A record called Parasomnia (InsideOut Music) which explores many of the unusual behaviours and emotions experienced during sleep, written by a band called Dream Theater (a spelling which, due to my almost painful levels of Englishness, never fails to make me shudder) seems the most obvious pairing in the world. The question of why it’s taken until their sixteenth full-length studio release for this to happen is something for the band to explain but it’s here now, and in true Dream Theater tradition, you’re going to need time to absorb it fully.

The Boston prog pioneers have never been for those with short attention spans and at over seventy minutes in length, and covering phenomena such as somnambulism and somniloquy (sleepwalking and sleep talking), sleep paralysis, nightmares, and night terrors, this is again most definitely the case here. 

Opening with the sounds of someone lying down and drifting off to sleep, “In the Arms of Morpheus” opens in a quiet, soporific manner before being invaded by unsettling sound effects. Distorted eight string djent tones and crashing drums shatter the stillness, guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy (returning after an absence of well over a decade) create a sense of claustrophobia before the song moves between thrash and lighter style riffing, all topped off with a typically skilful and emotive guitar solo.

With a suitably creepy arachnoid riff and tumbling drums, “Night Terror” is classic progressive thrash, singer James LaBrie‘s vocals clear and sharp as irrational time signatures creep in from beneath. A playful Petrucci guitar solo along with Jordan Rudess‘s keys and John Myung‘s bass lend the track an almost Giallo cinema feeling while at another point it gives you the rather unnerving sense that thousands of spiders might just be scurrying across the floor towards you at that very moment.

“A Broken Man” focuses on sleep disturbances stemming from a combat veteran suffering PTSD. Viciously angular and discordant atonality levels out into more intricate drum patterns and off-kilter timings before LaBrie adds some warmth and humanity to the machine-like precision musicianship. A Goblin-style section then metamorphoses into something quite jazzy before the heaviness returns to see the song through to its powerful and emotional conclusion.

Based on true events “Dead Asleep” tells the story of a Welshman who in 2009 accidentally strangled his wife while asleep. Dreaming someone had broken into their caravan, the man believed he was putting the intruder in a headlock. He wasn’t. He was acquitted due to having a history of sleep-related issues and the song reflects the seriousness of the case in a dark progressive metal masterclass. 

“Midnight Messiah” is about someone who feels most alive inside their dreams and looks forward to falling asleep so they can become the titular character. Portnoy’s first lyrical contribution since 2009, the song begins with a moody arpeggio and spindly staccato riffs before displaying big Metallica and Judas Priest vibes at certain points. Bursts of speed accentuate the slower drama as once again Petrucci steals the show with another virtuoso guitar performance.

“Are We Dreaming?” is a hushed and whispered church-like interlude before the introspective and almost ballad-like “Bend the Clock” hits in a different way to the rest of the album. Musically uplifting with bittersweet lyrics, this cut asks if the dreamer could turn back the clock to a life without night traumas, would things be better? Just shy of twenty minutes, the multi-faceted finale “The Shadow Man Incident” tells of a sleeper’s confrontation with an apparition who may or may not be in the room with them. Military snare rolls, a Latin-style section, unconventional chords, and cinematic orchestration all converge in one glorious finale that will leave you far from a state of drowsiness.

Like most Theater albums, Parasomnia works its finest magic with total immersion, absent exterior distractions. Any form of withdrawal from the real world or social media, no matter how briefly, requires effort, but do it here and you will be rewarded for sure. Complex song structures, asymmetrical and complicated time signatures and typically ludicrous levels of musicianship all come together to strike a delicate but powerful balance on yet another Dream Theater masterwork. 

Buy the album:
https://dream-theater.lnk.to/ParasomniaAlbum

9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
Follow his work here: