It was the reunion that no one thought would ever happen – but after 15 years of making music without him, Dream Theater welcomed back co-founder Mike Portnoy on their 16th studio album. The drummer discusses Parasomnia, healing old wounds and touring the classic line-up for the band’s 40th anniversary.
For over a decade the chances of drummer Mike Portnoy returning to Dream Theater, the band he co-founded in 1985, appeared to be remote. But with a gradual warming of relations between members – and Portnoy working on guitarist John Petrucci’s second solo album – there seemed to be an unstoppable momentum and inevitability about his return to the band in late 2023. The timing was perfect, with Dream Theater celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.
“It’s interesting you brought up the word ‘inevitable’ because I’ve used that word myself a few times to describe it,” says Portnoy cheerily. “There were many baby steps that got us to this point. The most important thing was to rebuild our personal relationships before we even thought about playing music together.
“It started with John and I, with our families getting together for the holidays and things like that. It was the same with Jordan Rudess. I kept in touch with Jordan and would get together with him on occasions. During those phases, it was just about reconnecting and getting rid of all the drama and bullshit from over the years.
“There was a time when I started to think it would be really sad if it didn’t happen. Now, here we are and thank God it happened. I’ve often been asked if I had any regrets about leaving the band. I would say that at this point, my regret was not leaving the band; the regret is that it took so long to reunite. Now that we’re back together, it feels so natural, so good and so right. I just wish it had happened sooner.”
For all the renewal of friendships and a gradual rekindling of that musical connection, there was a sense of surrealism when the four musicians began writing in the band’s studio on Long Island. It had, after all, been 15 years since they’d worked together as a full unit – but seemingly the musical muscle memory had remained, ensuring no awkwardness, writer’s block or fractious conversations over direction, as Portnoy recalls.
“There were so many moments in the studio where we would look around and say, ‘Holy shit, are we really here? How did this happen?’ It did take time for it to become normal again, but it just felt so natural. We also felt that no time had passed. We couldn’t believe that it had been so many years since we made Black Clouds & Silver Linings. We just picked up the chemistry exactly where it left off.
“There was no discussion. There was no need to talk about direction. There was no need to have a game plan other than, ‘Let’s just make music together again.’ You know, when I left the band, it was a very different dynamic. I was very much a control freak and very protective over every element. The dynamic in every respect of the band in terms of decision-making has all changed.
I was never a control freak when it came to the music. The way we write together was always so collaborative
“Yet the dynamic in terms of the actual music writing hasn’t changed at all. I was never a control freak when it came to the music. The way we write and work together was always so collaborative. It was something that we always shared. So, when we got back to being in the studio and immediately started writing together, it just felt exactly like it had.”
With their new album, Parasomnia, Dream Theater have achieved what few acts have managed to – reuniting their classic line-up and producing a recording that possesses all the qualities of some of their most recognisable releases. A concept album containing distinct tracks that all reference
a variety of sleep disorders, it frequently hints at the cinematic nature of such albums as Metropolis Pt.2 – Scenes From A Memory or the second disc of Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence.
Designed to be listened to in one sitting, Portnoy reveals that it was guitarist Petrucci who had the original idea. “Literally the very first meeting after I came back, the five of us got together on a call and said, ‘Okay, now what?’” he says with a laugh. “In that first discussion, John suggested the topic of parasomnia and that we could make an album based on that.
“It wasn’t until we got into the studio and started writing music that we started to think about how to approach it. We didn’t know if it was going to be a bunch of individual songs, short songs or long songs. We were just letting the music naturally flow, however it came out.
We wanted to bring back soundbites and samples, to help bring the cinematic element
“Within a few weeks I suggested we write it as a thematic concept album, something that had an overlying subject matter. That opened up this way of writing where musical themes could be foreshadowed in one song or reprised later in another song. Things could interlap, go from song to song and be replayed in different keys, different tempos and different instrumentation.
“One of the elements we wanted to bring back is soundbites and samples, to help bring the cinematic element to this album as well. It was the same with Scenes From A Memory – the sound effects and the storytelling in a cinematic way. We wanted to utilise all of those elements.”
By embracing the sound that defined Dream Theater as the kings of prog metal, they’ll naturally draw criticism from the harsher keyboard warriors within their fanbase. There may be elements in this music that provide an endearing, fleeting glance to the past – but the album sounds remarkably fresh and far from cynically schemed. That potential for a searing critique isn’t lost on Portnoy.
“I have a feeling there will be a lot of the uber-critical Dream Theater fans that are going to think we were trying to capitalise on the nostalgic sound or style of those past albums,” he laments. “But those albums were written by these five people. And these five people, you put them together in a room, there’s going to be a sound and style.
Look at bands that are on their 16th album – how many of them have made really energised albums like this?
“Any time we came across a riff or something that felt like classic Dream Theater, rather than fight it, we embraced it. We’re going to have an established sound and style, and we weren’t trying to capitalise on the nostalgia, but we weren’t going to fight it either. We were going to let it be; and if there were these moments that naturally, organically fell out of us, we went with it.
“It’s our 16th album, released in the band’s 40th year of existence. Look at bands that are on their 16th album – how many of them have made really energised albums like this? It’s hard to find. I’m not trying to pat ourselves on the back, but I’m saying we really were inspired; and it’s probably hard for some bands to be inspired in that way.”
Portnoy’s first return appearance was in October 2024 at London’s O2 Arena. It was an evening that captured the palpable excitement of his reappearance, infused with a natural sentimentality at seeing him behind that expansive drum kit once again.
“It really was just a blur,” he recalls. “It was an emotional whirlwind for everybody in that room, on our side of the stage or the side of the stage you were on. To be honest, every show that followed maintained that kind of emotion in the air, and that will continue throughout 2025.
The relationship that’s mended between us means a lot – I guess it’s because it was the relationship that was harmed the most
“I anticipate each and every show will have that real emotional environment in the air. You have the old-school fans that never thought they’d see this line-up together again, and you have a new generation of fans that were too young to have ever seen this line-up. There’s just a feeling and a spirit in the air. I looked out into the audience at the O2 and all the shows that followed, and saw grown men crying. So many people filmed that first show it was all on YouTube being dissected with a fine-tooth comb.”
That over-analysis of the performance tended to focus on James LaBrie’s vocals; he’s been regularly criticised for the occasional off night. Yet as Portnoy rightly asserts, this tour has showcased his unquestionable ability.
“It’s no secret that I was always James’ biggest critic when I was in the band the first time around,” admits Portnoy candidly. “I have a very, very different take on it now. I went from being his biggest critic to being his biggest cheerleader.
“I want him to succeed. I want him to get out there and kill it, more than anybody in the band or in the audience at this point. He’s just gotten stronger and stronger at every show. The relationship that’s mended between us now means a lot, and I guess it’s because it was the relationship that was harmed the most during my hiatus. For us to have healed and come back together in such a loving spirit means so much to me.”
This album was written to be performed in its entirety in the way that Scenes From A Memory was
Talk of any further albums remains premature at this point, with the band set to tour for the best part of 12 months. Enticingly, there’s talk of further dates where the new album will be performed in its entirety. “This world tour is going to go through many phases. We’re still in the 40th-anniversary phase.
“This album was written to be performed in its entirety in the way that Scenes From A Memory was. So, probably towards the back end of 2025 we’ll be able to do a proper Parasomnia tour, when we play it from start to finish. There’s a lot of gas left in the tank in the year ahead, before we even contemplate what’s next.”
