Dream Theater

Quarantième: Live À Paris (InsideOut Music)

Progressive metal royalty celebrate 40 years on the throne.

When Dream Theater named their 2008 compilation Greatest Hit (…And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs), it was with a knowing wink. In mainstream terms they’d only once broken the surface, with 1992’s MTV and radio hit ‘Pull Me Under’, but in the more rarefied pool of progressive metal, this unassuming band from Boston, Massachusetts were already the big fish. Chart-bothering singles may be a thing of the distant past these days, but they have long been arena-packing behemoths in their own right, with the recent 40th-anniversary tour touching down in venues including London’s O2 Arena and the Adidas Arena in Paris. The latter venue was where this, the 10th live album of their career, was recorded.

There aren’t many songs here that haven’t appeared on the previous nine live albums before, but it does provide a snapshot of a special moment in time. The tour not only marked that extraordinary four-decade milestone but was also the first with the band’s classic line-up since 2010. DT like to play around with their setlists and, with prodigal drummer Mike Portnoy back in the fold, there’s been talk once more of resuming their habit of completely revolving the songs between shows. For this though, it had to be a set of classics, hauling out that hit and more.

It begins with ‘Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper’, a song perfectly suited to opening status thanks to its slowly building intro and its status as one of the quintessential Dream Theater tracks. Everyone gets their chance to shine individually over the album’s two and a half hours, but here that mesh of divine musicianship is carefully poised and balanced. The essential pairing of ‘Overture 1928’ and ‘Strange Déjà Vu’ follow with a giddy sense of excitement. The balladic ‘Hollow Years’ is teased out into a solo-packed 14-minute beast that outstays even the version captured on Live At Budokan and there’s an intermission treat in the shape of ‘Orchestral Overture’ – a specially commissioned classical piece incorporating music from every Dream Theater album.

The second part gets even more epic, as it builds up to the multi-faceted 11-minute instrumental ‘Stream Of Consciousness’ and the five-part suite of ‘Octavarium’. On the final strait, it’s back to the ‘Metropolis’ for the eastern riffery of ‘Home’ and the relatively simple but emotionally resonant singalong of ‘The Spirit Carries On’ – a song that proves that just sometimes, less can be more. ‘Pull Me Under’ brings things to a euphoric conclusion and Quarantième stands as a fitting monument to a band who – quite remarkably – remain at the peak of their powers.

—Paul Travers