Review Summary: Mike Portnoy's return comes with some high expectations. Hopefully the band aren't asleep at the wheel.
I doubt there was a single Dream Theater fan that didn’t hope for Mike Portnoy’s eventual return to the band. Of course, this desire was always more a reflection of fans’ love for what Portnoy brought to the music than it was a critique of Mangini. However, there’s no doubt that while Mike Mangini consistently impressed in live situations, his studio output just never reached the same standards. The five releases without Portnoy all lacked his fluid, dynamic percussive style. More importantly, the absence of Portnoy’s guiding vision in the songwriting process left the music to feel formulaic, stale, and maybe even a little bit aimless, lacking the energy and edge that had previously been a hallmark of the band’s sound. How much of this can be blamed on Mike Mangini? Probably very little, honestly, but I digress. Since Mike Portnoy’s absence appeared to signal the band’s decline, it’s only natural to assume his return would trigger their revival.
The three pre-release singles seemed to uphold that assumption. “Night Terror” served as the perfect reintroduction for fans who may have strayed over the last decade, capturing everything that made Dream Theater great in a (mostly) streamlined package. While “Night Terror” seemed to come straight from the classic Dream Theater playbook, the other two songs showed the band could still learn new tricks. “A Broken Man” felt like
Black Clouds-era Dream Theater interspersed with bouts of Protest the Hero, while “Midnight Messiah” took the metal worship of
Train of Thought and pushed it even further with metallic punk-style choruses and chunkier riffs. While all three songs approached the Dream Theater sound from slightly different angles, they still carried a unified vision consisting of concise, hard-hitting, guitar-driven songs that embraced a darker sound than what the band are typically known for… and the remainder of
Parasomnia follows suit.
Maybe it’s because
Parasomnia is intended as another concept album – this time exploring sleep disorders like sleepwalking and night terrors – but it undeniably stands out as darker, heavier, and more focused than a typical Dream Theater release. Gone are the quirky, immersion-breaking keyboard shenanigans of Jordan Rudess, replaced by a remarkably restrained, song-driven performance, evoking shades of Kevin Moore at his best. The same sentiment applies to John Petrucci, who prioritizes down-tuned metal riffs and complementary solos over tangential shred-fests. This refined approach culminates in the band’s finest extended-length track since “A Nightmare to Remember”. “The Shadow Man Incident” fully justifies its 20-minute runtime, using every moment to develop its narrative and deliver a powerful, satisfying conclusion – not just to the album’s thematic arc, but also to the return of Mike Portnoy.
Despite essentially sticking to the same formula they’ve been employing since bringing on Jordan Rudess,
Parasomnia still feels like a breath of fresh air. Maybe it's because this is their darkest, most guitar-driven album since
Train of Thought. Maybe it’s the smattering of modern ideas or the way the songs manage to strike a perfect balance – structured enough to feel cohesive yet intricate enough to deliver the prog elements Dream Theater fans love. Maybe it’s a little of everything. Of course, Mike Portnoy’s return plays a major role, bringing his signature flair to both the drumming and songwriting. After nearly 15 years of middling releases, Parasomnia is a triumphant return to form – possibly their most creative, focused, and engaging work since
Metropolis Pt. 2.
