" Queen of the Reich " is a heavy metal song first recorded in 1981 for a demo tape by "The Mob", later known as Queensrÿche . "Queen of the Reich" was first released on the Queensrÿche EP along with "The Lady Wore Black", "Nightrider", and "Blinded". The song was also the basis for the band's new name, with the spelling altered from "Queensreich" to avoid connotations with Nazi Germany .
97-506: Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston , Massachusetts . The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theater was formed under the name Majesty by Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy—all natives of Long Island , New York —while they attended Berklee College of Music . They dropped out to concentrate on
194-439: A jazz influence, with extended solo sections that often feature "trading solos". Orphaned Land from Israel debuted as a melodic death-doom / melodic death metal band that fused middle eastern rhythms and melodies into their music with a progressive edge. The band knew they wanted to create a new subgenre of metal from the very beginning, a style they would dub " oriental metal ," and were always viewed as progressive due to
291-691: A 40-minute concept album consisting of a single track, brought the band critical acclaim and was heralded as one of the first extreme-metal forays into a progressive rock-esque concept album, featuring death-metal vocals and heavily distorted guitars, with guest vocals and lead guitar from Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt . Dan Swanö produced Opeth's first release, Orchid (1995), which was unique for its combination of death metal vocals and instrumentation, melodic guitar harmonies, and acoustic passages, but it wasn't until their hallmark record Blackwater Park (2001) that they received critical acclaim. Steven Wilson , progressive rock icon and frontman of Porcupine Tree ,
388-462: A CD single and video clip for the song " Another Day ", but neither made significant commercial impact. The song " Pull Me Under ", however, managed to garner a high level of radio airplay without any organized promotion from the band or their label. In response, ATCO produced a video clip for "Pull Me Under", which saw heavy rotation on MTV . A third video clip was produced for " Take the Time ", but it
485-477: A bad impression of Bruce Dickinson . Additionally, he shouted "Scream for me Long Beach!" several times throughout the show (Dickinson can be heard saying this on Iron Maiden's live album Live After Death ), although they were actually performing in Bay Shore. The audience was immediately turned off by the new singer. It was five months before Dream Theater played another show, this time all-instrumental (under
582-520: A collection of cover songs from a live show recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London earlier that year. After a brief run of small concerts and a short break, the band released a special Christmas CD through their official fan club, consisting of rare live tracks recorded during the band's early years. They continued releasing a new CD each Christmas until 2005. Meanwhile, there were several changes at East West, and Dream Theater's main contact within
679-400: A continuation of Portnoy's " Twelve-step " saga ("The Root of All Evil", steps 6–7 in the 12-step plan), as well as the title track , a musically versatile 24 minute epic rivaling "A Change of Seasons". Octavarium received mixed reviews from fans and has been the subject of spirited debate. Octavarium was the last album under their seven-album deal with Elektra Records , which had inherited
776-549: A distinct musical style, was primarily advanced by members of the American heavy metal scene of the mid-1980s, particularly Queensrÿche , Savatage , Fates Warning , Watchtower and then later on, Dream Theater and Symphony X . It has since developed in a non-linear fashion, with countless groups demonstrating innovations in personal ways. The origins of the genre date back to the very beginning of heavy metal / hard rock and progressive rock when some bands began to merge
873-550: A few dates before it ended and continued on with their own series of concerts, several of which were recorded and released for the band's fanclubs. The 20th anniversary tour concluded with a show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 1, 2006. Though the show had minimal promotion, it was sold out days after tickets were made available. This show, which was recorded for a CD/DVD called Score released on August 29, 2006, through Rhino Records , featured songs from
970-698: A gig at the Ritz in New York, so Dominici was given the opportunity to perform one last time. It would be another two years before Dream Theater had a replacement vocalist. Following Dominici's departure, Dream Theater fought successfully to be released from their contract with Mechanic and set about auditioning singers and writing material for their next album. In their search for a new singer, they auditioned over 200 people, among them former Fates Warning frontman John Arch . Arch ultimately decided that his personal commitments were more important and he opted not to join
1067-566: A home in the growing U.S. thrash metal movement, influencing popular heavy metal bands like Megadeth , with its acclaimed album Rust in Peace (1990), together with Metallica and its famous album ...And Justice for All (1988). Among the other pioneering thrash metal bands, one of the most important is Canada's Voivod , with their complex and experimental style, full of psychedelic dissonances ( Dimension Hatröss , 1988; Nothingface , 1989). "Math-metal" pioneers Watchtower, from Texas, took
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#17327810059591164-616: A member of Stratovarius , was among the biggest names to audition, but the band members were eager to fill the position with keyboardist Jordan Rudess . Portnoy and Petrucci had come across Rudess in Keyboard Magazine, where he was recognized as "best new talent" in the readers' poll. The two invited him to play a trial gig with the band at the Concrete Foundations Forum in Burbank, California . Although
1261-484: A more direct and heavier approach than the well-established English progressive rock sound. 1984 brought full-length debut albums from American bands Queensrÿche from Washington state, and Fates Warning from Connecticut. Both expanded their music to include more progressive elements ( The Warning , 1984; The Spectre Within , 1985) – some through sound experimentation and compositional refinement, others through extremely complex structures and atypical riffs – up to
1358-512: A more traditional progressive metal/rock band, devoid of extreme metal elements. Between the Buried and Me , who started as a more straightforward metalcore band, also began to incorporate both progressive metal and death metal into their music on their 2003 album The Silent Circus , a landmark album in the progressive metalcore genre. They would later add avant-garde elements as well on releases such as The Great Misdirect (2009). In
1455-494: A new member, the band did not immediately start working on new material. Fans around the world, united on the YtseJam Mailing List (the most popular form of communication between Dream Theater fans at that point), had begun to put pressure on the band to officially release the song " A Change of Seasons ". This had been written in 1989 and was intended to be a part of Images and Words , but at almost 17 minutes, it
1552-520: A result of an ultimatum from Portnoy, the label gave the band complete creative control. The band began by revisiting the follow-up to "Metropolis–Part I", which had been partially written during the Falling into Infinity sessions but which had not been completed or used on that album. They decided to expand the 21-minute song into a complete concept album , with a story revolving around themes such as reincarnation, murder and betrayal. To avoid stirring up
1649-504: A video compilation of their Japanese concerts (mixed in with documentary-style footage of the off-stage portion of the tour) was released as Images and Words: Live in Tokyo . Eager to work on fresh material, Dream Theater retreated to the studio in May 1994. Awake , Dream Theater's third studio album, was released on October 4, 1994. Shortly before the album was mixed, Moore had announced to
1746-503: A woman being led by another minion and the two of them proceed to follow the direction he was taking her in order to rescue the others. As soon as they reach the Queen's lair, however, the woman reveals herself to be yet another minion and the two of them struggle as the Queen fires laser beams at Tate to take him out. Tate dodges her shots and manages to temporarily stun the Queen, giving him time to free his four comrades. After being reunited,
1843-603: A would-be double album. Their next release, Ghost Reveries , became an "instant classic," followed by Watershed , their last "heavy" album, both of which have had significant influence on the progressive metal genre, along with other "extreme metal" bands like Meshuggah . This style of progressive metal is often referred to as "extreme progressive metal," or "extreme prog," for short. Later bands who would play in this style are Ne Obliviscaris , Disillusion . Porcupine Tree would later be influenced by this style, and in particular from Opeth, while Opeth would subsequently switch to
1940-449: Is eclecticism. In between the riffs, choruses, and solos typical of rock and metal songs, prog metal bands often include sections inspired by jazz , classical and Middle Eastern music , among others. Progressive metal is difficult to define specifically, since most bands labeled under the genre have considerably different musical influences when compared to each other. Similarly, bands such as Dream Theater , Planet X and Puya have
2037-554: Is their second album Images and Words (1992), which reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. The albums Awake (1994) and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) also entered the charts at No. 32 and No. 46 respectively, and each received critical acclaim. Their fifth album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), was ranked number 95 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of
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#17327810059592134-648: The Images and Words song "Metropolis–Part I: The Miracle and the Sleeper". The label, however, did not allow the release of a double album because it felt that a 140-minute record would not be well received by the general public. James LaBrie also felt that the CD should be a single disc. The unused songs were later released in the YtseJam Records release The Falling into Infinity Demos . The material that made it onto
2231-589: The Sacred Heart of Christ) modified to show an apple (as in " Big Apple ") instead of the heart, and the New York skyline, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center , in the flame above it. In an unfortunate coincidence, the album was released on the same date as the September 11 attacks . The album was quickly recalled by the band and was re-released with revised artwork later, although
2328-463: The 2010s, due to the rapid growth of djent led by bands such as Periphery and After the Burial , progressive metal saw an increased interest with a large number of newcomers to the genre. Some of the newer progressive metal bands that have gained popularity since the 2010s are Haken , Plini , Vola , and Caligula's Horse , among others. One of the hallmark musical qualities of progressive metal
2425-495: The Beast in their entirety. In 2003, Dream Theater entered the studio to write and record another album. Unlike Scenes from a Memory , which had been written and recorded simultaneously in the studio, the band took a different approach by setting aside three weeks for writing prior to recording. In the middle of the recording sessions for the album, a special tour with two other progressive metal bands, Queensrÿche and Fates Warning,
2522-539: The Dixie Dregs. The band assumed the name Liquid Tension Experiment , and would act as a medium through which Portnoy and Petrucci could once again court Rudess to join Dream Theater. In 1999, he accepted an offer to become the third full-time Dream Theater keyboardist, replacing Sherinian. With yet another new member, Dream Theater entered BearTracks Studio once again to write and record their next album. As
2619-577: The Electric Castle (1998) and The Human Equation (2004), performed by many different members of prominent metal bands. Pain of Salvation was always working towards a more or less unusual style, demonstrated by the eclecticism and anti-conformism found on One Hour by the Concrete Lake (1998), and BE (2004). Forerunners of a more experimental and alternative approach include Thought Industry , as seen in their album Mods Carve
2716-400: The New York City area, gaining a considerable amount of exposure. Shortly after hiring Dominici, a Las Vegas group also named Majesty threatened legal action for intellectual property infringement related to the use of their name, so the band was forced to come up with a new one. Various possibilities were proposed and tested, among them Glasser, Magus, and M1, which were all rejected, though
2813-615: The Past III . Canadian power metal band Unleash the Archers also covered it for the Japanese release of their 2017 album, Apex . On 24 September 1983 reviewer of British music newspaper Music Week stated that the single before local issuance already sold heavily on import, partially due to strong support of Paul Suter from Kerrang! . The music has been described as "basically good heavy material". The music video for "Queen of
2910-534: The Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh (1993). Puerto Rican band Puya rose to prominence in the late '90s with their innovative fusion of jazz , salsa , and progressive metal, evident on their 1999 album Fundamental . Some of the first bands to pioneer the combination of progressive rock and extreme metal influences were Dan Swanö 's Edge of Sanity , and Opeth , both bands hailing from Sweden. In particular, Edge of Sanity's Crimson (1996),
3007-541: The Reich" opens with a text crawl somewhat similar to the Star Wars films. First, the viewer sees the words "Tales of Queensrÿche" zoom in before scrolling up with the rest of the text describing the backstory. It states that an evil adventurer has enslaved the world with an ancient computer energized by a crystal and declared herself "Queen of the Reich". The only thing standing in her way are five freedom fighters played by
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3104-575: The Sun, Sierra , and Oceans of Slumber. Queen of the Reich Chris Collins , the first vocalist of the progressive metal band Dream Theater , covered this song for his audition for the band. The British band Shadowkeep covered this song on the compilation album Rebellion – A Tribute to Queensrÿche , released on Dwell Records in 2000. Japanese power metal band Galneryus covered this song for their 2010 cover album, Voices from
3201-461: The album proper was released as Falling into Infinity , which received a mixed reception from fans who were more familiar with the band's earlier sound. While the album was moderately progressive-sounding, tracks such as " Hollow Years " and "You Not Me" prompted some to believe it was the dawn of a new, mainstream-sounding Dream Theater. Overall, the album was both a critical and commercial disappointment. Although Portnoy did not speak out publicly at
3298-495: The attention of Mechanic Records, a division of MCA . Dream Theater signed their first record contract with Mechanic on June 23, 1988 and set out to record their debut album. The band recorded the album at Kajem Victory Studios in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania . Recording the basic tracks took about ten days, and the entire album was completed in about three weeks. When Dream and Day Unite was released in 1989 to far less fanfare than
3395-455: The band did go as Glasser for about a week, with poor reactions from fans. Eventually, Portnoy's father suggested the name Dream Theater, the name of a small theater in Monterey, California , and the name stuck. With their new name and band stability, Dream Theater concentrated on writing more material while playing more concerts in New York and in neighboring states. This eventually attracted
3492-490: The band had anticipated. Mechanic ended up breaking the majority of the financial promises they had made to Dream Theater prior to signing their contract, so the band was restricted to playing around New York City. The promotional tour for the album consisted of just five concerts, all of which were relatively local. Their first show was at Sundance in Bay Shore, New York opening for the classic rock power trio Zebra . After
3589-428: The band paid tribute to Pantera 's late guitarist Dimebag Darrell by performing the song " Cemetery Gates " as an encore. In addition was the unexpected appearance of fellow musicians Russell Allen (Symphony X vocalist), Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory vocalist) and Dave Mustaine (Megadeth vocalist/guitarist), who joined the band on stage to perform parts of the song. Dream Theater later departed from Gigantour 2005
3686-603: The band's entire history, as well a second half accompanied by a full symphony orchestra (the "Octavarium Orchestra"). This release was the band's third Live DVD release to be certified Platinum in the US on October 11, 2006. For the first time in their career, the band decided to take the summer off after their show at Radio City Music Hall. In September 2006, Dream Theater entered Avatar Studios to record their follow-up to Octavarium with legendary studio engineer Paul Northfield . Dream Theater's ninth studio album, Systematic Chaos ,
3783-498: The band's existing fans, who had been attracted by the band's roots in progressive rock . During this time they also re-released their first two live videos for the first time on DVD, titled "Images and Words: Live in Tokyo/5 Years in a Livetime" on June 29, 2004, through Rhino Records. This release was certified Platinum on March 22, 2006. Another world tour followed, named Train of Thought Tour . A modest North American tour
3880-499: The band's first music video since Hollow Years in 1997. The album was bookended by the two parts of "In the Presence of Enemies", written and conceived as a single piece but split into two halves for the purposes of the album. The other six tracks included the most recent part of Portnoy's continuing AA Saga with the song " Repentance ". In the same year, the first version of Rich Wilson's Lifting Shadows , an authorized history of
3977-697: The band's first twenty years, was released. The 2007–08 Chaos in Motion Tour started off in Italy. Dream Theater played in the Gods of Metal concert on June 3, 2007, as well as various other European festivals including the Netherlands' Fields of Rock Festival, UK's Download Festival , the French festival Hellfest Summer Open Air alongside Megadeth , Korn , Mastodon and Slayer . The North American leg of
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4074-550: The band. The beginning months of 1986 were filled with various concert dates in and around the New York City area. During this time, the band recorded a collection of demos, titled The Majesty Demos . The initial run of 1,000 sold out within six months, and dubbed copies of the cassette became popular within the progressive metal scene. The Majesty Demos are still available in their original tape format today, despite being released officially on CD, through Mike Portnoy's YtseJam Records (and on InsideOut in 2022, after YtseJam Records
4171-399: The band. On June 9, 1990, at a gig at Sundance in Bay Shore, New York, Dream Theater introduced Steve Stone as their new singer after playing half the set as an instrumental band. Stone had successfully recorded demos with Dream Theater, but he was fired following a single, ill-fated live performance. According to Mike Portnoy, Stone moved around the stage in a rather odd manner, seemingly doing
4268-442: The band. Petrucci and Myung have been the only two constant members. Portnoy remained until 2010, when he was replaced by Mike Mangini after deciding to leave to pursue other musical projects, before rejoining Dream Theater in October 2023. After a brief stint with Chris Collins, followed by Charlie Dominici (who was dismissed from Dream Theater shortly after the release of their 1989 debut album When Dream and Day Unite ), LaBrie
4365-417: The band. Throughout the video, viewers get to see the band perform the song, singing and playing their respective instruments, and act out their roles as the freedom fighters in the story. When doing the latter, four of the members get captured by the Queen's minions and taken to their mistress, who proceeds to have them absorbed into her computer shrine. The fifth freedom fighter, played by Geoff Tate, rescues
4462-484: The chart. The album featured "The Shattered Fortress", the last in Mike Portnoy's series of songs about his 12-step recovery from alcoholism, as well as the song "The Best of Times", described by Portnoy as "a real heavy personal subject about my dad who passed away during the making of the album ... He was battling cancer throughout its making." The band also embarked on a second Progressive Nation tour, including
4559-513: The completion of the tour, Dream Theater returned to the studio to finish the recording of their seventh album, Train of Thought . In contrast to the extended songs of their previous album, the band aimed to write a more song-oriented album, inspired in part by covering the Master of Puppets and Number of the Beast albums on their previous concert tour. Although the album was a critical success, its more straightforward metal sound alienated many of
4656-685: The concept of time-changes to a new level, combining thrash metal, syncopation and prog in their albums Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1989), giving rise to an extremely technical approach based on the rhythmic deconstruction typical in jazz fusion . This same direction in prog metal would be later integrated into death metal by bands such as Atheist ( Unquestionable Presence , 1991), which would become known as technical death metal or progressive death metal . Bands which also explored fusion-inspired prog metal include most notably Death and Cynic . The major US bands that contribute to further delineating and developing
4753-517: The contract upon its absorption of EastWest Records . Dream Theater started the Octavarium Tour extensively throughout 2005 and 2006 to celebrate their 20th Anniversary as a band, including a headlining spot on Gigantour alongside Megadeth and put together by frontman Dave Mustaine , also featuring Fear Factory , Nevermore and Symphony X . During a show on August 2, 2005, in Dallas,
4850-525: The djent movement, Dream Theater having been one of the earliest progressive metal bands to incorporate seven-stringed guitars into their music. Proyecto Eskhata, a Spanish band, has received much press coverage in Spain for its fusion of progressive rock and rap metal , which journalists have described as "progressive rap metal". Progressive doom is a fusion genre that combines elements of progressive metal and doom metal . Bands include King Goat, Below
4947-424: The fan base, a tight veil of secrecy enveloped the writing and recording process. The only things fans were privy to prior to its release were a track list that had been leaked against the band's wishes, and a release date. In 1999, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was released to high critical acclaim, being lauded as the band's magnum opus, despite only reaching No. 73 on the US album chart. The album
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#17327810059595044-459: The few copies which were sold with the original artwork have since become rare collector's items. Putting the whole ordeal behind them, Dream Theater once again entered BearTracks Studios to record their sixth studio album. Four years after they first petitioned East West to allow them to release a double album, they finally got their chance with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence . The first disc consisted of five tracks of 7–13 minutes in length, and
5141-570: The first time that the band has written and recorded an exclusive track for an outside project. "Raw Dog" includes the first ever commercially recorded harpejji track, performed by Jordan Rudess , as well as Dream Theater's final recorded performance with Mike Portnoy on drums prior to his departure from the band in 2010. In December 2009, during their Black Clouds & Silver Linings tour whilst visiting Australia, Dream Theater appeared with one support act, Pain of Salvation. In March 2010, they toured South America with Bigelf . Afterwards, during
5238-557: The first time, since the release of Images and Words, where the group performed in small venues and performance halls. In September 2008, the band released a DVD set called Chaos in Motion 2007–2008 , featuring songs recorded at several shows during the Chaos in Motion tour. On October 7, 2008, Dream Theater returned to Avatar Studios to begin work on their tenth album, resuming their relationship with Paul Northfield to engineer and mix
5335-413: The former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter. The music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodox harmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequent meter changes and intense syncopation . The rhythmic aspects are especially emphasized in the djent subgenre. Although the genre emerged towards
5432-401: The fourth show, Charlie Dominici was let go because the band was starting to feel the limitations of his voice based upon the vocal style they wanted. The band was looking for a singer with a style more like Bruce Dickinson or Geoff Tate , and Dominici's stage presence was not what they wanted for a frontman. Shortly after, however, the band Marillion asked Dream Theater to open for them at
5529-731: The genre are Psychotic Waltz and Dream Theater . The former, with an approach halfway in between Watchtower and Fates Warning, produced A Social Grace (1990), melding their signature sound with the psychedelic Into the Everflow (1992), while the latter explored the legacy of the bands that preceded them while advancing their personal style with When Dream and Day Unite (1989). Both albums focused on keyboards and band members' instrumental skills. As for Dream Theater, their efforts resulted in two fundamental albums, which helped institutionalize classic progressive metal — Images and Words (1992) and Awake (1994). Among European pioneers of
5626-580: The genre are Germany's Sieges Even , who, starting out of technical thrash stylistically significant to Watchtower, explored the more technical and angular side of progressive metal with The Art of Navigating by the Stars (2005). Among the bands of the late 1990s who brought innovation to the genre are the Dutch Ayreon (a project by Arjen Anthony Lucassen ) and Swedes Pain of Salvation . Ayreon focused on theatrical and melodramatic rock operas Into
5723-451: The greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was also ranked as the 15th Greatest Concept Album in March 2003 by Classic Rock magazine. By 2018, Dream Theater had sold over 12 million records worldwide and they have received three Grammy Award nominations (including one win in 2022). Along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning , the band has been referred to as one of the "big three" of
5820-438: The label was fired. As a result, the new team at the company were unaccustomed to the relationship Dream Theater had with former East West personnel, and they pressured them to write an album that was more accessible. In mid-1997, they entered the studio to write their next album. In addition to pressuring the band to adopt a more mainstream sound, East West recruited writer/producer Desmond Child to work with Petrucci on polishing
5917-606: The late 2000s, bands such as Periphery, Tesseract , Animals as Leaders and Vildhjarta popularized the "djent" style of progressive metal in a sound originally developed by Meshuggah . It is characterized by high- attack , palm-muted, syncopated riffs (often incorporating polymeters ), as well as use of extended-range guitars. Extended-range guitars also feature in other forms of progressive metal; artists including Dream Theater, Devin Townsend , Dir En Grey , and Ne Obliviscaris have used seven-string guitars without being part of
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#17327810059596014-472: The late-1980s, it was not until the 1990s that progressive metal achieved widespread success. Watchtower , Queensrÿche , Dream Theater , Tool , Symphony X , Shadow Gallery , King's X , and Fates Warning are a few examples of progressive metal bands who achieved commercial success. Soon after the rise of the genre's popularity, other thrash and death metal bands started to incorporate elements of progressive music in their work. Progressive metal, as
6111-402: The lyrics to his song "You or Me". The whole band substantially reworked the song, and it appeared on the album as "You Not Me" with a chorus that bore little resemblance to the original. Child also had a noticeable impact on the album, with a shift towards less complex and more radio-friendly compositions. The band wrote almost two CDs worth of material, including a 20-minute-long follow-up to
6208-416: The music written before acquiring LaBrie. Derek Shulman and Atco Records (now East West ), a division of Elektra Records , signed Dream Theater to a seven-album contract based on a three-song demo (later made available as "The Atco Demos" through the Dream Theater fan club ). The first album to be recorded under their new record contract was Images and Words (1992). For promotion, the label released
6305-494: The name YtseJam). Until 1991, the band remained focused in an attempt to hire another singer and writing additional music. It was during this period that they wrote the majority of what would become Images and Words (1992). In January 1991, the band received a demo tape from Kevin James LaBrie , of glam metal band Winter Rose. The band had received the tape just before they were about to commit to another singer. The band
6402-709: The nature of the middle eastern elements of their music, which is known for using time signatures that are uncommon in the west , expansive song structures, and microtones . As their career developed, they would later play in a more traditional progressive metal style, comparable to Opeth, Symphony X, and the like, while maintaining their "oriental" edge. Steven Wilson, who lived in Israel for some time playing in Blackfield , found Ophaned Land to be "something special" after listening to Mabool and, would end up producing and engineering The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR . In
6499-562: The performance. The show was filmed and eventually released in early 2001 as the band's first DVD release, Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York , which was certified Gold in the US on November 8, 2002. Since several songs from the second half of the four-hour show had to be cut from the DVD to save space, the band also released the full show on the live CD Live Scenes from New York . The original cover depicted one of Dream Theater's early logos (the Images and Words -era burning heart, modeled on
6596-564: The progressive metal genre, responsible for its development and popularization. Dream Theater (then-Majesty) was formed in Massachusetts in 1985 when guitarist John Petrucci , bassist John Myung , and drummer Mike Portnoy decided to form a band while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston . Petrucci and Myung were childhood friends from Kings Park, New York , and met Portnoy of Long Beach, New York while at Berklee. The trio started by covering Rush and Iron Maiden songs in
6693-509: The record. The album, titled Black Clouds & Silver Linings , was released on June 23, 2009. In addition to the standard CD, the album was made available on vinyl LP, as well as a 3-disc Special Edition CD that includes the full album, a CD of instrumental mixes of the album and a CD of six cover songs from artists such as Queen and Rainbow . On July 1, 2009, the album debuted at No. 6 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, with first week sales totalling 40,285, making their highest entry on
6790-505: The rehearsal rooms at Berklee. Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy joined on the name Majesty for their newly formed group. According to The Score So Far... documentary, they were waiting in line for tickets to a Rush concert at the Berklee Performance Center while listening to the band on a boom box. Portnoy commented that the ending of the song " Bastille Day " (from the album Caress of Steel ) sounded "majestic". It
6887-404: The rest of the band that he would be quitting Dream Theater to concentrate on his own musical interests, since he was no longer interested in touring or the style of music which Dream Theater performed. As a result, the band had to scramble to find a replacement keyboardist before a tour could be considered. Former Yngwie Malmsteen and Dio keyboardist Jens Johansson , who would go on to become
6984-566: The same time as the video 5 Years in a Livetime , which covered the years from Kevin Moore's departure to the Falling into Infinity promotional tour. In 1997, Magna Carta Records ' Mike Varney invited Portnoy to assemble a progressive " supergroup " to work on an album, which would become the first in a long string of side-projects for the members of Dream Theater. The lineup consisted of Portnoy on drums, Petrucci on guitar, Tony Levin on bass, and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who had finished with
7081-428: The second disc was devoted entirely to the 42-minute title track, which remains to date the longest song Dream Theater has written. Many of the song's melodies and musical themes originated in an instrumental piece, written by Rudess, which would eventually become the song's "Overture". Those themes were then expanded by the rest of the band to form individual chapters in a complete story. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7178-619: The show was a success, and Rudess was asked to fill the keyboardist position permanently, he opted to tour with The Dixie Dregs instead, since it granted him more personal latitude. Dream Theater hired fellow Berklee alumnus Derek Sherinian , who had previously toured and recorded with Alice Cooper and KISS , to fill in for the Waking Up the World Tour . By the conclusion of the tour, the band decided to take Sherinian on as Moore's full-time replacement. Once again finding themselves with
7275-399: The summer of 2010, Dream Theater supported Iron Maiden on the US and Canadian legs of their summer tour which were the last shows DT played during 2010. Progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal or prog ) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock , combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar -driven sound of
7372-565: The theatrical aspect of the album, with the first half of each show comprising the entire Scenes From a Memory album accompanied by a film showing dramatized portions of the story projected onto a video screen behind the stage. For the last date of the North American leg, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, actors were hired to play characters in the story, and a gospel choir was enlisted to perform in some sections of
7469-583: The time, he later revealed in the 2004 DVD commentary for 5 Years in a Livetime that he had been so discouraged during this period that he had considered disbanding Dream Theater altogether. During the European leg of the Touring Into Infinity world tour, two shows were recorded for a live album titled Once in a LIVEtime , in France and The Netherlands . The album was released at around
7566-609: The tour began on July 24 in San Diego , California and wrapped up on August 26 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . They played with opening acts Redemption and Into Eternity . The Chaos In Motion Tour continued for the rest of the year and into 2008, playing shows in Asia, South America and, for the first time, Australia . On April 1, 2008, a two-disc compilation album titled Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
7663-476: The tour's first performances in Europe. Opeth , Unexpect and Bigelf supported Dream Theater in Europe, while Zappa Plays Zappa , Pain of Salvation , and Beardfish were slated to perform on the North American leg. However, Pain of Salvation and Beardfish were unable to tour with Dream Theater and Zappa Plays Zappa because of financial troubles within their respective record labels. The two new bands that filled
7760-424: The track listing that they felt best represented their musical careers. After the release of Greatest Hit , drummer Mike Portnoy organized a new tour called Progressive Nation 2008 . Unlike previous Dream Theater tours, performances were held in cities that they had not visited before in the past (such as Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada) or cities they had not played in for several years. This tour also marked
7857-686: The two different approaches. 1960s pioneers King Crimson maintained their musical innovation while incorporating a harder approach, using dissonance and experimental tones, yet still maintaining a relationship to the power chords of hard rock, with the main example being " 21st Century Schizoid Man ". Canadian trio Rush are widely recognized as bridging the gap between hard rock, English progressive rock, and pure heavy metal. Initially influenced by Led Zeppelin , they evolved to combine established progressive rock technique with blues-based power chords. Records such as 2112 (1976) showcased technical expertise and complex compositional skill while still utilizing
7954-565: The two seminal works in 1986: Rage for Order and Awaken the Guardian . In the following years the two bands, while following different paths – more basic and simple the first, more articulate and complex the latter — explore and expand the technical refinement and sonic finesse of their music, continuing to lay the foundations of the genre with important works such as Operation: Mindcrime (1988) by Queensrÿche, and Perfect Symmetry (1989) by Fates Warning. Progressive metal also found
8051-757: The vacated slots for the Progressive Nation 2009 tour in North America were Bigelf and Scale the Summit with Bigelf performing on both European and North American legs. After the Progressive Nation Tour, Dream Theater re-entered the studio to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the God of War III soundtrack EP God of War: Blood & Metal . The track, titled "Raw Dog" ( God (of) War reversed), marked
8148-471: Was completed by the two bands, which Dream Theater supported Yes, a band which had been a major influence on their own musical style. After which Dream Theater continued to tour the world with their so-called "An Evening With Dream Theater" shows. The latter were captured in another live CD/DVD release, recorded at the famous Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo , Japan on their Train of Thought Tour . Live at Budokan
8245-430: Was deemed too long for studio placement. It had nevertheless been performed live by the band, who continued to revise it in the years leading up to 1995. The petition was successful, and the group entered BearTracks Studios in New York in May 1995 to rewrite and record the now 23-minute-long song with Sherinian contributing significantly to the final product. The band released A Change of Seasons as an EP along with
8342-408: Was given a copy of Opeth's prior record Still Life (1999) from a friend, and, after listening, noted that the experimental music he had been after had drifted into extreme metal . Being mutual fans of each other's work, Steven ended up co-producing Blackwater Park along with Opeth's frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, and would go on to co-produce Deliverance (2002) and Damnation (2003), together
8439-407: Was hired as the band's singer in 1991. Dream Theater's first keyboardist, Kevin Moore , left the band after three albums and was replaced by Derek Sherinian in 1995 after a period of touring. The band recorded one album (and an EP ) with Sherinian, who was replaced by current keyboardist Jordan Rudess in 1999. Dream Theater has released fifteen studio albums. The band's highest-selling release
8536-463: Was mixed by David Bottrill, but only a few of his mixes made it on the final album. The bulk was remixed by Kevin Shirley , who had produced Falling into Infinity . The rest of the mixes can be heard in the band's official bootleg The Making of Scenes from a Memory . The subsequent Metropolis 2000 world tour was by far their largest to date, and took over a year to complete. The concerts reflected
8633-630: Was not nearly as successful as "Pull Me Under". The success of "Pull Me Under", combined with relentless touring throughout the U.S. and Japan , caused Images and Words to achieve gold record certification in the States and platinum status in Japan. A tour of Europe followed in 1993, which included a show at London 's famed Marquee Club . The show was recorded and released as Live at the Marquee , Dream Theater's first official live album. Additionally,
8730-402: Was released by the band. The title jokingly references the song " Pull Me Under ", the band's only significant radio hit . It also includes three song re-mixes from their second album, Images and Words , five edited versions of previously released songs, and a track from a single B-side . Unlike most greatest hits compilations, Dream Theater was actively involved with the album, coming up with
8827-456: Was released on June 5, 2007. The record marked their first with new label Roadrunner Records , which in 2010 would become a wholly owned subsidiary of the band's previous label Atlantic Records . Roadrunner implemented increased promotion for the album and Systematic Chaos duly reached number 19 on the Billboard 200. It also oversaw the release of a video for " Constant Motion " on July 14,
8924-562: Was released on October 5, 2004, and was certified Platinum in the US on January 26, 2005. After their Train of Thought promotional tour, Dream Theater entered the Hit Factory studios in NYC to record their eighth album. They would in fact become the final group to use the famous studio, which closed on April 1, 2005. Octavarium was released on June 7, 2005, and took the band's sound in yet another new direction. Its eight songs included
9021-413: Was shut down). In November 1986, after a few months of writing and performing together, Chris Collins left the band. After a year of trying to find a replacement, Charlie Dominici , who was far older and more experienced than anyone else in the band, successfully auditioned for the group. With the stability that Dominici's appointment brought to Majesty, they began to increase the number of shows played in
9118-419: Was so impressed by his demo that he was flown from Canada to New York for an audition. LaBrie jammed on three songs with the band and was immediately hired to fill the vocalist position. Once recruited, LaBrie decided to drop his first name to avoid confusion with the other Kevin in the band. For the next few months, the band returned to playing live shows (still mostly around NYC), while working on vocal parts for
9215-644: Was then decided that Majesty would be the band's name. The trio then set out to fill the remaining positions in the group. Petrucci asked his high school bandmate Kevin Moore to play the keyboard. After he accepted the position, another friend from home, Chris Collins, was recruited as lead vocalist after band members heard him sing a cover of " Queen of the Reich " by Queensrÿche . During this time, Portnoy, Petrucci, and Myung's hectic schedules forced them to abandon their studies to concentrate on their music, as they did not feel they could learn more in college. Moore also left his college, SUNY Fredonia , to concentrate on
9312-492: Was undertaken in North America. Referred to in the band's promotional material as the "Escape from the Studio American tour", the tour featured Queensrÿche and Dream Theater as co-headlining acts with Fates Warning performing supporting act duties. As a finale for each concert there was an extended encore in which both Dream Theater and Queensrÿche performed together on stage simultaneously, often playing cover songs. At
9409-539: Was very well received by critics and the press. It was the most publicized of Dream Theater's albums since Awake , debuting on the Billboard charts at No. 46 and the Billboard Internet charts at No. 1. The subsequent world tour included a select few special "album cover" gigs (see Cover songs section, below), in which they played Metallica's Master of Puppets and Iron Maiden's The Number of
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