Originally published in Forbes.com · October 2024
Dream Theater’s New Single Earns The Band Their Second Career Hit On Several Charts
Article2 min read
Hugh McIntyre
Oct 28, 2024
Dream Theater has been entertaining millions of fans for almost 40 years now. The progressive metal outfit earned their status as genre favorites and legends long ago, and they have nothing left to prove. The rockers are still hard at work, even after so long, and their latest release has become a very special smash for the band.
“Night Terror” debuts on several Billboard charts in America this week. The latest single from Dream Theater launches on a trio of tallies, and it’s a rare win for the group.
On all three of the tallies that “Night Terror” reaches this frame, the band doubles their total number of hits. The new single marks just the second smash from Dream Theater on all of the charts it breaks onto this time around, and it’s a sizable win on at least one of them.
“Night Terror” opens highest on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. Dream Theater starts the track at No. 4 on the list of the top-selling hard rock-only cuts throughout the country. It’s the third-highest-ranking debut this time around, coming in behind new arrivals from Breaking Benjamin and Ice Nine Kills in what turned out to be a very busy frame on the style-specific roster.
The same single nearly enters the top 10 on the Rock Digital Song Sales tally, but it misses out on that tier by a few spaces. “Night Terror” debuts on the purchase-only chart at No. 12.
Dream Theater’s newest single also manages to perform well enough to find space on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, which is not only all about purchases. That tally takes into account streams and airplay as well, but sales likely do most of the work when it comes to turning the just-released track into a hit. “Night Terror” is new to the Hot Hard Rock Songs tally at No. 25, which is the lowest rung available.
On all three of those charts, Dream Theater’s latest comes in behind the same years-old title, which still stands as their biggest yet. “The Holiday Spirit Carries On” once climbed to No. 2 on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, No. 4 on the rock-only version of that list, and No. 10 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs ranking, and the band has yet to beat those positions.
“Night Terror” serves as the first single from Dream Theater’s upcoming album Parasomnia. The full-length—the band’s sixteenth—is expected to arrive in February 2025.