Dream Theater – Parasomnia | Album Review 

Here is the latest offering from everyone’s annoying Step-Father’s second favourite prog band, obviously behind the immortal Rush (F Neil Peart): Dream Theater, a band that is as brilliant as it is pretentious.

When you look back at Dream Theater’s back catalogue, it has to be conceded that as easy as it is to laugh at them, naming an album: Metropolis PT.2: Scenes From a Memory, is laying down the goddamn gauntlet. “PT.2!? I don’t even remember listening to PT.1, oh man, I’m way out of my depth here.” Well, this year’s offering from the Theater is Parasomnia, the first in many years to feature classic-era drummer, Mike Portnoy. This album’s first track, ‘In the Arms of Morpheus’, will make fans think: ‘Yep, that’s a Dream Theater song alright.’ And not much else, there’s not much here that distinguishes it from the rest of their back catalogue. This could just as easily be a track from Octavarium or The Astonishing. It starts with some perfectly acceptable groove, but not a groove like that contentious metal band offers. More like a hippy Uncle smoking a bone and jamming out to some Phish kind of groove. Next, the listener is met with some of the Final Fantasy XVII Soundtrack -or whatever it is they’re up to now-guitar soloing which is seemingly without end.

T’Night Terror’, seems to be whispering some Slayer-type evil riffage, without actually having the confidence to fully commit to it. This song appears like it’s the answer to the question: What if Steely Dan decided to form a Slayer cover band? And so, the album next arrives at ‘Broken Man’. As this track progresses, like Viagra works to raise vigour in flaccidity, the memory of what the fans used to love about Dream Theater is finally ignited. Progressive-metal-jazz is the name of the game here, and baby, the game is good. This is Dream Theater at its best, less of a sterile demonstration of skilled musicianship, and instead a triumphant mastery of soul. Just when this recent musical arousal can’t become any more tumescent, we are introduced to a playful bit of sitar work. Perfection. This is the Dream Theater many fell in love with. Daring to push boundaries, refusing to allow themselves to be defined.

But like all good things in life, it doesn’t last long. Listening to the rest of the album, it has to be wondered -if the rumours are to be believed about this album’s artwork- if the guys over at Dream Theater simply typed: “Create basic Dream Theater Type Songs’ into Chat.GPT? There’s nothing really wrong with any of it, the lyrics, the singing, the musicianship. It’s all fine. It’s just, that this album feels like a musical equivalent of going to Subway. You know exactly what you’re getting, it’s somehow convinced you that it’s fresh and good for you despite being very long and functionally an entire loaf of bread. But there’s this nagging feeling in the back of the mind saying: ‘This is really just a bit rubbish, isn’t it?’