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James LaBrie | |
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 LaBrie with Dream Theater in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin James LaBrie |
| Born | May 5, 1963 Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Roadrunner, Inside Out |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | jameslabrie |
Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991.
Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada and started playing drums at age five. By his mid-teens, he was a member of several bands as a front man that attempted singing and/or drumming. He stopped playing drums at age 17 [1] and in 1981, at age 18, he moved to Toronto.
LaBrie joined Coney Hatch in 1986 when they were attempting a new lineup. The band recorded a number of demonstration tapes in their rehearsal studio and performed live in Ontario clubs for several months. When their record company (Anthem) expressed their disapproval of the lineup, the band replaced LaBrie with Phil Naro in one last ditched attempt at forging ahead without Carl Dixon. That lineup was to be short lived as well.
Soon after parting ways with Coney Hatch, LaBrie became the vocalist for the glam metal band Winter Rose. [2] [3] The group also included Richard Chycki on guitar and bass, Randy Cooke on drums, and (in an earlier incarnation), Sebastian Bach on vocals. [4] Chycki had also worked with Bach under the band names 'Hope', and later 'Sebastian', before settling on 'Winter Rose'. The band recorded a series of demos through 1988 and 1989 with supporting musicians Bruce Dies and Rob Laidlaw. Most tracks weren't commercially released until 1997 when a self-titled album was released by Inside Out Music, a full 7 years after the group had disbanded. Their track "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" was released with a promo video in 1989 and would later be included on the album. All songs on the album were written by Richard Chycki and James LaBrie, save two which were written in whole by Richard Chycki.
In 1990, LaBrie learned that American progressive metal band Dream Theater was looking for a new singer, so he submitted a tape and was quickly flown to New York for a full audition. The tryout went well, and he was chosen ahead of 200 other hopefuls to fill the full-time vocalist position in that band. [5]
LaBrie has since had a significant impact on the vocal melodies on each Dream Theater album, but until recently has had little input on the instrumentation of Dream Theater's music; 2011's A Dramatic Turn of Events features LaBrie in the music credits on three songs. To date he has written or co-written lyrics for at least one song on ten of the fifteen albums Dream Theater has released with him in the band, Images and Words, Black Clouds & Silver Linings , Dream Theater and The Astonishing containing none of them.
Asked by Prog-Sphere.com what is his favorite Dream Theater song to play live, James says "The favorite song for me is Scarred, I love performing that live. And... well, Octavarium, that whole freakin’ thing." [6]
With Matt Guillory, LaBrie has released five solo albums under various names (Mullmuzzler, James LaBrie's Mullmuzzler, and simply James LaBrie).
In an interview from Beyond The Dark Horizon on June 12, 2010, James LaBrie stated that his next solo album entitled Static Impulse, is in the mixing stages and will contain 12 tracks. James stated "It's very heavy and I'm really excited." [7]
On July 27, 2010 it was announced on Dream Theater's website that Static Impulse would be released on September 27, 2010 through Inside Out Music. It features longtime collaborator Matt Guillory on keyboards, Marco Sfogli (who also played on LaBrie's earlier album Elements of Persuasion) on guitars, Peter Wildoer of the Swedish melodic death metal band Darkane on drums and screaming vocals, and Ray Riendeau on bass.
James LaBrie stated "The release of Static Impulse is one that the whole band is psyched about. This is modern metal and as heavy and relevant as any other band out there going in a similar musical direction. There are riffs that will blow your head off and melodies both musically and vocally that are hypnotic. Get in the driver's seat and let the ears bleed. Enjoy and see you out there with a tour to follow up and support this release." [8]
In 2011's interview for Prog-Sphere.com, LaBrie stated that the US tour got cancelled, saying "Because it was so disorganized last time. That's why I basically said, 'You don't have the visas yet. Where we're at this point, by the time you get the visas processed, we're gonna have one rehearsal and then we're gonna go out.' And I said, 'I'm not doing that.'" [6]
In July 2013, LaBrie's album Impermanent Resonance was released by Inside Out Music.
Throughout his career with Dream Theater, LaBrie has lent his voice to many other artists' records as well as tribute albums. In 1991, not long after joining Dream Theater (and before ever appearing on a Dream Theater recording), he sang background vocals on the song "Life in Still Water" on Fates Warning's Parallels album. [9] He has appeared on many Trent Gardner releases (including Leonardo: The Absolute Man and Explorer's Club ), as well as appearing on albums by such artists as Shadow Gallery, Tim Donahue and Frameshift.
LaBrie provided the lead vocals for the main character in the rock opera album The Human Equation by Ayreon; in 2015, he reprised his role for a live version, The Theater Equation . He was also featured as the character "The Historian" in the album The Source . [10]
LaBrie is also a featured vocalist on Henning Pauly's "Babysteps" project released in 2006; LaBrie plays the role of the arrogant doctor.
Since 2004, LaBrie has been working with the True Symphonic Rockestra project, along with Thomas Dewald, Vladimir Grishko, Dirk Ulrich, Christoph Wansleben, Sandro Martinez, Paul Mayland, Marvin Philippi, and Igor Marin. Their album, Concerto in True Minor - 3 Rock Tenors was released on iTunes and for download on Amazon on March 28, 2008, by Brainworx and Marinsound.
In 2016 LaBrie was the special guest on the Last Union debut album firstly meant to be named "Most Beautiful Day". He sang in three songs: "President Evil", "Taken" and "A Place In Heaven". Eventually the album was called "Twelve" and finally released on December 21, 2018. "Twelve" was written and pieced together over a 2+1⁄2-year period. [11]
LaBrie had said in many older interviews that he was Christian, and actively practiced the religion. However, in 2005 he revealed that he's since strayed from organized religion, and now considers himself "a more spiritual-directed person". [12]
In an interview with Elizabeth Zharoff, LaBrie said he met his wife Karen in high school. As of 2022, they have been married for 33 years. [13]
His musical influences comes from many different genres, including such artists as Sebastian Bach, Aerosmith, Don Dokken, Metallica, The Doors, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole, [14] Queen, Sting, and Muse whose inspiration, according to LaBrie, is shown on Dream Theater's album, Octavarium . LaBrie lists Freddie Mercury as his "all-time favorite" singer, and also admires such singers as Steve Perry, Lou Gramm, Rob Halford, Steven Tyler, Robert Plant, and Jeff Buckley, among others. [15]
He was voted by fans to #16 on MusicRadar's "The greatest vocalists of all time" in 2010. [16]
On December 30, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie was stricken with a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated pork and while vomiting, he ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do except have him rest his voice as much as possible. However, on January 12, 1995, against doctor's orders, he was on the Waking Up the World Tour in Japan promoting Dream Theater's Awake album with his voice far from normal. LaBrie has said he did not feel vocally "normal" until at least 2002. He has also said that this era was a very hard time for him as a singer, and depression as a result caused him to consider departing from the band, although his bandmates supported him and urged him to stay. After the World Tourbulence tour, he discovered that his voice had fully returned. He said that his voice was fully healed by time and training. [17] However, while speaking to Greg Prato of Songfacts in 2019, LaBrie explained how the incident affected his vocal range. "So, instead of hitting D's and E's and F-sharps and all that stuff, I was able to hit C, C-sharp, and D. But I had to really watch it. I have hit F notes here and there, but I have to really watch it. But that was probably the darkest moment in my life, for sure." [15]
In February of 2022, rumors emerged of LaBrie lip syncing during the North American leg of Dream Theater's Top of the World Tour as fan recordings from the tour were posted online. [18] Specifically, fans pointed to the post-chorus section of the song "Bridges In The Sky" as evidence of LaBrie lip syncing to a pre-recorded vocal track. LaBrie addressed the controversy onstage during the band's performance in Houston, Texas, on March 18, 2022, denying the allegations and claiming he has never lip synced in his entire life. [19]
Winter Rose
Dream Theater
MullMuzzler
Solo
Others
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).
Images and Words is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the album has maintained its position as the band's most commercially successful studio album, and the song "Pull Me Under" has the distinction of being the only Top 10 hit the band has had to date. This particular song has also had more recent success as it has appeared in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electronica, experimental and classical music. The majority of Ayreon's albums are dubbed "rock operas" because the albums contain complex storylines featuring a host of characters, usually with each one being represented by a unique vocalist.
The Human Equation is the sixth album from the progressive rock project Ayreon by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 25 May 2004 via Inside Out Music. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several musicians previously unrelated to the project, including James LaBrie of Dream Theater, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Eric Clayton of Saviour Machine, and Devin Townsend, performing music arranged and written by Lucassen.
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced all of Dream Theater's albums from Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), and has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011). Petrucci has also released two solo albums: Suspended Animation (2005) and Terminal Velocity (2020).
Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally called Sorcerer. After changing their name to Shadow Gallery, taken from the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, and recording a short 8-track demo, the band was signed to Magna Carta Records in 1991. Shadow Gallery's eponymous debut was released the following year in Japan and Europe. In mid-2005, Shadow Gallery released their fifth studio album, Room V, on the European-American independent label Inside Out.
Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bassist and songwriter. Internationally, he is best known as the former bassist, male vocalist and secondary composer to Tuomas Holopainen, of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He is also the vocalist and bassist as well as composer and lyricist for the heavy metal band Tarot.
Charlie Dominici was an American singer, best known as the second vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater, having replaced Chris Collins and later being replaced by James LaBrie. Dominici fronted his own self-named progressive metal band, that released three albums.
Octavarium is the eighth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on June 7, 2005, it was the band's final release with Atlantic Records. Recorded between September 2004 and February 2005, it was the last album recorded at The Hit Factory in New York City. With it, the band decided to create "a classic Dream Theater album", drawing upon their various stylistic influences while trying to make the music less complex. The album takes its creative concept from the musical octave.
Elements of Persuasion, released March 29, 2005, is Dream Theater singer James LaBrie's first solo album under his name and his third solo project, with his first two being Keep It to Yourself and MullMuzzler 2, which were released under his band MullMuzzler.
Matt Guillory is an American musician. He mainly plays keyboards and tends to write progressive metal. He has often been compared to the Swedish keyboard player Jens Johansson, famous for his work in the power metal band Stratovarius. Matt Guillory has worked for Mike Varney, appearing on several mid 1990s records as session player. Guillory also works with James LaBrie, best known as Dream Theater's vocalist, as a composer and keyboardist on the singer's first five solo releases. He was one of the founding members of the Bay Area based progressive metal band Dali's Dilemma. Guillory is a long time user of the Roland JD-800 synthesizer, which he plugs into a Line 6 Pod amp modelling/effects unit and a wah pedal to create a more guitar-like tone for his lead sound.
Marcela Alejandra Bovio García is a Mexican singer and violinist who is currently a member of the Dutch symphonic death metal band MaYaN.
Systematic Chaos is the ninth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on June 4, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States, Systematic Chaos was the band's first release through Roadrunner Records, which was sold to their previous label Atlantic Records, through which the band had released their previous studio album Octavarium (2005). The album was recorded from September 2006 to February 2007 at Avatar Studios in New York City, after the band's first break from summer touring in ten years. The lyrics of the album were written by John Petrucci, James LaBrie, and Mike Portnoy about fictional, political, and personal topics, respectively.
"Octavarium" is a song by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, from the album of the same name.
"Day Eleven: Love" is the fourth single by Ayreon, released on 2004, from their album The Human Equation.
“Come Back to Me” is the fifth single by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal opera Ayreon, released on 2005 from its sixth album, The Human Equation, in which the song was called “Day Seven: Hope”.
Gary Wehrkamp is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is most notably a member of the progressive rock band Shadow Gallery.
Static Impulse is the second solo album and fourth solo project by Dream Theater lead singer James LaBrie, released on September 28, 2010. In late August 2010, LaBrie released two songs from the album titled "One More Time" and "I Need You".
Tommy Karevik is a Swedish metal vocalist. He is the lead singer of Kamelot and former lead vocalist of Seventh Wonder from 2005 to 2023.
The Source is the ninth studio album from Ayreon, a progressive metal/rock opera project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released on 28 April 2017. It is Lucassen's first album under his new label, Mascot Label Group.
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