Maps of Music

Parasomnia (2025)

Where the lyrics of Parasomnia take you, and where it was really made.

Mike Portnoy returns to the drum seat: this is the first studio album with the original drummer since Black Clouds & Silver Linings in 2009, after Mike Mangini's departure.

Key places

Recording begins at DTHQ, Long Island (2024)

Recording site Cove City Sound Studios — Recording of Parasomnia began on 7 February 2024 at the DTHQ studio on Long Island, New York. Recording continued until July 2024. The pin marks the city centre of Long Island, not the studio building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sixteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released February 7, 2025
• First studio album with original drummer Mike Portnoy since Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
• First album with Portnoy since Falling into Infinity (1997) on which he did not co-produce
• Thematic concept album about parasomnias, sleep disorders such as night terrors, sleep paralysis and sleepwalking
• Promoted with singles 'Night Terror', 'A Broken Man' and 'Midnight Messiah'

Background

• About six months after A View from the Top of the World, keyboardist Jordan Rudess first mentioned plans for a new album
• October 2022: John Petrucci said recording would begin in late 2023
• October 25, 2023: drummer Mike Mangini's departure announced; Portnoy returned after thirteen years
• In 2024, while recording, James LaBrie saw voice pathologist Dr. Aaron Low at The Voice Clinic in Toronto

Recording

• By February 2024 Portnoy had posted pictures from DTHQ, revealing the album was being recorded
• On April 2, 2024, Petrucci and Portnoy announced that all writing and drum tracks were completed
• Further recording continued until July 2024
• Produced by John Petrucci; engineering by James 'Jimmy T' Meslin, Andy Sneap and Mark Gittins
• Sneap handled mixing and mastering; Meslin mixed 'Are We Dreaming?'

Cover

• Art direction, illustration and design by Hugh Syme; photography by Mark Maryanovich
• After release, Orion's Ben Jones pointed out that an illustration from Orion's The Lightbringers matched artwork in the deluxe edition booklet

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.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

• Blabbermouth.net's Dom Lawson gave nine out of ten
• MetalSucks rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars
• Classic Rock's Hugh Felder gave 3 out of 5, saying the reunion album has a rejuvenated feel
• Sputnikmusic gave a positive review, calling it a breath of fresh air despite sticking to the same formula
• Maximum Volume Music's Andy Thorley compared it to A Change of Seasons
• The Progressive Aspect's Basil Francis gave a more reserved review, noting a lack of innovation

Records

• Top of Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart in the United States
• Number one on the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart
• Number one on the French SNEP Rock & Metal Albums chart
• Number two on the Swiss Hitparade; number three on the German Media Control Charts
• Top five in Austria, Belgium, Scotland, Japan, the Netherlands and Poland
• Number six on Billboard's Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart
• Loudwire named it one of the best progressive metal albums of 2025
• Metal Hammer placed it 22nd on its 50 best metal albums of 2025 list
• Rolling Stone placed it fourth on its 15 best metal albums of the year list
• Ultimate Classic Rock placed it 12th in hard rock and metal; Consequence placed it tenth
• 'Night Terror' earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the 2026 ceremony, the band's fourth nomination in that category

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ben Jones of Orion noticed artwork from The Lightbringers, licensed from Hugh Syme, matching the deluxe edition booklet.
• 'Dead Asleep' is based on a 2009 case in which a Welshman, Brian Thomas, allegedly killed his wife while sleepwalking.
• 'Midnight Messiah' was written by Mike Portnoy and references earlier Dream Theater songs he wrote.
• A companion graphic album with Z2 Comics followed nearly six months after release, with a platinum edition signed by the band.
• The band performed 'Night Terror', 'Panic Attack' and 'Midnight Messiah' on Ernie Ball's 'Big Sound' episode, recorded at DTHQ on August 22, 2025.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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