to the drums and making them as tight as possible. Once that’s done, Jordan comes in and doubles the notes. It’s all a matter of crafting, of going over it again and again till it’s absolutely there. But again, the concept, the initial idea – that’s where it all has to start.

JB: You mentioned the Axe-Fx. Did you use other hardware, effects or software?

JP: That was basically everything I used on the whole album, that and the Mark V. The Mark V is such a versatile amp. I kept calling the guys at Mesa/Boogie and raving about it. I didn’t really use a bunch of other effects. There’s a Boss phaser on the beginning to ‘On The Backs Of Angels.’ I’ve always been a huge fan of the TC Electronic chorus pedals, and I used their new TonePrints chorus pedal on the album. That’s pretty much it. Things like the wah-wah in the solo in ‘Bridges In The Sky’ and any of the delays and things like that were done by Andy Wallace.

JB: And the Music Man JP XI models were the only electrics?

JP: That’s right. I’m so lucky to have this amazing guitar that’s custom-made for me, and not only that but a line of models for 11 years now. The JPXI is my secret weapon. That guitar didn’t leave my hands for the entire writing and recording of the album. For the acoustic parts, though, I did use some Taylors. I have three different Taylors, and they’re all great. I don’t remember the model names, but they sound beautiful and record really well. Those are my go-to acoustics.

JB: After the difficult time you and the band experienced, I have to imagine that listening back to the finished album is pretty gratifying.

JP: We feel really good about the record. You know, we went through a very hurtful time, but we came through it tighter than ever as friends, and we were very focused on making one of the best records of our entire careers. That was our goal. The feedback we’ve been given has been incredibly gratifying. To know that people are getting it means everything to me.

It’s a funny thing: when you’re determined and you have a real goal, it’s not really hard to see it through. Sure, it takes time and you have to put in the work, but if you love what you do, you can make it happen. I enjoyed every step of creating this album, I really did.