Dream Theater's Parasomnia, released in February 2025.
This album marks Portnoy's grand return to drums.
It's a concept album about parasomnia, a disorder encompassing a wide range of unusual and undesirable experiences and behaviors that people experience during sleep, also known as disruptive sleep disorders. The album's atmospheres are fitting for the purpose, in my opinion, leaving the perception of a dreamlike and pressing disorder. It's a dark album, with aggressive notes that often leave a sense of tension. The goal of conceptualizing the sensation of a "diffuse sleep" in music is achieved, with the presentation of a gray and rainy musical reality.
Beautiful but not surprising. What you'd expect from this band, so excellent, but not a masterpiece in my opinion.
Not superior to the band's recently released masterpieces, but in my opinion (even though I haven't listened to them in depth, but rather listened to them on CD, I admit) superior to their latest works.
Musically, it's perfectly played, as these monsters have accustomed us to, and the production is top-notch.
My favorite tracks are "A Broken Man" and "Night Terror": the most aggressive ones, where Portnoy's power is unleashed.
The ballad "Bend The Clock" is very beautiful, a sound reminiscent of "old" Dream Theater, with a great acoustic guitar and exceptional vocals.
"The Shadow Man Incident," which closes the album at about twenty minutes, is incredibly moving, a great piece.
The atmospheres are dark, "ghostly," and suffused, with immersive sounds and elegant, yet decidedly disturbing, images.
There's no shortage of jazzier moments and instrumental virtuosity, with the feeling that this is an attempt to please longtime fans while also exploring new sounds, a sort of attempt to innovate while also reviving the past.
However, I found some clichés, something that reminds me of Rush or Kansas, some keyboard riffs worthy of Genesis, vocals that are sometimes '80s-esque, and a somewhat dated hard prog sound, moments where the choruses are more theatrical than complex. It's a nice thing for me, as I listen to prog without interruptions. A lot of prog and hard rock (sometimes old-school) alternates with purely metal syncopations and turns, and I wasn't expecting that.
In my opinion, it happens in many sections of the album. A virtue? A flaw? I've listened to it several times, and even though the album is enjoyable, I still enjoy listening to it. I stand by my initial assessment: it's excellent, but it doesn't hold up to their masterpieces from the best years: Images and Words from 1992, Awake from 1994, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory from 1999, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence from 2002.
After these comes Parasomnia, so it's an album you absolutely must have in your collection.
Tracks
1. In the Arms of Morpheus (5:22)
2. Night Terror (9:55)
3. A Broken Man (8:30)
4. Dead Asleep (11:06)
5. Midnight Messiah (7:58)
6. Are We Dreaming? (1:29)
7. Bend the Clock (7:25)
8. The Shadow Man Incident (19:32)
Running Time 71:17
The Lineup
- James LaBrie - lead vocals
- John Petrucci - guitars, backing vocals
- Jordan Rudess - keyboards, backing vocals
- John Myung - bass, backing vocals
- Mike Portnoy - drums and percussion, backing vocals
.jpeg "Awake by Dream Theater")
