Group

Dream Theater

From: Boston, United States
Since: 1985–present
Rating: ★ 4.45 (32 votes)
Releases: 226

progressive metal
metal
heavy metal
progressive

About

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals), and Jordan Rudess (keyboards).

Dream Theater was formed under the name Majesty by Petrucci, Myung and Portnoy—all from Long Island, New York—while they attended Berklee College of Music. They dropped out to concentrate on the band. Dream Theater has undergone various lineup changes, though Petrucci and Myung have remained constant and Portnoy continues to play with the band today. After a brief stint with Chris Collins, followed by Charlie Dominici (who was dismissed from Dream Theater shortly after the release of their 1989 debut album When Dream and Day Unite), LaBrie was hired as the band's singer in 1991. Dream Theater's original keyboardist, Kevin Moore, left the band after three albums and was replaced by Derek Sherinian in 1995 after a period of touring. They recorded one album (and an EP) with Sherinian, who was replaced by current keyboardist Jordan Rudess in 1999. Portnoy left the band in 2010 to pursue other musical interests, and was replaced by Mike Mangini; he rejoined the band in October 2023.
Dream Theater has released 16 studio albums. The band's highest-selling release is their second album Images and Words (1992), which reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. Other albums such as Awake (1994) and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) also entered the charts at No. 32 and No. 46 respectively, and each received critical acclaim. Their fifth album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), was ranked number 95 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was also ranked as the 15th Greatest Concept Album in March 2003 by Classic Rock magazine.
By 2018, Dream Theater had sold over 12 million records worldwide; they have received four Grammy Award nominations, including one win in 2022. Along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, the band has been referred to as one of the "Big Three" of the progressive metal genre, responsible for its development and popularization. Additionally, the staff of Loudwire named them the 38th best metal band of all time.

From Dream Theater on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Members

Mike Portnoy 1985–2010, 2023–now · original member background vocals, drums (drum set), percussion
John Myung 1985–now · original member Chapman stick, electric bass guitar
John Petrucci 1985–now · original member background vocals, guitar
James LaBrie 1991–now lead vocals
Jordan Rudess 1999–now continuum, keyboard, lap steel guitar
Steve Stone now
Kevin Moore 1986–1994 · former keyboard
Chris Collins 1987–1987 · former lead vocals
Charlie Dominici 1987–1990 · former lead vocals
Derek Sherinian 1994–1999 · former keyboard
Mike Mangini 2011–2023 · former drums (drum set), percussion