It’s impossible to think that Dream Theater has never made an album based around sleep & the surrounding phenomena associated with it. Parasomnia then seeks to rectify that,while not a concept album in the strictest sense every song is based around something to do with sleep. There are some weighty things explored on this album with subjects ranging from sleep paralysis, sleepwalking, insomnia,ptsd and everything in between.
The band’s first album in 16 years to feature founding member Mike Portnoy is a surprisingly dark affair. Never a band to shy away from difficult topics,you would think in this instance having the Dream Theater family back together again would yield a more jubilant and triumphant sounding album.
With all of that in mind, Parasomnia is an exceptional album from top to bottom. Opening with the instrumental In the Arms of Morpheus instantly throws you into this album’s world. It has a dream-like lucid quality to it, managing to capture that moment where you slip out of the waking world and fall into a dream state, before violently jolting you awake with alarm clock sounds, juddering riffs and pounding drums. It certainly grabs your attention from the off.
The album’s first single Night Terror follows and is a classic Dream Theater stomper, with huge riffs, that trademark propulsive Portnoy drum work and a chorus delivered in the way only James Labrie can. It’s catchy as all hell and really signals the return to that signature sound that has been missing for sometime.
The albums other two singles couldn’t be more different from each other. A Broken Man is sombre, atmospheric and really brings into focus the horrors of PTSD. It’s mid paced rhythms allow the listener to really feel the weight of the narrative, before Jordan Rudess struts in with a jazzy piano freak out towards the end.
Midnight Messiah on the other hand is the album’s most accessible moment. It has a real thrashy punch that propels the track through your speakers. It recalls the work Portnoy did with Avenged Sevenfold, it also features his first lyrical contribution since rejoining the band, including a cheeky callback to Metropolis.
Dead Asleep is the album’s heaviest and most harrowing track. Based on a shocking true story. The backbone of John Petrucci & Mike Portnoy are at their most ferocious and locked here. There is a thick dense groove that travels through this track, as Labrie’s voice gets more menacing. The addition of choral elements helps add to the vivid and nightmarish picture being painted. Although the subject matter is grim, this is one of the albums stand out moments.
Are We Dreaming? is another instrumental featuring organ and church bells, while hushed vocals play out a conversation in the background. It’s a brief moment of serenity that allows the listener to catch their breath. Bend the Clock is as close as we get to a ballad. It’s a sweeping epic with all the grandeur you have come to expect from Dream Theater.
Parasomnia closes out with the near 20 minute long The Shadow Man Incident. Luring you in with some music box jingles before all hell breaks loose. Everything Dream Theater is known for is present and correct in this bonkers musical tapas. Do you want odd time signatures? epic guitar moments? keyboards that sound like video game chase music? it’s all here and it’s all so deliriously put together in a whirlwind of musicality and craftsmanship that proves even after 40 years, this band is not running out of ideas any time soon.
This is the most focused & vital Dream Theater has sounded in a long time. Remarkably the classic lineup picks right back up where they left off and it feels like they haven’t missed a beat. Parasomnia easily could have been the follow up to 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings and in many ways it is.
This is a stunning work of art from a band that is operating on levels that most bands could ever dream of reaching. If you are a longtime Dream Theater fan then this is the album you have been waiting for, and if you are new to the band then this is a hell of a place to start. Parasomnia stakes an early claim for the first essential metal album of 2025.
Parasomnia is out on February 7th via InsideOutMusic. Additional information and pre orders can be found here
