Dream Theater
Parasomnia

Mike Portnoy's return to Dream Theater caught us a bit by surprise, but many said it would happen sooner or later. I still remember when he announced his departure in September 2010, and the contrasting opinions about the impact this would have on the band. Some said Dream Theater would never be the same, while others claimed the band would have more freedom to compose and restore their status as "prog-metal torchbearers." During this transitional phase, Portnoy was often blamed as the main reason for Dream Theater's drift from their original tendencies in the new millennium, accused of steering them toward overly metal, overly flashy, overly commercial, or overly alternative territories. But during the twelve years with Mike Mangini, regret often crept in. Mangini was recognized as a technical genius, objectively superior to his predecessor, but judged to be much colder and less emotional than Portnoy.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge in these thirteen years of separation. Portnoy has played in various projects that have greatly enriched his skills. In any case, in recent years, there have been numerous hints suggesting a return to the fold. First, the reunion with John Petrucci, who wanted him as the drummer for his solo work "Terminal Velocity," then with Jordan Rudess for the eagerly anticipated third album of Liquid Tension Experiment... up until March 4, 2022, when Portnoy surprised his old bandmates by seeing them live in concert in New York and taking pictures with the members (including his replacement, Mangini). Many seeing those images probably thought, "Okay, it's happening." Then came the news of the great reconciliation in October 2023.

The Portnoy returning home is a more mature and less presumptuous Portnoy, no longer wanting to act like a boss and ready instead to collaborate equally with his bandmates without dominating. However, I have not forgotten his metal and flashy temptations, so much so that upon hearing of his return, my comment was <<Come on, a new Metallica album is coming soon>>, to which someone responded <<a Muse album is more likely>>; well, I’d say this time I was right. I don't know how much Portnoy's return influenced their direction, but "Parasomnia" (a sort of concept album based on sleep disorders) is a decidedly heavy album, where heaviness is prominently prioritized. From the first listens, I couldn't help but notice the path the tracks follow: for several minutes they maintain a lively but not exaggerated rhythm, always direct and consistent, while Petrucci's guitar dominates with rocky and sustained riffs; only past the halfway point is space given to melodic openings and instrumental sections that are honestly not too imaginative (instrumental creativity is certainly not the main attraction of the album). Such structures speak clearly, telling us exactly, "yes, our intention is first of all to be direct, rough, and aggressive, this is the prevailing mood of the album, everything else comes afterward, as a complement"; it's an album that is first and foremost metal, then progressive, in a rather diluted form.

Overall, this is not a novelty for Dream Theater, the Boston combo has previously raised the bar, favoring more extreme sounds and even overshadowing the more melodic component; they've done this in scattered tracks here and there but also in entire (or almost) albums. The most striking example is "Train of Thought," where metal was pumped and prevailed over everything; "Black Clouds and Silver Linings" also had extreme sounds, a good example of dark prog-metal; then there was "Distance Over Time," which had sharp guitars but in a balanced prog-metal context that well-balanced all elements. Which one is "Parasomnia" closer to? In my humble opinion, in terms of heaviness, I'd say it stands a few steps below these mentioned, while in terms of general approach, I would point to "Train of Thought" as the closest relative. It shares with the 2003 album the predominance of the metal element, but it's not a new "Train of Thought," it doesn't reach the same levels of heaviness; it's predominantly heavy but in a much more moderate manner, and while melody was nearly suffocated there, it isn't here. Moreover, it never descends into the flashiness that the band often fell into during that period; everything remains quite composed. Many probably hated the excessively rough vocal inserts that Portnoy occasionally imposed, and there was indeed some fear he might bring them back upon his return, but rest assured, it hasn't happened. Honestly, I don't think any of the tracks here would fit perfectly into "Train of Thought," not even the most admittedly heavy one, "Midnight Messiah," which in that context would seem almost "relaxed" compared to the rest, not quite aligning with its bold mood.

The album, nonetheless, never sounds the same as itself, even with a clear direction that heaviness presents itself in a continually different guise. In the instrumental introduction "In the Arms of Morpheus," hints of Haken's harder parts appear, also thanks to Petrucci's 8-string guitar (the second use of the 8-string after its initial experiment in "Awaken the Master," it would have been a shame had it been an isolated case). "Night Terror" has an overall very classic metal attack, almost Maiden-like but compelling enough. "A Broken Man" offers a good variety of solutions, sometimes even unusual, with Petrucci skillfully weaving the threads with his guitar; a track alternating cadenced rhythms reminiscent of a much more washed-out Opeth and very dark and tormented guitar and bass solutions that even recall Tool, up to almost jazzy incursions in the instrumental part. "Dead Asleep" is, in my opinion, the most successful episode, managing to be edgy without being truly flashy and able to remain so for almost all its 11 minutes without becoming tedious, despite lacking notable instrumental and rhythmic dynamism, plus they managed to carve out enough space for powerful melodic openings and orchestral inserts without breaking its aggressiveness and sense of anguish. "Midnight Messiah," on the other hand, proudly ventures into Metallica territories, neither too thrash nor too softened, sharp enough, it’s the most powerful and direct track and undoubtedly the furthest from prog.

The album’s final part is, however, a bit different and more classically Dream Theater, almost as if it wants to retract what was said up to that point. The brief interlude "Are We Dreaming?" seems to want to act as a bridge for this somewhat different ending. "Bend the Clock" is precisely the track that contrasts with everything else, a melodic track in an album dominated by heaviness; it's totally incomparable to what happened in "Train of Thought," it doesn't have the same function as "Vacant," that was a tormented intermezzo that was actually perfectly in line with the album's gloomy atmosphere; this instead offers over 7 minutes of sheer melodic brilliance. Although I must say it isn't quite the most successful of ballads (if it can be considered such), it matters little if from the comments I read around many praised it as the best of the album; it doesn’t have a melody so stirring, it seems somewhat forcibly and unnaturally constructed, that scratchy guitar seems artificial and out of place, ruining its final effect that perhaps could have been better. It seems the ballads are not the strong suit of the latest Dream Theater; "Out of Reach" was almost annoying, and in the penultimate album, they realized it wasn't strictly necessary to insert one at any cost, showing great intellectual honesty; here instead, they proved it could have been easily omitted.

The final suite "The Shadow Man Incident" is also something that deviates from the rest of the album; it's the composition that most closely returns to Dream Theater's style, here metal is no longer the center of everything but returns to being a regularly and skillfully distributed component, returning to the most authentic prog-metal, balancing aggressiveness, melody, and instrumental creativity; those having difficulty appreciating this album can find comfort in this suite, while for those who love surprises it is clearly the track that surprises the least (except for some vaguely Latin melodies in the instrumental section). Honestly, though, I liked the suite that closed the previous album more, I found it more cinematic and bold from almost all points of view.

In conclusion... This album partly impressed me, surprised me. I thought they would come out with another utterly predictable prog-metal album, and instead, they somehow challenged themselves, taking an element of their sound and developing it properly, with ease and without becoming repetitive. I believe that of all the times Dream Theater tried to act as metal heads, this is the time they've done it best, without excesses, with well-taken measures, and developing every detail well. Then, by all means, there's no sense of revolution or upheaval, but for me, it's a pass.