Dream Theater

Distance Over Time (InsideOut Music)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Dream Theater’s first stirrings occurred 33 years ago, when Messrs Petrucci, Portnoy and Myung put together a prototype outfit named Majesty. After changing their name they released their debut, When Dream And Day Unite in 1989. Since then they have championed the genre that came to be known as ‘progressive metal’ with a hardcore fanbase established worldwide. It’s been almost three years since we heard any new studio material, 2016’s The Astonishing having split the faithful with its Marmite-like appeal. So, Distance Over Time could be seen as the album to bring the legions back on side. Distance Over Time is a more cohesive effort, no doubt about it. It begins with the first single, ‘Untethered Angel’ which lays out the band’s 2019 manifesto: acoustic arpeggios segue into the throb of a typical DT riff, heavy as heck with a don’t-try-dancing-to-this time signature. Forums are already awash as to whether Petrucci is using an eight-string Music Man and we wouldn’t be surprised, since a lot of the riff work is decidedly semi-subterranean. Distance Over Time is a return to form with all the band’s golden era hallmarks, and should set any disenfranchised fan’s mind to rest.