Progressive metal trailblazers Dream Theatre are gearing up to release album #14, and they’re mighty keen to tell you all about its conception.
The band last night released the first of three video instalments discussing how the new LP, titled Distance Over Time, came together and what inspired the musical and lyrical themes.
Sitting down together in a magnificent collection of beards and denim, the band noted how the new record was a departure from their usual style of writing, with all the members secluding themselves in a secret upstate New York barn too write and record the record.
“We haven’t done this thing where we all went away together to a remote place where we can live, write, hang out and bond…and be brothers and musicians,” said guitarist John Petrucci.
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“The last record Jordan (Rudess, keys) and I wrote it together and it wasn’t a collective thing…it was really necessary in a cathartic way to do it this way.”
“You feel each other’s energy…it’s very experimental,” said frontman James LaBrie of the writing in a room process.
“The fact we’re around each other the whole day….you have conversations in-between…about the music, where’s it going- you have people running around.”
In the lead-up to the writing process, the band did a hugely successful world tour celebrating the 25 year anniversary of their progressive tour de force Image & Words. Speaking of the effect that playing the album front-to-back for the first time in decades had on the new material, Rudess noted that “It was so great to connect with the root of what this band was about.”
“At a time like this…it was great to go out an appreciate where this band came from.”
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Distance Over Time marks a new record label for the band, moving to independent German print Inside Out Records (boasting Aussie hero’s Caligula’s Horse), a far cry from the Roadrunner Records monolith that stood behind the band for the past decade.
Speaking of making the change, Petrucci noted that “we did work with a lot of people (at Roadrunner) who were very professional, creative and artistic, who put a lot behind Dream Theater.
“Changing is just another step in a positive direction- it’s something new.”
Watch the full interview below and stay tuned for more studio updates.
