Dream Theater – Parasomnia

vote
6.5

• Band:
  Dream Theater
• Duration: 01:11:14
• Available since: 07/02/2025
• Label:

• Inside out

Streaming not yet available

Forty years of activity for a band are certainly an important goal, a moment of reflection and a milestone to sit on and – as far as possible – to sum up what has been built so far. Four decades of activities in the world of music mean to have made it, they mean having failed, having fallen, having raised and having gone on, they mean having a community that believes in what is done and, in one way or another, they mean having left The sign within an ecosystem like that of progressive metal.
The Dream Theater, whether or not, likes the finish line of the 'doors' have reached it and decided to celebrate this important birthday by releasing their sixteenth album entitled “Parasomnia”; Which, among other things, is also the first album in thirteen years released with the legendary Mike Portnoy on drums – returned to the feile after a long period of separation from the New York band.
The new record work released by ours is a work that comes to life and comes alive when we close our eyes to abandon ourselves to the warm embrace of Morfeo, in the hope that the Greek god of dreams ligns gently to the brushing of the sun. However, it follows is far from restful and reinvigorating, but rather tormented and tormented by neurotic movements, recurrent nightmares, contrasting emotions and a series of other suffering that outline sleep disorder gives the latest work of the Dream Theater takes its name: Parasomnia, in fact.
“Parasomnia” is a dark, night, at times dark work; A work narrated from within a dreamlike cage from which one cannot escape if not by opening the eyes and abandoning what should be the moment of the day when the body and mind find the well -deserved rest and the coveted relief.
In this walk in the world of nightmares, the New York quintet brings a lot of its past to the surface, proposing – as if it were a hypnosis session – some features and family structures to the long -lasting fan base. A Amarcord, this, presented as a thematic work that, at the same time, assumes the colors of the concept album, without however fully embracing the narrative structure of this style and giving the listener a mix of old and new, almost to retrace The episodes of sleeping on which the whole work focuses.
From a musical point of view, “Parasomnia” appears as a valid work, both from a compositional and executive point of view – as moreover we would expect from musicians who have always made their technical skills a real trademark.
The songs such as “A Broken Man” and “Night Terror” are very interesting: rough and aggressive pieces in which Portnoy's personality has the opportunity to re -emerge and wisely released as singles to present the dark and night sounds of the work. Particularly pleasant is the ballad “Bend the Clock”, which takes us back to the classic Dream Theater flavors thanks to a beautiful acoustic guitar at the opening and a poignant vocal part. Also interesting “The Shadow Man Incident”, the last trace of the album which – despite the duration of about twenty minutes – lets itself be heard with transport, without being too difficult to digest.
Staying in the compositional realm, it is impossible not to perceive strong sound calls with the most iconic songs and albums of the band. As described in our track-by-track, “Parasomnia” incorporates many phrasing, rhythms or melodic structures that strongly recall songs of “Scenes from a Memory”, and other famous works of the American band, to the point of playing as real leitmotiv; Tributes to the past, these, who do not stop only on the melodic side but become real quotes of old titles in the text of “Midnight Messiah”: a enough dish that seems to have the mere function of container for the aforementioned references.
“Parasomnia” is an album that, after several plays, leaves a strange aftertaste, albeit not necessarily unpleasant; The aftertaste of a work that tries to re -propose a past, as if to want to satisfy and make a long -lasting fan smile, definitely closer to the group that was compared to what it is currently.
It would have been interesting – in our opinion – to open and explore the toolbox of a Mike Portnoy, which in thirteen years of absence has collected flavors and colors experiences from different musical realities; Experiences that would certainly have enriched the palette of a band that has always been very centered on itself and never too open to collaboration with the outside world.
This is the main reason why the record work presented certainly obtains a full sufficiency, but it remains as a lost occasion to give more and give fans a new leap forward creative; Athletic gesture, this, that Dream Theater struggles to perform for several years now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ipt60hvgw4