Parasomnia

Album review

Progressive metal has many naysayers, and they may well have another laugh at Dream Theater’s latest concept album on the topic of sleep– what could be a better metaphor for the genre? However, those inclined to poke fun, be warned: this 2025 release from the group won’t submit to mockery. The cover art of a young woman in bed already persuades us to change our tune– it’s a nod to the standard-setting 1992 release Images and Words, and summarizes the intentions of a group determined to take back the reins of their own destiny.

The most obvious sign of this is the return of legendary drummer Mike Portnoy, and it is clear from the very first measures of the instrumental opener “In the Arms of Morpheus,” up until the very last notes of the second track “Night Terror,” that he’s finally back to conjure up something extraordinary between the grooves of this record. To set the record straight: over the 15 year long discographic hiatus between Portnoy and the rest of the group, Mike Mangini was by no means a let-down. He simply couldn’t help but be himself: an excellent drummer whose precise playing was never quite able to rival the memory of his predecessor’s whimsy, groove, and inventiveness, not to mention his incredible stage presence. With all due respect to the high priests of prog, without their boatrocker aboard, Dream Theater’s rock’n’roll sounds like it was bred in a lab.

Parasomnia breaks the pattern of these past few albums, the ones released between 2011 and 2021 that were a bit too well-behaved. Guitarist John Petrucci has even revived his “big, bad riffs” on “A Broken Man,” evocative of the somber Train of Thought (2003), but lightened up by a mind-blowing jazz break that swings like the devil. Since they had to rearrange the furniture a bit to make room for their boisterous drummer to rejoin the group’s sound, Jordan Rudess (keyboards) seems to have been pushed aside. Although he is as omnipresent as always, the final master relegates him to the background more often than not (for example, his Hammond organ parts on “Dead Asleep”). John Myung’s bass fits Portnoy’s playing like a glove, which comes by no surprise, as the two must have been excited to be reunited. Lastly, singer James LaBrie, a divisive member of the group, decided to hold back a bit, wisely staying within a more moderate register that even his biggest critics might tolerate. “Midnight Messiah,” chosen as the album’s third single and surefire “hit,” starts much like a Metallica track, whereas “Bend the Clock” serves as the customary soft-but-not-corny number. “The Shadow Man Incident,” clocking in at nearly twenty minutes, is like an EP in and of itself. This album requires multiple listens in order to fully appreciate its complexity, reading like a menu of everything this 2025 iteration of the group is capable of, without showing off or otherwise being in bad taste. It’s a comprehensive overview of the arsenal that Dream Theater has at their disposal, but it never drones on– which is rather miraculous, given the album’s length.    

There’s no denying that without the return of Mike Portnoy, there would be no chance of us raving about a new Dream Theater album. We may not have needed it, but this offers proof that “Bluebeard” is undeniably the leader of this band, or at least an essential cog in the machine that makes it run. If the past decade has led you to stray away from the group, don’t think twice about giving Parasomnia a listen, and enjoy this long-awaited return of a dear friend. © Charlélie Arnaud/Qobuz