At some point in their career every band inevitably gets it in the neck from a section of their fanbase. When Dream Theater released fifteenth studio album A View From The Top Of The World in 2021 – their last to feature drummer Mike Mangini before Mike Portnoy returned – Prog found guitarist John Petrucci and singer James LaBrie in defiant mood, demanding of the trollers: if you don't want us to sound like us, who do you want us to sound like?
Tucked away in an inconspicuous industrial park in the centre of Long Island, New York, is Dream Theater’s newly-renovated bolthole. In the space of 18 months, the studio has been the setting for the recording of guitarist John Petrucci’s solo album, the third Liquid Tension Experiment record, and, in October 2020, where Dream Theater recorded latest release A View From The Top Of The World.
“My solo album, Terminal Velocity, was the first thing I did in there,” recalls Petrucci. “It proved we could make a record there; and for me, at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, it kept my sanity because it’s only about 20 minutes from my house. So it became my office; I’d go there every day to do the thing I love – play the guitar and be creative.
“We knew that we could record there and it would sound awesome. It’s nice being in a space where you’re not worried about hourly overheads, which you would have been in a studio. Even if you blocked it out for a couple of months, it can really add up quickly.”
Although the band weren’t scheduled to write another album, the loss of touring provided them with the opportunity to reconvene in the studio. With Terminal Velocity and LTE3 recently released, a dearth of fresh ideas would have been understandable. Instead, ongoing inspiration and a different approach to writing led to a wealth of music being created.
“If it was ever going to come to a stop, it would have been over the last year and a half,” says Petrucci. “I’ve made three records, one after the next, and my attitude was: ‘Let’s just go in and see what happens.’ When we first went in, I was thinking we could go about things differently. I felt we could perhaps simplify the recording and have more of a Rush Moving Pictures vibe. Once we started and wrote a track like The Alien, we realised that wasn’t going to happen.
“The Alien was in a time signature that Mike Mangini always wanted to do. We started playing along and the next thing you know, a song starts to develop. This album reminds me more of the old school, when you would get together with your band in rehearsals and write music. It’s the way Images And Words or our first album, When Dream And Day Unite, came together. We could just play, have fun and enjoy the time together.”
With singer James LaBrie unable to link up with the band due to travel restrictions, he joined via video link. He says he found it useful to be remote – it allowed him space to work on vocal melodies and lyrics. “I was in my studio here in Canada, and I was able to have our engineer, Jimmy T [James Meslin], pipe the band in and it sounded fantastic,” he says. “It was as if I was right in the room with them. In the past, if I had an idea in my head, I’d have to wait until they finished running something through before putting the idea down.
“This way, it was beautiful as I could mute them. I would have a recording device next to me and put something down straight away. It was a stronger situation for me, in the sense that I could control the environment. I then travelled to Long Island to record the vocals in the studio with John. It was something that we hadn’t done since Black Clouds & Silver Linings. It was interesting to come back to that; and we had a lot of fun, joking around with each other.”
The songs on A View From The Top Of The World have a distinctive, progressive edge that hark back to 1992’s Images And Words and 1999’s Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory. That influence is especially noticeable on Transcending Time and the title track. Was a conscious effort to propel the music in that direction? “Over the last few years, we reacquainted ourselves with those two albums after playing them live,” says Petrucci. “We were reminding ourselves of what was happening then and that writing style. The songs were longer and less traditional, they were more progressive but still heavy. We certainly did that with our last album, Distance Over Time, but it was in a more compact package.
“We were taking what we learned from that album and infusing it with the memories of playing that older material live. We were in a headspace of not putting any limitations on the music or worrying about song lengths. From that, the more progressive side was spawned because we weren’t putting any confines on the music.”
Mangini, who’s been with the band for more than a decade, has now become a pivotal part of the writing sessions, suggesting approaches and directions. It’s a role he’s relishing, and it’s appreciated by his bandmates, LaBrie explains. “For the last couple of albums, he really has been so integral to the songs. I think that’s why people are hearing him on the album and saying, ‘Oh, so this is Mike Mangini!’
“That isn’t to take away from what he did with the previous albums. It’s just that he was more sitting in as a drummer before; but now he’s able to show who and what he is because he’s very much a part of all the writing. I think he sounds phenomenal on the album.”
LaBrie contributed lyrics for The Alien and Answering The Call. The latter references some of the grimmer aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, but he was conscious of ensuring his words were not overly sanctimonious. “I never like to be preachy, and I always want to keep it so that the listener can interpret the words,” he explains. “Some lyricists are extremely political, but that’s not my bag. I’ve never really appreciated that, but if that’s their thing, they should go for it. I just don’t want to listen to it!
“I watched a documentary about Saudi Arabia and I was extremely disturbed. Those lyrics are dealing with the atrocities that the civilians in Saudi Arabia have to deal with. There’s a square where they do public executions. Women are stoned to death or just beheaded. It’s horrible – but I didn’t want to be that clear in the song. I wanted to represent the thought of, 'When do we stand up? We know what’s right and what’s fair, and when are we going to consciously take note of that voice and do something about it?’”
I was feeling like shit, but we still had to record. I’m willing to put it out even though I could have done much better
James LaBrie
For a band of Dream Theater’s stature, there’s always an understandable, excited hullabaloo that surrounds each studio release. But there remains a section of their fanbase who appear to delight in criticising the band: the production, Mangini’s drum sound – “or the vocals,” interjects LaBrie, perhaps sensing the direction of conversation.
“It’s a toxic environment, it really is,” he asserts. “Do you know what I’d like to say to those people? If you want to bash my vocals and you think that I’m not capable of doing it, just go on my Cameo and watch my videos. They are bare bones, with me in my en-suite, singing the songs that my fans are asking for. By that, I mean true fans who are asking me to sing for them, whether it’s Happy Birthday, Another Day or Learning To Live. It doesn’t matter. It’s just me standing there and going for it.
“There was a Budokan show when we performed Images And Words in full and I was feeling like shit, but we still had to go on there and record. I could have said, ‘Guys, we’re never going to release this!’ But I’m willing to put it out, even though I know I could have done much better. I think it’s just the world that we live in. Jordan said, ‘Guys, get ready – somebody is going to tell us what we’re not doing right!’ So, yes, bring it on, as we know what’s coming.”
People long for bands to do their thing. All people want Metallica to do is like sound like Metallica
John Petrucci
Petrucci argues: “If I’m not crazy about something, I don’t feel the need to go on there and start lambasting someone. There are some things I just don’t get. If somebody says, ‘This sounds like the same old thing,’ or ‘When are they going to do something different?’ it’s a weird comment to make. People long for bands to do their thing. All people want Metallica to do is like sound like Metallica. To say it sounds too much like Dream Theater, I just can’t wrap my head around it. You know, what do you want us to sound like? Should we sound like another band? That’s so bizarre to me.”
In spite of such snide distractions, A View From The Top Of The World has an innate positivity and energy that should thrill followers. It shouldn’t attract the level of polarised, exaggerated venom that 2016’s progressive rock opera, The Astonishing, received.
“Well, The Astonishing was so over the top,” agrees Petrucci. “Turning that into a novel, and doing the most over-the-top show we’ve ever done, checked off every single creative box for me. Was it maybe a little bit selfish on my part in getting it out there? Maybe, but it’s something that I’ve no regrets about. I understood that the reaction was going to be mixed.
“Whereas an album like our new one – this might sound arrogant, but if you’re a fan, how could you not like it? This album is just so Dream Theater that, if you like the band, you’re going to love this record. It’s everything that we’re about. It isn’t safe, but we also haven’t done anything where people will be saying, ‘What the hell were those guys thinking?’ There’s nothing lazy about it. It’s really fired up and I love that.”
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