Cries from the Quiet World: Dream Theater "Parasomnia (2CD + Blu-ray, Limited Edition Artbook, UK, InsideOut Music, 19802843722)"

domingo, 19 de abril de 2026

Dream Theater "Parasomnia (2CD + Blu-ray, Limited Edition Artbook, UK, InsideOut Music, 19802843722)"

Parasomnia is the sixteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on February 7, 2025. It is the band's first studio album to feature original drummer Mike Portnoy since Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009), nearly sixteen years earlier; it is also the first album with Portnoy to not feature him as co-producer since Falling into Infinity (1997).

Dream Theater's intention to work on their sixteenth studio album was first mentioned about six months after the release of A View from the Top of the World, with keyboardist Jordan Rudess speaking to VW Music about the band's future plans: "After we get back from its last show of the European tour we have a bit of a break. And after I finish my solo shows, Dream Theater will continue on the road with some shows in Japan, South America, and more to be announced as we go. When that settles down, we'll be entering the studio again, and doing a new album, which will be awesome. So, yeah, stuff like that is on the horizon."

In October 2022, guitarist John Petrucci stated that Dream Theater would begin recording their sixteenth studio album in late 2023. Two months later, frontman James LaBrie said that he did not "see [the band] going into the studio until the beginning of '24", adding, "I don't think it would make sense to be in there before then. But don't quote me on that. Some things always change."

On October 25, 2023, Dream Theater announced that drummer Mike Mangini had departed as they reunited with Mike Portnoy after thirteen years, a culmination of reconciliation between Portnoy, Petrucci, Myung, Rudess and LaBrie; LaBrie and Portnoy had not spoken for eleven years until their 2022 show in New York. The band confirmed that it would record its first studio album with Portnoy in fifteen years. Said Portnoy in an interview with Rolling Stone, "I don't want to be over-philosophical about it, but we're all getting older. Here we are in our 50s and 60s. You start to think of the reality of, 'How much time do we have left?' I would hate it if this were to become a Roger Waters–Pink Floyd or Peter Gabriel with Genesis situation where the fans want it, but it never happens."

Progress on the follow-up to A View from the Top of the World had begun by February 2024, when Portnoy posted pictures from DTHQ on his Instagram account, revealing that the album was being recorded. On April 2, 2024, Petrucci and Portnoy announced that all of the writing and the drum tracks were completed, and further recording took place until July of that year.

On October 10, 2024, Dream Theater released "Night Terror" as the first single for the album and announced the title, track list and release date. A second single, "A Broken Man", was released on December 3, 2024, followed by "Midnight Messiah" on January 22, 2025.

Parasomnia is a thematic concept album about parasomnias, encompassing a wide range of unusual and undesirable experiences and behaviors people experience in their sleep, also known as disruptive sleep disorders: "Night Terror" describes the experience of the titular night terrors, "A Broken Man" deals with the psychological stress affecting sleep with PTSD, "Dead Asleep" is drawn from a real life incident where a Welshman named Brian Thomas in 2009 allegedly murdered his wife while sleepwalking, and "The Shadow Man Incident" is a story about a child experiencing sleep paralysis and witnessing a shadow person. "Midnight Messiah", written by Mike Portnoy, lyrically references other Dream Theater songs he wrote, including "Strange Deja Vu" and "Home" from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, “This Dying Soul” from Train Of Thought and "Constant Motion" from Systematic Chaos. The album is bookended by the sounds of a person going to sleep and eventually waking back up.

Nearly 6 months after Parasomnia's release, the band released Parasomnia - The Graphic Album in partnership with Z2 Comics. Serving as a companion book to the album, Parasomnia - The Graphic Album features various award-winning artists that expand the explorations of Parasomnia with unique visual interpretations for all eight songs. Several various editions were released including a platinum edition signed by the band.

Parasomnia was highly anticipated, with Loudwire, Stereogum and Ultimate Guitar naming it in their lists of the most anticipated albums of 2025.

Upon release, allegations quickly emerged of Parasomnia art director Hugh Syme potentially double-selling artwork, as a piece of artwork contained in the Parasomnia deluxe edition appeared identical to a piece of Syme's artwork used in Orion's The Lightbringers, released six months prior on August 16, 2024. Taking to social media on February 7, 2025, Orion's Ben Jones called out Syme in a Facebook post: "Is this for real?! A piece of artwork in the new Dream Theater deluxe edition is the EXACT same piece of artwork that was in The Lightbringers booklet for the song "The Ghosts Among Us" ... Hugh Syme did the artwork for my album and theirs, so I think I can see where this is going..." While Syme remained silent on the matter, Jones followed up: "I’ve never suggested plagiarism – in fact, I’ve repeatedly emphasized that Dream Theater are also victims of Hugh’s negligence." As Dream Theater's manager Frank Solomon reached out privately to Jones, Jones recalled: "We had a very amicable exchange ... Despite owing me nothing, Frank made a very kind offer, which I plan to accept. I want to be clear – Dream Theater committed no wrongdoing in this situation."

Track listing

All music is composed by John Petrucci, John Myung, Jordan Rudess, James LaBrie and Mike Portnoy.

Disc 1 (CD) Parasomnia