PARASOMNIA

Unanimously seen as a reunion album for Dream Theater (despite the band never really going away), 2025's 'Parasomnia' marks the surprising and exciting return of original drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy, restoring the lineup that had been responsible for all of the fantastic albums released between 1999 and 2009. This new album by the kings of progressive metal is the sixteenth overall in their studio catalogue, expanding upon the material released in the last fifteen years, with the band loading up on their darker riff-heavy compositions that encapsulate both the melodic and the more technical aspects of their sound. Not a concept album, but a thematically cohesive work centered around the consequences and impacts of sleep disruption, intertwining this thread into their diverse and intriguing stories, as told on 'Parasomnia', this album generally seems to have something stylistically in common with both the self-titled album from 2013 and 'Train of Thought', both darker and heavier albums from the past.

Of course, the return of Mike Portnoy does not necessarily imply a return to the band's state prior to the 2010s, since the inventive and eccentric drummer did not redeem any of his production duties (handled exclusively by Petrucci) and it is not directly discernible how involved he has been with the songwriting process here, the direction of the music, or the conceptual side of it all (credited with writing the lyrics of just one of the six non-instrumental songs), which have more recently been dominated by the ideas and vision of John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess. With this in mind, 'Parasomnia' seems to be a direct continuation of the rather fine thread of albums released by Dream Theater between 2011 and 2021, and the similarities are quite tangible. This new work introduces nothing unheard of before - the cathartic and sophisticated songwriting dominates most of the songs on 'Parasomnia', which are quite effective and exhibit some really excellent riffs, mind-boggling guitar solos as well as well-written and memorable melodies, many of which can in reality be traced back to past works. The intricacy is here, the depth and the texture of the music are here, together with the signature dramatic delivery of James LaBrie. With the sole exceptions of 'Bend the Clock' and the big closing epic, 'Parasomnia' is incredibly consistent, enjoyable and generally uplifting, there is a sense of rejuvenation brought along by Portnoy's return, even if the album closely follows the well-known DT template, making it a fine listen and a more guitar-driven offering that probably lacks some of that characteristic flair, ever so poignant on some of the classic albums from the 2000s era of the band.

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