Maps of Music

A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)

Where the lyrics of A Dramatic Turn of Events take you, and where it was really made.

The title does not refer to the drummer's departure; Petrucci said it points to historical upheavals such as the Libyan Civil War.

Key places

Where the album was written and recorded (2011)

Recording site Cove City Sound Studios — The band wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered the album at this Long Island studio between January and June 2011. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• A Dramatic Turn of Events: eleventh studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater
• Released worldwide in September 2011 through Roadrunner Records
• First Dream Theater recording to feature drummer Mike Mangini
• Written, recorded, mixed and mastered January to June 2011 at Cove City Sound Studios, Long Island, New York
• Produced by guitarist John Petrucci; mixed by Andy Wallace
• Two singles promoted the album: "On the Backs of Angels" and "Build Me Up, Break Me Down"

Background

• Mike Portnoy announced his departure on September 8, 2010, citing better relationships in other projects, burnout and a desire for a break
• Petrucci said Portnoy first wanted only a five-year break; the rest of the band rejected that proposal
• Auditions were held in New York City a little over a month after Portnoy left
• In April 2011 the band named Mangini as drummer through a three-part YouTube documentary series, The Spirit Carries On
• Petrucci felt a sense of responsibility to fans after Portnoy's departure, and many songs were written with a specific purpose
• The band described a self-proclaimed musical change, reevaluating and restructuring itself
• The title refers to recurring lyrical themes of dramatic changes in history, not to any person

Recording

• Writing began on January 3, 2011 at Cove City Sound Studios, and the album was mostly written in the studio
• Writing was completed on March 2 without Mangini
• Mangini learned the parts from demos with programmed drums and added his own material
• James LaBrie began tracking vocals on April 14
• LaBrie's vocals were recorded in Canada with engineer Richard Chycki
• Mixing and mastering were finished by June 28, 2011

Cover

• Cover art was designed by longtime collaborator Hugh Syme
• The cover was revealed in July 2011, the month after the title, track listing and US release date were announced on June 8

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Artist

Formation

• Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy formed the band under the name Majesty while attending Berklee College of Music.
• The band was renamed Dream Theater in 1988 after a legal challenge from a Las Vegas group also named Majesty.

Members

• Current members are John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), and Mike Portnoy (drums), who rejoined in October 2023.
• Petrucci and Myung have remained in the band since its founding.

Career

• The band has released 16 studio albums; Images and Words (1992) is its highest-selling release.
• Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999) received high critical acclaim.
• By 2018 the band had sold over 12 million records worldwide.
• The band has been referred to as one of the "Big Three" of progressive metal, along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning.
• A View from the Top of the World's lead single "The Alien" won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2022.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Upon release the album received mixed reviews from music publications
• At Metacritic, the album holds an average score of 55, based on six reviews from mainstream publications
• Rich Wilson called the album fresh and frankly stunning, but warned it was not immediately gratifying and needed several listens
• Drumhead praised Mangini's performance, comparing his physical prowess and agility to a racehorse
• PopMatters' Chris Conaton gave a negative review and expressed disappointment in the album's predictability
• AllMusic's Thom Jurek gave a lukewarm review, observing there is something here for virtually every fan or detractor
• Sputnikmusic criticized Mangini's drum parts as bland and the inclusion of three ballads, but still gave an overall positive review

Reappraisal

• Burrn! named the album Best Album and its cover Best Front Cover in its 2011 year-end wrap-up
• In the same wrap-up, Petrucci and Jordan Rudess won Best Guitarist and Best Keyboardist

Records

• Debuted at number eight on the US Billboard 200 with 36,000 units sold in its debut week
• Dream Theater's second top ten debut on that chart, after Black Clouds & Silver Linings debuted at number six in 2009
• Debuted at number one in some countries
• "On the Backs of Angels" was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards, the band's first-ever Grammy nomination

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Shortly after Mangini joined, Portnoy e-mailed the band asking to rejoin, but the band rebuffed him.
• The final song written for the album was the ballad "Beneath the Surface", which is also its closing track.
• The cover art reused the same clip art asset as the cover of Circus Maximus's 2005 album The 1st Chapter, according to MetalSucks.
• The special edition came with a bonus DVD of The Spirit Carries On, and the deluxe collector's edition included instrumental versions of all songs.
• Mangini was chosen from seven invited drummers, including Derek Roddy, Thomas Lang and Virgil Donati.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact