Artist: Dream Theater
Title: Parasomnia
Genre: Metal
Release Date: 7th February 2025
Label: Inside Out Music
Album Review
The legendary DREAM THEATER is an American Progressive Metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. While it is their 40th band anniversary this year, the band has released a brand-new album: ‘Parasomnia’. It is their sixteenth full length studio album and lasts for a brilliant length of seventy-one minutes. So, plenty of time to fully sink into the music.
‘In The Arms Of Morpheus’ opens the album with street sounds of a big city, then an empty room with a dripping faucet and a ticking clock, before the actual music slowly unfolds upon your mind and ear. DREAM THEATER begins to create a mood within you with their gradually rising intensity, leading to an epic and grand opening track for ‘Parasomnia’. ‘Night Terror’ keeps creating an atmosphere, which is telling a tale that is so detailed that images start to form and move in front of your inner eye. With their impressive arrangements, DREAM THEATER is showing off their musical artistry.
‘A Broken Man’ comes at you a little harsher than the previous songs. Along with a gloomy, yet impressive rhythm, this is the perfect song to get lost in the space it creates. ‘Dead Asleep’ begins with a smooth and calm opening. It is yet another epic song, that will get your mind wandering. ‘Midnight Messiah’ is slowly picking up pace and pulls you along deeper and deeper while doing so. ‘Are We Dreaming’ creates a smooth transition right into ‘Bend The Clock’. This slow and smooth song is extremely emotional, and is definitely digging deep underneath your skin and touching your heart.
The last song ‘The Shadow Man Incident’ is slowly preparing you for the end. And I mean slowly! This song alone lasts almost twenty minutes. It begins calm and relaxing and then gradually rises in strength and intensity. These nearly twenty minutes almost seem like a backwards-summary of the album, guiding you back out of the DREAM THEATER universe almost the same way you entered.
‘Parasomnia’ brings back a nostalgic feeling to the old sound of DREAM THEATER, spiked with a fresh breeze that will leave you behind stunned. It seems as if this album has a gentler touch, a centred and balanced sound to the very Metal arrangements. ‘Parasomnia’ is the perfect album to get lost in, so press play and let DREAM THEATER have you forget everything around you.
Tracklist
01. In The Arms Of Morpheus
02. Night Terror
03. A Broken Man
04. Dead Asleep
05. Midnight Messiah
06. Are We Dreaming
07. Bend The Clock
08. The Shadow Man Incident
Line-up
John Petrucci – Guitar, Backing Vocals
John Myung – Bass
Mike Portnoy – Drums, Backing Vocals
James Labrie – Lead Vocals
Jordan Rudess – Keyboards, Occasional Guitar
Website
www.dreamtheater.net / https://www.facebook.com/dreamtheater
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
