2014 tour program essay

For a band, there is no greater challenge than to face the wide open future and ask the question, “What can we create that has not been created before?” This is the spark that ignites the series of events that propels us through the process of writing and recording a new album. In the case of our latest self-titled release, we took this question more seriously than ever, as we felt like we were on the cusp of yet another new beginning.

We had established very deep roots and cultivated many faithful and supportive relationships with our listeners over the years, and we felt that moving forward, they deserved the best Dream Theater that we could possibly be. Thus the see was planted for how our future would unfold together both as band mates and as a band deeply connected with our audience.

You see, the great thing about being in Dream Theater, and one of the many awesome by-products of creating and performing progressive music for almost three decades, is that we have the most perfect audience to share it with. Dream Theater fans want more, expect more, and deserve more from us as musicians and songwriters and as a result, we challenge ourselves to deliver more. As we see things, this has always been a synergistic experience. Music doesn’t just begin and end with the creative process. It continues to live and breathe every time someone listens to it or it is being performed. That is the real beauty of this journey we’ve been on together, and one of the main reasons we have titled this tour “Along From The Ride.” It is an experience through which we can all go together, and we are not only fortunate to be able to do this, but also, we couldn’t be happier and more excited about the process.

When we first started talking about a direction for the new album back in the fall of 2012, one of the main concepts that we discussed was the idea of delivering a very bold and powerful statement. A statement of confidence, strength and commitment to what we do creatively and how we see music. We couldn’t feel more passionate and dedicated to our craft as musicians and songwriters, yet sometimes it’s difficult to communicate those sentiments to an audience after being together as a band for so long. It is easy to understand why someone would assume, “Ah, here is just another album from DT.” However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth! This album would be one to point to as a beacon of hope and positivity as well as a symbol of passion and dedication to what we all love and value so much. Self-titling our latest album would be our way of renewing our commitment to the future of progressive metal as we see it, and to our incredible audiences all around the world.

Yes, this all sounds very lofty and maybe slightly pompous but here’s the thing: by once again keeping it all about the music and showing a sort of quiet confidence in taking a minimalist approach to the album cover, and by making such a strong commitment to the musical content, we were demonstrating just the opposite. No need for convoluted or overwrought imagery, just the symbol of what we ultimately stand for musically. Let the listener discover the world inside on their own terms, without any preconceptions about what this new album may or may not be.

As we talked about this with our brilliant designer and illustrator Hugh Syme (whose work you presently hold in your hands), it became more and more evident that this new Dream Theater world would best be revealed inside the pages of the album artwork. Using the Majesty symbol as a recurring icon throughout, the notion of displaying it in various settings and atmospheres throughout the booklet was realized in many beautiful and creative ways, hopefully dismissing any doubts that we may have made things “too simple.”

During the writing, recording and mixing process from January to June of 2013, we rolled up our sleeves and intently built upon the musical mission which was first established at the start of the session, in order to bring forth what we promised ourselves we’d do. Throughout the process, we constantly reminded ourselves of our goals and routinely asked the question, “Are we still on the right path?” That’s how, as a group, we stayed focused on writing what we felt would make that powerful statement we talked about in the beginning and which would ultimately solidify this great relationship as a band with our listeners. Call it seeing “The Bigger Picture”!

We would not have been able to do any of this without the amazing talents of our engineer and mixer, Richard Chycki. Working with Rich on this album was an incredibly fun and enjoyable experience from the first day in the studio to the delivery of the masters. He brought all of our instruments to life and made them practically jump out of the speakers and demand your attention! He followed that commitment to detail and to the sonic quality of the album all the way through to the mixing process. It is with his support of our vision, countless hours of work and ears of gold that we were able to follow through with our original goal! Suffice it to say as well that without the efforts of our good friend, guitar/everything tech and studio coordinator Maddi, it all would have been a chaotic mess! He has become an invaluable member of our Dream team and we also owe much of the success of the making of this record to him and the countless tasks and responsibilities he took care of.

At the end of the day, above all the crazy notes and complex time signatures, making this sort of harmonious connection is absolutely the most important thing to us. It is why music is such an important part of all of our lives and it is what we all have in common. This brings us to tonight’s show.

Now it’s time to bring everything to life! Not only the obvious element which is the music (after all, we are here to play!) but the very world that we have created for you throughout the CD pages and album sleeves of Dream Theater. We hope to make this night the best Dream Theater experience possible – from before the show even begins, to after we crash down on the final chord.

We still make albums with the fantasy that listeners will set aside a special time to take in the entire experience from start to finish, just as we all used to when we first got a new Rush or Pink Floyd album. In the same way, we want to present a coherent evening that will be both aurally and visually stimulating. And hopefully when it’s over, we will all have experienced something together that brought us joy.

Does this still sound a bit overblown and far reaching? Probably! But in the end, that is what makes us Dream Theater, and that is why we undoubtedly have the greatest fans on the planet. Without you, we would not exist. Thank you for coming “Along For The Ride” with us!

Dream Theater