Latest articles by Rich Wilson
The Pineapple Thief asked how the world went off-script with It Leads To This
Order, chaos, abandoned comfort zones and healthy tension arose as Bruce Soord and Gavin Harrison took the lead with the band’s 14th album – which left Soord feeling like it was only their fourth
Mike Portnoy and Neal Morse had a furious spat that spawned the greatest record of their band’s career
One wanted The Similitude Of A Dream to be a double album, and one didn’t – and neither of them understood the other’s position when they stormed out of their studio in 2016
Can’t hear John Myung’s bass in Dream Theater? He says it’s a “minor detail”
When his supergroup side-project The Jelly Jam released their most recent album in 2016, Myung compared his role in the power trio with his day job in the prog metal giants
Pixie boots, dad dancing, mistaken identity and falling off stage: Dream Theater’s early days
Today they’re known for the intensity of their polished shows. But of course, that’s not how they started out…
“His manager was angry. He cancelled the whole project”: Arjen Lucassen’s lost Bruce Dickinson album
Dutch composer’s collaborators include James LaBrie, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Floor Jansen and others. He did one song with Dickinson too – but it could have been so much more
When this singer had his band’s logo tattooed on his arm, they were already planning to fire him
The disaster of their first album – which remains unpopular with many fans – sent them into a nosedive. Dismissing their vocalist was part of the course correction that made them massive
“Dream Theater have been completely unchallenged until now”: How Sons Of Apollo flew before they fell
Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian had big ambitions when they teamed up with Guns N’ Roses, Mr Big and Journey alumni
The prog metal giants who blasted back at being trolled for sounding like themselves
Singer and guitarist shared their frustrations over being called out for their vocals, drum sound and production values as their 15th album arrived
“They go for the heart as well as the head”: Marillion’s 20 best songs (they can’t believe No.7)
Does the only album with four entries suggest there’s a definitive record from the neo-prog giants? Does the split between the Fish and Steve Hogarth eras reveal a preferred vocalist?
Steven Wilson and two ex Marillion members walked into a band… What went wrong?
The prog group established a reputation for sold-out killer shows in the 80s, but fizzled out without warning. Now the core members have returned with an EP and an album to follow
How Mike Portnoy became Avenged Sevenfold’s saviour after the The Rev died
Dream Theater man’s stand-in role may have complicated his own position, but the younger band were grateful for his unflappable optimism as they fought to keep going
IQ’s Peter Nicholls learned to stop hating his voice, love songwriting and keep albums shorter
After watching a YouTube review, the 45-year veterans resisted the temptation to make Dominion another double LP. But they made enough music to limit the time before their next release
How Mike Portnoy reinvented himself after the trauma of leaving two massive bands
In 2011, while trying to find homes for his enormous collection of Dream Theater drumkits, Mike Portnoy was planning a new direction with Flying Colors, Adrenaline Mob, PSMS and Transatlantic
Tiles’ Chris Herin gathered Alex Lifeson, Peter Frampton, Martin Barre for his solo album
An Alex Lifeson track worthy of an alternative mix, a digital reunion of former Jethro Tull members and a delightful solo from Peter Frampton colour Chris Herin’s solo album Hiding In Plain Sight
“Now I’m James LaBrie’s biggest cheerleader”: Mike Portnoy on his return to Dream Theater
Co-founding drummer discusses how easy 16th album Parasomnia came together, his sadness when he thought a reunion might not happen, and how he’s not quite the control freak some people think he is
"Verifies the theory that Big Big Train are a band for whom eloquent inspiration and a prolific brilliance comes naturally." Big Big Train's English Electric Part 2
Not yet ratedBig Big Train's companion to 2012's English Electric Part One arrives right on time…
Jordan Rudess hopes his Permission to Fly band will become a permanent part of his world
Keyboard master – who took the plunge and played guitar on his new solo album – on his decision to lay aside some of the crazy and create a song-based work
How the loss of a pet and a health scare brought Pure Reason Revolution back to the studio
Jon Courtney had to deal with writer’s block and line-up issues before securing Pink Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt for new album Coming Up To Consciousness
Fish and Marillion were only together for seven-years - here are the 11 best moments
11 songs from the era when the charismatic Scotsman and Aylesbury's finest prog adventurers defined a musical identity that defied dismissal
Arjen Lucassen didn’t make it easy for himself with Ayreon, Star One and other projects
Stubbornly starting out with rock operas in the grunge era, he’s managed to secure guest spots from James LaBrie, Fish, Mikael Akerfeldt and others – but he still regrets the ones who got away
Louise Patricia Crane can’t escape her dark aspect, so she’s brought it into the light
Former The Eden House vocalist was determined to be brutally honest about herself on Netherworld, with assistance from Jakko Jakszyk and Ian Anderson
The best Dream Theater songs featuring Mike Portnoy (to date)
In anticipation of the drummer’s appearance on their 16th album, we present a list that many thought would never be added to
Why Airbag had to call out cancel culture on The Century Of The Self
Guitarist Bjørn Riis says their new concept album grew with the benefit of no record label deadline – but that it was still important to set their own completion date
