With the recent release of the band’s 15th studio album to critical and fan acclaim, Dream Theater have released another music video from A View From The Top Of The World. The video for “Awaken The Master” is a frenetic, high-definition CGI marvel from long-time collaborator Wayne Joyner. Continuing to challenge themselves as musicians, “Awaken The Master” marks the first recorded use of an eight-string guitar by John Petrucci. The track was the last one recorded for the album and clocks in at an impressive 9:47 – making it the 3rd longest song on A View From The Top Of The World. The video for “Awaken The Master” can be seen HERE
“It’s the last song we wrote. It’s also the first time I’ve used my eight-string guitar, which was fun for me. Back in the day when we were writing Awake, I’d always wanted to play a seven-string. So, I ordered myself one. I wanted to be inspired again by the instrument without any pre-conception. I used it, and I wrote in my style on the eight-string. It was actually a prototype! ‘Awaken The Master’ purposefully starts with guitar only. John Myung wrote the lyrics. Recently, I heard him say, ‘The master was your heart’. He was referring to awakening your heart. It’s one of the heavier songs on the record due to the range of the instrument,” explains John Petrucci.
You can also watch a special Band Trivia video with the band getting quizzed on Dream Theater history HERE
A View From The Top Of The World is available HERE
Jimmy Kay and Alex Dixon from Canada’s The Metal Voice spoke to DREAM THEATER Singer James LeBrie. LaBrie talked about the bands new album, the postponed North American tour and his Opportunity with Iron Maiden in the past.
When asked about the postponed North American tour “It just came down to how comfortable we were with going out and we were getting kind of mixed messages. from promoters, our agencies and all across the board. When you put together a tour the amount of money that you put into a tour is astronomical and the kind of production we go out with is pretty big, it’s pretty substantial. So we were getting a lot of indication that the bands that had been going out were out for a week or two then somebody in the band or crew would come down with Covid and the whole camp had to be shut down, that is financially disabling for any tour. If I want to be completely honest with you it was not a unanimous decision there three of us that said no we are not going out and there were two of us who said come on let’s do it and that’s what it came down to, it was a majority vote we’re not about to go out.”
When asked about the new album “I think we always stood true to ourselves first and foremost. So there is an identity there is a familiarity there so when people spin any given Dream Theater album you can identify with it, immediately. A lot of fans that have heard any snippet of the new album, have said wow it seems to be reminiscent of some older classic Dream Theater. We definitely reached back into our roots. We knew before going into the studio we wanted to write an epic, everyone was on board for that. So when you know you are going to do something like that it opens up all the possibilities for the rest of the album to unfold as such. This album was like let’s get back to not having any parameters that we need to be concerned with consciously and just let’s write what we feel to create a classic Dream Theater album and I think it really does stand on it’s own.”
When asked if he ever was asked to join Iron Maiden When Bruce Dickinson left the band “Absolutely, at the time we were looking at being managed by Iron Maiden’s management. You have to remember I was in a very bizarre situation. Dream Theater already recorded Images and Words, we were looking for management and we were trying to set up a tour and get out there and we met Rod Smallwood. We were playing darts and Rod Smallwood took me aside and I remember him saying to me, I just want to throw something at you and he had his assistant with him too Mark at the time. And they are both standing there going, what do you think about being the singer with Iron Maiden. And I said What? What are we talking about here? I am confused? Are you not here for the reason that you might start managing Dream Theater or are to get me to become the singer. So I just said no, no way. I am going to tell you the reasons why I’m not going to do this and they said what is that. And I said, one Dream Theater, that’s it, period. I remember thinking I am not going to go out there and sing Iron Maiden every night even though I think they are a great band and Bruce is a great singer. No Thank you. I needed to create something that I created from the beginning, even though I was not on the first Dream Theater album. It was all respect, they totally got it and we moved on.”
In the third installment of a new 3-part interview recorded at DTHQ, DREAM THEATER continue discussing the making of the new album ‘A View From The Top The World’, due out this Friday on Oct. 22nd, 2021.
A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and available for pre-order here: https://dream-theater.lnk.to/AViewFromTheTopOfTheWorld.
As anticipation grows for the release of their 15th studio album, GRAMMY-nominated and millions-selling progressive music titans DREAM THEATER are releasing the music video for the single “Invisible Monster.” The song comes from their upcoming InsideOutMusic / Sony Music album A View From The Top Of The World scheduled for release worldwide on October 22nd. The new track clocks in at 6:27 and showcases the musicianship and creativity that has garnered the band fans around the globe. The video for the song was directed by William “Wombat” Felch (Mudvayne, HellYeah, Crobot, Static-X, Nefariant) and follows the story of an artist’s internal struggles as the band is showcased performing the track. The piece of art created by Felch in the video now lives inside DTHQ.
“It was written after we’d written a bunch of material. A lot of the music was super energetic and upbeat tempo-wise. Mike suggested we do something a little different though. So, we started working on a more mid-tempo song. The hook, riff, and melody changed so naturally. I equate it to ‘Pull Me Under’ back in the day where we’d just start playing, something would come out, and we’d be like, ‘Whoa, that’s cool’. There’s a serendipitous moment where it happens. Lyrically, it’s about how anxiety plagues people. It’s like there’s an invisible monster beating you. You don’t see it, but it’s haunting you all of the time,” explains John Petrucci.
A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and available for pre-order HERE
You can also watch the first installment of a new 3-part interview recorded at DTHQ, as Dream Theater discuss the making of the new album ‘A View From The Top The World’. Pt.2 coming this week.
Following the recent announcement of their 15th studio album A View From The Top Of The World, two-time GRAMMY-nominated and millions-selling progressive music titans DREAM THEATER have released the first piece of music from the album slated for release on October 22nd via InsideOutMusic / Sony Music. “The Alien” is the opener of the band’s upcoming album and showcases the energy the band had after reuniting to begin work on the new record. The song is now available via all streaming partners. An animated video for the track that clocks in at 9:32 is also available and can be seen HERE!
“It’s the first one we wrote together. It gives people a window into what it was like when we initially met up after all of those months off. It has the adventure, the untraditional structure, the heaviness, and the hooks. It really set the tone for the album,” explains John Petrucci. “ James wrote the lyrics about the idea of terraforming and looking beyond our Earth for alternative settlements. Since we’re going beyond our planet, ‘The Alien’ turns out to be us. I thought it was a cool and creative lyric by James.”
A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap and available for pre-order HERE!
Two-time GRAMMY-nominated and millions-selling progressive music titans DREAM THEATER recently announced the forthcoming worldwide release of their 15th studio album, A View From The Top Of The World on October 22nd. A View From The Top OF The World is Dream Theater at its musical finest expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The 7-song album also marks the second studio album with InsideOutMusic / Sony Music. The artwork was created by long-time cover collaborator Hugh Syme (Rush, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour). A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.
Dream Theater is also planning to hit the road in support of the new album. The Top Of The World Tour of North America kicks off on October 28th in Mesa, AZ and runs through December 14th where it concludes in St. Petersburg, FL. The tour will make stops in Seattle, WA; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; New York, NY and Orlando, FL among others. Information on tickets for all upcoming shows as well as VIP packages can be found at www.dreamtheater.net.
The first single “The Alien” and pre-orders for the new album will be available this Friday the 13th. A teaser for the track can be seen HERE!
Chief Shock Video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Ads
Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 