Dream Theater’s John Petrucci Reminisces About Band’s Legacy

Dream Theater released their 16th studio album, Parasomnia, on Feb. 7 and now they’re touring all over the country performing it in full. Guitarist and founding member John Petrucci joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (Sept. 4) to dive into the album, their tour and much more.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“[The new record and tour] coincide with the 40th anniversary of the band, so that’s mind-blowing,” Petrucci shared with Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong.

“And of course, it’s the first one since Mike Portnoy rejoined the band, so there’s so many things about Parasomnia that are special because of those two factors.”

Petrucci said since it came out, they’ve been playing a couple of songs live as they toured the U.S. and Europe — and now they’re hitting the road to play the album in full.

“It was always the plan all along because when we wrote the album, it turned out to be a concept album,” he explained.

“Presenting those types of albums in their entirety kind of makes it really make sense for the audience and it helps bring it to a whole new level — people can really see it in a whole different light.”

And in addition to the tour, Dream Theater will be presenting the album in a completely new way with a graphic novel.

“They came in with different writers and different artists and reinterpreted every song,” Petrucci said.

“In the graphic novel, there’s a story based on every song, but they’re not the stories that are on the actual record. They’re new interpretations and unique interpretations and sometimes even darker and scarier than the original.”

John Petrucci Enjoys Looking Back on Dream Theater’s Career

As Petrucci celebrated Parasomnia, he also spent some time reflecting on the band’s legacy, something he enjoys doing.

“John [Myung] and I still reminisce about meeting [Mike Portnoy],” Petrucci admitted.

“We were only like 18 years old, just kids at a music college, not really realizing that we’d have this 40-year career ahead of us.”

Petrucci said it’s important to reconnect with that history and remember the earlier days. He agreed that reflecting often helps keep Dream Theater focused on what’s next.

READ MORE: Tool’s Maynard James Keenan + Adam Jones Reflect on Back to the Beginning, Ozzy’s Legacy + More

“You have that connection, you know, it really is a real brotherhood,” he said.

“When you step on stage, I think that kind of connection is really important because the stage is a battlefield … When you look over and you see your friends that you’ve known literally since you were a teenager still playing and still on stage, it really is an important connection to have.”

What Else Did Dream Theater’s John Petrucci Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• The significance of Ozzy Osbourne in his own life: “It goes back to the real early days of me just being turned onto music and getting into guitar playing … In the different bands I was in with my friends, we’d get together and everybody knew Sabbath songs and we’d play all that stuff and then when Ozzy came out with Blizzard of Ozz and I heard Randy Rhoads for the first time as a guitar player, it was just like, ‘Oh my god.’ I was enthralled with his playing and learned all that stuff.”
• What runs through his head when he thinks about A Change of Seasons turning 30 years old this year: “It’s pretty wild … I can’t believe that was 30 years ago. That’s insane to talk about. Insane, that word keeps coming up.”
• What he still wants to accomplish with Dream Theater: “One of the big things for us that for some reason we’ve never been involved with — even though it seems almost obvious — is film scoring. We’ve always felt that our music is very dramatic and cinematic and would be just perfect as a backdrop to a movie. For some reason, it hasn’t been a world that we’ve been able to really break into, but I thought it would be really cool. One of these days…”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

John Petrucci joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, Sept. 4; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.