Michael Corvin

(New York, NY): The recent announcement that Mike Mangini would be joining Dream Theater, replacing departed drummer Mike Portnoy caused such fanfare that Mangini was a trending topic on Twitter, second only to England's Royal Wedding. Now, the band is revealing more information about their upcoming album. The new album is titled A Dramatic Turn of Events. The much-anticipated platter, which marks Mangini's recorded debut, will be released via Roadrunner Records on September 13th and will be supported by a massive world tour.


"I'm incredibly psyched with the way this album came out and can't wait to share it with everybody," guitarist John Petrucci, who also serves as the producer for A Dramatic Turn of Events, said. "We are currently in the mix stage with the great Andy Wallace and it's all sounding amazing!"


"We have poured our hearts and minds into the creation of this album," keyboardist Jordan Rudess offered. "All the life changing events that surrounded us before, as well as during the whole process, fueled our desire to dig deep within ourselves and create the best music we possibly could."


Vocalist James LaBrie said, "In the grand scheme of Dream Theater's career, the last several months have been such an incredibly positive, fulfilling and rewarding experience. The new songs and sound has never been so spirited or rejuvenating. I cannot wait for every one of our fans to sink their audio senses into this batch of tunes."


The track listing for A Dramatic Turn of Events is as follows:

1. On the Backs of Angels
2. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
3. Lost Not Forgotten
4. This is the Life
5. The Shaman’s Trance
6. Outcry
7. Far From Heaven
8. Breaking All Illusions
9. Beneath The Surface

Jason

So how many CDs will this be? They can't possibly fit nine whole Dream Theater tracks on one disc.

Dan

Sweet!

Michael Corvin

Hopefully with Portnoy gone we'll get some tighter tracks, and less meandering trying to make every song epic. I'm hoping for something along the lines of Awake or SFAMII, but with only 9 tracks, sadly it seems my hope is misplaced.

bunkaroo

Can't say I like the album title, but still excited to hear this. This is my #4 most anticipated release of the year, behind Opeth, Steven Wilson's solo record and Blackfield.

Mordred

So you do like albums that Steven Wilson doesn't work on....

comanche_doyle

Just looking at the titles, I think "Shaman's Trance" has a good shot at being an instrumental. I love their instrumentals.

bunkaroo

Yeah, but I am a Steven Wilson fanboy I admit it. I know a lot of people think Wilson ruined Opeth but for me that's when they got really interesting.

I don't expect this new DT record to be anything truly progressive. I'll be happy with a more energetic and less stale version of what they have been doing. I am not expecting I&W 2.

bunkaroo

Maybe not. There are a lot of good rhymes for "trance".

Pants, dance, romance, lance, chance, whence, etc.

I could see those words all making an appearance in DT lyrics.

After all, I never thought I'd hear the word 'inventory' in metal lyrics (or any lyrics), but DT made it happen.

Mordred

That's one of the things I like about Metal. It's one of the few musical genres where you can literally write a song about anything and make it work. Whenever people doubt me I always use DT's "The Great Debate" to shut them up. If you can make a badass song about Stem Cell research, you have a genre with wide subject matter.

Poink

Welcome to our fortress tall
Take some time to show you around
Impossible to break these walls
For you see the steel is much too strong
Computer banks to rule the world
Instruments to sight the stars

Possibly I've seen to much
Hangar 18, I know too much

Foreign life forms inventory
Suspended state of cryogenics
Selective amnesia's the story
Believed foretold but who'd suspect
The military intelligence
Two words combined that can't make sense

Possibly I've seen to much
Hangar 18, I know too much

- Megadeth, "Hangar 18"

You hast proven thyself un-metal!

bunkaroo

Oh shit I should have known better! I've been listening to that for 20 years!

I think it sticks out more with DT the way Portnoy shouts INVENTORY! So cheesy. I hate his vocals and lyrics. Just think, almost an hour of material from their last 5 releases was devoted his personal issue.

Great Debate is good, and the lyrics aren't nearly as clumsy as some of the AA stuff Portnoy wrote.

Apple Gooncha

Is it bad that I consider myself a pretty big DT fan, and off the top of my head I have no idea which of their songs has the word "inventory" in it?

Anyway, I look forward to the album, but considering my lukewarm feelings towards Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, and Black Clouds and Silver Linings I'm not holding my breath. Still, I'll probably pick it up the week it comes out.

Michael Corvin

Black Clouds is the only one I couldn't get into, still can't. Four songs over 13 minutes long and fifth at 9 minutes. However, I love me some Systematic Chaos.

The Glass Prison is probably my favorite tune, but after that the AA thing just never gelled like it should have.

bunkaroo

It's from Shattered Fortress on Black Clouds.

I agree with Corvin - Glass Prison is awesome. I never felt like that one was forced. But every subsequent AA song just seemed to be more and more forced to fit the pattern.

StatMan79

Well it was a themed series after all. And it was supposed to someday be all played together live. Whoops.

bunkaroo

I'm down for a themed series, but it just seemed so paint-by-numbers. Frankly if Portnoy was still around and they announced one set of their tour would be devoted to playing the AA suite, I would skip seeing the tour. With the exception of Glass Prison, the AA songs have been consistently the weaker songs on the last four DT discs IMO.

Alyoshka

I think that I'll miss Portnoy being in the band, but I'm excited to hear what this is like. I'll be picking it up.

Michael Corvin

"On the Backs of Angels" will be on Roadrunner's YouTube page starting at 11am EST.

Dan

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bunkaroo

LOL that snare sounds better than any of the ones Portnoy recorded.

I don't think this is a great opener for the record though. There's some cool instrumental stuff in it, but the vocal melodies aren't grabbing me much. Mix sounds good though without the Portnoy influence.

Michael Corvin

I've listened to it about 5 times now. I was expecting something heavier to show off Magnini's chops for the debut track, but outside of those expectations, I'm digging it.

It's got an older, pre- SFAM, feel to it. It also straddles a nice tonal balance. It feels like it's just ready to break out into an ultra heavy vibe(post SFAM), complete with Pornoy growling vox, but shows some restraint to give it a good balance and sound. Also Rudess shines on this one. He's been in the shadows for the last couple albums so it was a nice change of pace.

I love Labrie, but I do agree that the vocals/lyrics/melodies (based on a few listens), seem to be the weak spot of this tune.

I still have a problem with length. Not every song needs to be epic.

Rypro 525

for once a DT song thats 8 min, but doesn't have a 3 minute jam sequence (prob a Portnoy thing)

Apple Gooncha

I like it but I don't love it. I'm glad that nothing about it reminds me of the last 2 albums. For an opener (and the fact that it's DT) I was also expecting something for Mangini to really show off on... but that's not a real complaint.

Apple Gooncha

... And I agree with pretty much all of that. I think the chorus could have been not repeated as much to trim it down a little, but still, I'm liking this a fair amount.