dream theater finishes 16th album: “You guys have no clue what’s about to happen”
Dream Theater has finished writing their new album, the first since drummer Mike Portnoy came back to the band. Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci shared an update in a video.
“Okay, here we are. We did it”, an elated Petrucci said about the band’s 16th album. “We worked so hard our beards are gray.” Drummer Mike Portnoy: “Yeah, when this session started, I was completely black up there.”
Petrucci: “So it’s March 30th. It’s a Saturday, 2024, and we just completed the writing of the record and the tracking of the drums. Isn’t that crazy?” Portnot: “I could not be more psyched. Fricking came out so amazing. So excited. Cannot wait to unleash this.”
No clue
Petrucci hinted at the excitement to come. “You guys have no clue what’s about to happen…”
He also remembered that the last time Mike tracked drums for the band was 15 years ago.
Portnoy spoke about his return to the band in his first full interview since rejoining, explaining that time healed the wounds and he reconnected with the band members, starting with John Petrucci, due to their close family ties.
“His wife and my wife were in a band together even before we knew our wives, our kids have grown up together, my daughter and John Petrucci’s daughter shared an apartment together in New York for the last 5 years… the families were still close, so John and I inevitably reconnected on a personal level.”
The COVID lockdown played a role in their reconnection, as they worked on music projects together. The final step was rekindling his friendship with singer James LaBrie.
Reconnecting with LaBrie
Portnoy remarked: “I think the final piece was me reconnecting with James LaBrie… Within five seconds of seeing each other it was huge, kisses… And it was like any of the drama and bullshit that happened during all of those years of the split, it just melted away immediately.”
