Progressive metal masters Dream Theater releases first single from upcoming album “The Alien”

Progressive metal masters Dream Theater will be releasing their next album titled “A View From the Top of the World” on October 22nd via InsideOut Music. The band has released the first single from the album titled “The Alien” and you can check it out below:

“It’s the first one we wrote together. It gives people a window into what it was like when we initially met up after all of those months off. It has the adventure, the untraditional structure, the heaviness, and the hooks. It really set the tone for the album. James [LaBrie, vocals] wrote the lyrics about the idea of terraforming and looking beyond our Earth for alternative settlements. Since we’re going beyond our planet, ‘The Alien’ turns out to be us. I thought it was a cool and creative lyric by James.”

– John Petrucci

“A View From The Top Of The World” is Dream Theater at its musical finest expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The seven-song album also marks the second studio album with InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (Rush, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour). “A View From The Top Of The World” was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.

Dream Theater — comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini — was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release “Distance Over Time” and the 20th anniversary of “Scenes From A Memory” when a global pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home, with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) — a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via Zoom on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.

“We just love to play our instruments. That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”

“We approach every album like it’s our first,. It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”

– John Petrucci

“A View From The Top Of The World” track listing:

1. The Alien (9:32)
2. Answering The Call (7:35)
3. Invisible Monster (6:31)
4. Sleeping Giant (10:05)
5. Transcending Time (6:25)
6. Awaken The Master (9:47)
7. A View From The Top Of The World (20:24)

Dream Theater go on tour about a week after the album comes out. Here are the dates:

10/28 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Arts Center
10/29 – San Diego, CA @ San Diego Civic Theater
10/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Microsoft Theater
11/01 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/02 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
11/04 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
11/06 – Denver, CO @ Paramount
11/08 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre
11/09 – Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre
11/11 – Chicago, IL @ The Chicago Theatre
11/12 – Akron, OH @ Goodyear Theater
11/13 – Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall
11/15 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre
11/16 – Quebec, QC @ Grand Theatre
11/17 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
11/19 – Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center
11/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
11/21 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre
11/23 – Boston, MA @ Boch Center – Wang Theatre
11/28 – Wallingford, CT @ Toyota Oakdale Theatre
11/29 – Red Bank, NJ @ Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center
11/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
12/02 – Charlotte, NC @ Ovens Auditorium
12/03 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center
12/04 – St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
12/06 – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry House
12/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
12/09 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links Deep Ellum
12/10 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater
12/11 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
12/13 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
12/14 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater