Dream Theater go behind-the-scenes on The Astonishing

Dream Theater
Dream Theater

Dream Theater have released a behind-the-scenes promo for their latest record The Astonishing.

Keyboardist Jordan Rudess and guitarist John Petrucci have launched a webisode series in which they discuss the themes in the concept album – one of which is their ‘Brother’ storyline. They say it explores the relationship between the fictional characters, brothers Gabriel and Arhys, who must defend themselves against a dystopian empire.

Petrucci says: “Some people might find it interesting to know what our headspace was when we were writing this – the compositional techniques we used when writing, and to get deeper into the analysis of how we made this cinematic experience.”

While he explains the importance of music and imagery, the guitarist also hints that their 13th studio work could potentially be made into a film in future.

He adds: “Because the experience of The Astonishing is an album – it’s not a movie, at least not yet – the music is important to guide the listener and conjure up these images as to what’s happening in the story. The music really acted as a score to us. Hopefully when you’re listening to it, you get this visual.”

In other news, Rudess and Flower Kings mainman Roine Stolt make guest appearances on Magic Machine, the upcoming album from An Endless Sporadic which is due out on September 16.

Dream Theater tour the US later this year.

Dream Theater: The Astonishing US tour 2016

Oct 05: Bethlehem Sands Event Center, PA
Oct 07: Wilkes-Barre Kirby Center, PA
Oct 08: Hershey Theatre, PA
Oct 19: Newark New Jersey Performing Center, NJ
Oct 10: Concord Capitol Center, NH
Oct 18: Hanover Theatre, MA
Oct 19: Newark New Jersey Performing Center, NJ
Oct 21: Portland Merrill Theatre, ME
Oct 22: Port Chester Capitol Theatre, NY
Oct 24: Port Chester Capitol Theatre, NY
Oct 25: Lakewood Civic Auditorium, OH
Oct 27: Toledo Stranahan Theater, OH
Oct 28: Louisville Palace Theatre, KY
Oct 29: Merillville Star Plaza Theatre, IN
Oct 31: Indianapolis Murat Theatre, IN
Nov 01: Milwaukee Riverside Theater, WI
Nov 09: San Antonio Tobin Center, TX
Nov 12: Tulsa Brady Theater, OK
Nov 15: Tucson Centennial Hall at University Of Arizona, AZ
Nov 16: Anaheim Grove, CA
Nov 19: Reno Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, NV
Nov 20: San Jose City National Civic, CA
Nov 27: Durham Perofrming Arts Center, NC
Dec 02: Orlando Hard Rock Cafe, FL
Dec 04: Atlanta Symphony Hall, GA

Buyer's Guide: Dream Theater

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.