Dream Theater

Dream Theater: (left to right) John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess and John Myung.

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal/rock band formed by three students at the Berklee College of Music in the mid-1980s. In the twenty years since their inception, they have become one of the most commercially successful progressive band since the height of progressive rock in the mid-1970s, despite being relatively unknown in mainstream pop and rock circles. Their highest selling album, 1992's Images and Words, was awarded a gold record and is consistently named as a seminal progressive metal release, although it only reached #61 on the Billboard 200 charts.

The band is well-known for the technical proficiency of each instrumentalist, winning many awards from music magazines; but for the same reason, they are often seen by critics as a prototypical "pomp" rock group with a penchant for self-indulgence, needlessly escapist subject matter and overlong musical passages.

In spite of this, they are highly respected by many of rock and metal's biggest names, leading to collaborations between Dream Theater members and many other well known musicians. In a famous example, guitarist John Petrucci was named as the third player on the G3 tour with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, following in the footsteps of Eric Johnson, Robert Fripp, Yngwie Malmsteen and other influential guitarists.

Dream Theater are also noted for their musical versatility and the many different genres their own music incorporates, which has made it possible for them to perform with a very diverse range of acts. Some of their more notable touring partners include Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, King's X, Marillion, Megadeth, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Queensrÿche, Spock's Beard, and Yes.