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).
Anthony Frederick Levin is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (1981–2021) and Peter Gabriel. He is also a member of Liquid Tension Experiment, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (1998–2000) and HoBoLeMa (2008–2010). He has led his own band, Stick Men, since 2010.
Jordan Rudess is an American keyboardist, composer, and software developer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.
Michael Stephen Portnoy is an American musician who is primarily known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater.
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory is the fifth studio album and first concept album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on October 26, 1999, through Elektra Records. It was recorded at BearTracks Studios in Suffern, New York, where the band had previously recorded their second studio album, Images and Words (1992), and the EP A Change of Seasons (1995).
Train of Thought is the seventh studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on November 11, 2003 through Elektra Records.
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) to A View from the Top of the World (2021), 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).
Live Scenes from New York is the third live album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, recorded on August 30, 2000, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Live Scenes from New York is the audio counterpart to the Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York DVD, released in 2001, except only the CD has the full concert. The third disc contains two videos of the concert that are not on the DVD, the music video for "Another Day", and Jordan Rudess's keyboard solo. This is Dream Theater's first live release with Rudess and first full-length live release.
Live at Budokan is the fourth live album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater on October 5, 2004, available on either 3 CDs, 2 DVDs, or 1 Blu-ray Disc. It was recorded at the Nippon Budokan Hall on April 26, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan.
An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess is a live album recorded by Dream Theater bandmates John Petrucci (guitars) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). This album is unusual in being performed live by just these two musicians, and only guitar and keyboards. The live recording was made on June 10, 2000, at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, New York.
Liquid Tension Experiment is the self-titled first studio album by the band Liquid Tension Experiment, released on March 10, 1998, through Magna Carta Records. The band featured guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy, at the time both of Dream Theater; bassist Tony Levin; and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, who would go on to join Dream Theater in 1999.
Liquid Tension Experiment 2 is the second studio album by the band Liquid Tension Experiment, released on June 15, 1999 through Magna Carta Records. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart and No. 40 on Billboard's Heatseekers. It would take the band another 22 years before they would release their third album.
Prime Cuts is a compilation album by Jordan Rudess released in 2006.
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.
Spontaneous Combustion is an album by progressive metal group Liquid Trio Experiment, and is the result of the studio improvisations of Liquid Tension Experiment which occurred during John Petrucci's hiatus, while he spent time with his wife while she was giving birth. The remaining trio of Mike Portnoy, Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess continued to make music during this period. It was released on October 23, 2007. A few songs from Liquid Tension Experiment 2 were spawned from these jam sessions including "914", "Chewbacca", and "Liquid Dreams". The song "Chris & Kevin's Bogus Journey" is not a reference to Portnoy and Petrucci's former Dream Theater bandmates Chris Collins and Kevin Moore, but rather to the track on Liquid Tension Experiment's first album entitled "Chris & Kevin's Excellent Adventure", which is itself a reference to the band's photographer's habit of calling Mike Portnoy and Tony Levin "Chris and Kevin", even after being corrected several times. It is also a reference to the 1991 film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The song "Jazz Odyssey" is a reference to the movie This Is Spinal Tap, in which Spinal Tap experiments with an improvisational song of the same name.
Chaos in Motion 2007–2008 is the sixth video album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on September 30, 2008, the DVD contains a compilation of live concerts from the band's Chaos in Motion Tour, in support of their 9th studio album Systematic Chaos. This was also the band's last official live album to be released with their founding member and drummer Mike Portnoy before his departure from the band in September 2010. The tour, which lasted from June 3, 2007, to June 4, 2008, contained 115 shows throughout 35 countries. Two forms of the DVD were released, a 2-disc set and a 5-disc special edition. The special edition was limited to 5,000 copies.
When the Keyboard Breaks is a live album by one-off progressive metal supergroup Liquid Trio Experiment, recorded during a Liquid Tension Experiment live show at the Park West in Chicago, Illinois.
Wither is a single by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on September 15, 2009. The single contains the album version of the song "Wither", an alternative version of "Wither" with vocals and piano only, a demo of "Wither" with John Petrucci on vocals, and a demo of "The Best of Times" with Mike Portnoy on vocals. It is the band's last official release with Portnoy, who left the band in September 2010 until his return in October 2023. This is the only studio release without the Majesty symbol in its front cover.
Liquid Tension Experiment 3 is the third studio album by the American instrumental progressive metal super group Liquid Tension Experiment. Released on April 16, 2021, it is their first studio effort since 1999's Liquid Tension Experiment 2.
Distant Memories – Live in London is the ninth live album and video by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Recorded on February 21 and 22, 2020, at the Hammersmith Apollo during Dream Theater's 2019-2020 Distance Over Time Tour, in support of the album Distance Over Time. The first half of the album consists of songs mostly of songs from Distance Over Time, while the second half features a complete performance of the album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, in commemoration of its 20th anniversary. This is the second Dream Theater live album to feature a complete performance of Scenes from a Memory, after 2001's Live Scenes from New York. Outside of entries in the Lost Not Forgotten Archives series, this is Dream Theater's last live album to feature drummer Mike Mangini.
