Interview with Dream Theater’s James LaBrie

DubaiNight had a thrilling interview with the legendary Dream Theater’s frontman James LaBrie, as Dubai looks to welcome the Prog Metal pioneers on January 27 at Coca-Cola Arena.

By Rachelle B

As Dream Theater marks an extraordinary 40 years at the forefront of Progressive Metal, few moments feel as full-circle – and as electrifying – as their current chapter. In this candid conversation, James LaBrie opens up about the band’s monumental 40th anniversary tour, the sonic and conceptual depths of their latest album Parasomnia, and the creative rebirth sparked by the long-awaited reunion with founding drummer Mike Portnoy. With honesty and warmth, LaBrie reflects on the band’s evolving creative process, personal growth, and the chemistry that continues to challenge and inspire them four decades on.

More than a retrospective, this is a look at a band still hungry, curious, and pushing boundaries. Relaxed, reflective, and surprisingly intimate, LaBrie shares mind-tickling insights and personal perspectives that reveal how much he’s genuinely enjoying this era. As anticipation builds in the Middle East, Dubai prepares to welcome Dream Theater back on January 27 at Coca-Cola Arena – a night set to celebrate legacy, reunion, and the relentless spirit of prog metal.

Dream Theater’s 40th Anniversary & Tour Focus

DubaiNight: Celebrating 40 years is monumental. Looking back, what moment in Dream Theater’s history still feels the most surreal to you personally?

James LaBrie: There are many moments that have felt a little bit like a fantasy. But I think when we were recording Images And Words and think, we were an unknown entity at the time, I think what was thrilling about it is when we were listening to the album after it was recorded, that we were like, wait a minute, you know, like something’s here. And hopefully it’s gonna stick. The only other moment that I think left an indelible mark on each and every one of us is when we played at Radio City Music Hall in New York the first time and we were recording the Score DVD. That was a magical moment in our history. And there’s been several others, but those two come to mind instantly.

DubaiNight: How does it feel returning to Dubai for a second show, especially with the city now hosting your first arena concert? Any memories from your last visit that stick out?

James LaBrie: The first concert that we did there was exciting. We had never been there. The fans were amazing that night, I do remember, it was a pretty sizable venue. We had an amazing time, I know that. I think the unfortunate truth is that when we come into these places, like, I know I didn’t discover any of your city right. Because we came in, we’re there for literally a day, then we do the show, and then we fly out the next morning. Unfortunately, we’re not able to see as much as I’d like to or take in your culture and stuff like that. At the same time we’re obviously there to play a show and engage with our fans, which is what we did, and the experience was amazing. It really was. So, we’re all looking forward to it again, to be able to play at Coca-Cola Arena and really entertain and bring on an amazing show for our fans.

DubaiNight: For fans attending the 40th Anniversary shows, what surprises or special moments can they expect that they wouldn’t have seen in a regular tour?

James LaBrie: Obviously, they’re going to see us with our original drummer, Mike Portnoy, so that’s a moment, like it’s a reunion tour, it’s our 40th. We’re obviously going to be celebrating songs from throughout our catalog. For a real true Dream Theater fan, they’re going to be able to experience so many songs as we always try and keep it diverse as far as what we’re presenting from our music, so it gives everyone, even if you are a new fan, it gives you pretty much an overall statement of who and what we are musically. But I think we’ll focus on certain moments through our career with songs that are undeniable as to the popularity at that particular moment in our career. We’ll be playing some new songs from the new album. And I think, aside from that, we have an amazing production. The visuals are going to be spectacular. All the media or the imagery on the screens actually brings a little bit more depth or emotion to what is behind the songs, lyrically. So, it’s a little bit more meaningful when you have those visuals to support the lyrical content. It’s going to be an amazing night. And not to mention that we’re up there, so, I mean, we’re going to be all over the place. You know and having a great time.

DubaiNight: How do you approach balancing your classic material with tracks from Parasomnia in the setlist? Is there an internal debate about which songs “must” be played?

James LaBrie: No, actually, when Mike Portnoy came back into the band – previously, before we had our split up and all that, he had always been creating the setlist – he does an incredible job at it, because he analyzes where we’ve been, what did we play last time we were there. It’s a very analytical process, and he’s always nailed it. He’s always presented. So, he’ll present what he thinks the setlist should be. And obviously, we have a discussion. I mean, if somebody’s like, you know, I really don’t want to play that song, or that song doesn’t seem right to me, we’ll have that conversation. But to be honest with you, the conversation is usually never had, because he nails, and like I said, he puts a lot of time into deciding what he thinks is best for us to take to that particular country or city. And so, yeah, it’s very well thought out, and I can guarantee you what we’ll be playing for Dubai is going to be amazing.

DubaiNight: Looking back over 40 years, is there a track you feel is underrated or overlooked that you wish more fans appreciated?

James LaBrie: Oh, my God. I think there’s a few. There are some songs that we’ve done in the past which are a bit more, I guess you would say more pop or straightforward songs like ‘Wither’ or ‘I Walk Beside You’. And I think that they should have been given a bit more attention. Or ‘Trial Of Tears’ is another one that I thought was a beautiful song. There are songs out there that we thought would have a little bit more glue to them with our fans, and not necessarily just our fans, like in a more global sense, but never did, and it was kind of surprising. It’s surprising. That’s all part of being an artist and that is that maybe one thing that you think isn’t necessarily how it’s going to resonate with others.

On Parasomnia & Creative Process

DubaiNight: Parasomnia explores some darker, more atmospheric themes. How does this album reflect your current state of mind, both musically and personally?

James LaBrie: The lyrics aren’t something that’s personal, that’s for sure. It’s dealing with a situation that many people – it was surprising because once you start researching Parasomnia, you realize there’s a lot of people that – suffer from it. Night terrors and just having to deal with it, stems from psychological events, of being submitted to horrific situations and it kind of leads to sleep disorders. Once we all got into it as far as writing lyrics, it was very interesting to see all of the anecdotes that surround people that have suffered from this for various reasons. For me personally when I was writing my lyrics, it was a matter of trying to get into the heads of those individuals and how they deal with each and every night and if it’s something that’s daunting to them, when they know sleep is about to be bad because it’s not anything that they want. If they didn’t have to sleep, they’d probably prefer that, because it is that emotionally stressful. It was actually John Petrucci who brought it up. He just said, hey guys, what do you think about if we’re going to do what I would consider a thematic album? You’re splitting hairs between something that you might label as a thematic album and a conceptual album. Let’s face it, there’s a gray area there. The two could be the same. Then he had this idea of maybe doing a song or doing an album that centers around this disorder. We thought, wow, this is really intriguing and why not? We are Dream Theater. We can push the envelope. We can push the edges. There’s nothing restricting here. Let’s see where we can take it. We were all extremely pleased and excited with the results from it. Not only lyrically, but musically. I think it’s a real show that doesn’t matter that we’ve been doing this as long as we have been. I think when it comes to each and every album, it’s something that we feel is the most important thing in our lives as artists, to try and talk about what we’ve done previously. But not only that, we just want to show that we’re still as passionate and committed to what we do. So even though this might be our 16th album, it still feels like we have to really make a statement and it should be like approaching your first album. It has to be your best foot forward.

DubaiNight: If you could choose one track from Parasomnia to define this era of Dream Theater, which would it be and why?

James LaBrie: Well, I would say the epic track. The album title. It’s because it epitomizes who and what we are. It’s very eclectic. When you go through that, it’s an emotional ride. There are some beautiful, sensual very introspective moments. Then there are some heavy and bombastic moments. There are progressive moments. There are heavy metal moments. There are even moments of where you’re getting into a more of a little fusion in there where the band is going off on an instrumental – but it’s very odd, the ride. It makes sense in the bigger picture. The hat man is how I refer to it. I think that really shows that we haven’t lost anything and it still does identify with our fans exactly who and what we are musically.

Reunion & Band Chemistry with Mike Portnoy

DubaiNight: How did it feel to step back into the studio and stage with Mike after so many years?

James LaBrie: At the time I think it was for like 13 years, when we went back into the studio. You know, surprisingly, and we all said it throughout the writing process that initially we were reminded there was a familiarity there. How we, five guys, operate and interact when it comes to composing and creating music. So, when he came in, it was him getting involved like he had before, us having the conversations that lead up to the beginning and the middle and the end of each and every song. A lot of it was just kind of funny because we were like, oh my God, you don’t realize that you’re missing something until it’s back. And so that whole, as it shows on the album, that collection of minds tends to produce what we did produce. And you can’t force that. It’s a chemistry. It’s the way that we have always communicated. When Mike’s in the room, there’s a certain approach, there’s a way that we interact and everything becomes cohesive or comes together so that it makes who and what it is that represents our music. It was smooth, exciting because we were all feeling it as the sessions continued on. Like I said, this familiarity getting back into a pocket, the direction and the approach of our music that we hadn’t necessarily felt for a while. And it wasn’t until it’s there and happening that you’re reminded, oh yeah, that’s why those albums sound like this. And that’s why the albums that he wasn’t involved in sound the way they do. And I’m 100% behind those albums as well because I think they stand up for themselves, they’re great albums as well. But it’s a completely different feel and vibe and result that happens when you bring the original lineup, so to speak. So it kind of hails back to our roots, right?

DubaiNight: Does performing together now feel like revisiting the past, or starting a completely new chapter?

James LaBrie: I think the past is present in the sense of how we interact with one another and become who we are as a collective of five guys writing music. I think that is our history and that is the past. But the present is exactly where we want to be. The results that we’re getting are exactly what we’re after. So it’s kind of a win-win right now. And we’re all having a great time. We’re out there. We’re loving it. We’re laughing. We’re joking. And when we’re on stage, we’re exactly where we want to be. So everything is positive. Everything is thrilling. And we’re going to ride it as long as we can. That makes us very happy.

Personal Opinions & Modern Music

DubaiNight: How do you perceive the current landscape of progressive music and metal? Are there new artists or trends that excite – or challenge – you?

James LaBrie: I think not necessarily on the progressive end of things. But as you know, there are some bands out there like Sleep Token or Northlane or Architects that are really doing something that’s exciting. I think they’re great musicians and their artistic approach is very unique and identifiable. To be quite honest with you, when I’m not on the road or we’re not in an album writing mode, I kind of distance myself from music that is similar to us. I’ll listen to jazz or I’ll listen to classical or I’ll listen to nothing. Just some disconnection to kind of clear my mind. To be honest with you, it’s funny you’re asking this, because lately I’ve been revisiting and going back and going through Led Zeppelin albums. Starting with Led Zeppelin 1 and 2 and 3. And I’m just reminded how incredible that band was, how timeless their music is. If they were to come out today, Led Zeppelin, I guarantee you they’d be blowing the doors off everyone and everything. People would be like, my God, who are these guys, you know? And their music stands the test of time. If you can listen to them objectively and just think, OK, no, this isn’t a band from the 60s and 70s. Let’s just hear their music for what it is saying, its statement and it’s phenomenal. It’s incredible, those four guys. Each and every one in their respective instrument is top notch. They contributed to the heritage of music overall, for one. They’re deemed educational, they just took rock and roll and heavy metal, you know, because they were heavy. They were totally heavy and they were cinematic. I mean, I have to be honest, I’m not one of these guys that sits down like, that’d be a great question for Mike Portnoy because he’s always listening to stuff and he’s always delving into new bands and artists and what they’re doing. So he’d probably have some amazing answers for something like that. Because I’m pretty safe to say most of the rest of the guys in the band are like myself. We’ll listen to stuff here and there, but we don’t necessarily take a big journey into what’s going on currently.

DubaiNight: Fans often debate the “ultimate Dream Theater album.” If you had to pick one record that encapsulates the essence of the band, what would it be – and is it different from what fans might expect?

James LaBrie: Well, I don’t know what the fans are going to expect. If you’re asking me this today, and then you ask me tomorrow, I might have a different answer. But right now, the way that I feel, I would say, you know, oh boy, this is an incredibly hard question. I think one of the albums that has really touched on the magic of who and what we are was Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. I think that album was amazing. We had just come off of doing Metropolis, which is what I would imagine to a lot of fans, is their favorite, right? But for me, Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, we were still on that wave of really creating something that was unique in Dream Theater style, in our approach, and our results musically. So this is an album that I think is a real ‘tour de force’ for us. And that takes nothing away. Honorable mentions would be Octavarium for me, obviously, you know, Images And Words for sure. They each stand in their own course. It’s really hard to say that that’s the definitive one. I can’t say that. I’d never be able to say that. But we have an idea. Yeah, you have an idea for sure.

DubaiNight: What is one thing you’d like to say to Dubai right now, to the fans that are waiting for you here and to Dubai Night?

James LaBrie: Hey, we’re stoked. We can’t wait. We’re going to have an incredible evening. I guarantee it. And yeah, we’ll see you real soon. It’s going to be amazing and we’re going to love to see our fans in Dubai once again. It’ll be an unforgettable evening.