Originally published in Metal Hammer magazine (UK) 202 · February 2010
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Dream Theater are hoping to return to the UK for another stint on one or more UK festivals over the summer of 2010. Last year saw the release of their awesome Black Clouds & Silver Linings and the massive success of their Progressive Nation tour with Opeth, Unexpect and Bigelf, not to mention a rapturous reception at Download. No wonder Mike Portnoy and the boys are keen to head back to the British Isles. The album – the band’s 10th – went top 10 in nine different countries; the peak of an upward trajectory (only marred by a lull between 1997 and 1999) that started back in 1989 with their debut, When Dream And Day Unite. Mike Portnoy was on hand at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards last year to pick up the Spirit Of Prog Award for Dream Theater and Metal Hammer Greece voted DT’s second album Images And Words number 33 in their list of the 100 greatest metal albums of all time. Mike also told Hammer what made him want to form a band: “Honestly, I’ve always been a music fanatic. I could never have done anything else. I just had to play the drums.”