Dream Theater Head Into the Studio for Album No. 17

Dream Theater are officially back to work. The progressive metal heavyweights have kicked off sessions for their 17th studio album, the follow-up to February 2025’s Parasomnia. The band broke the news with a photo of all five members together at Ytse Jam Studios, captioned “#DT17 is underway…”.

The announcement isn’t exactly a shock. Back in May, singer James LaBrie said that once the world tour wrapped in mid-May, the band would take a short break before starting to write and record new material, most likely in late 2026 or early 2027. He floated late 2027 or early 2028 for the next tour, while stressing that none of those dates were locked in. Drummer Mike Portnoy painted a similar picture last December, saying that after roughly a year and a half on the road, the plan was to rest over the summer and then turn their attention to a new record.

Second album since Portnoy’s return

This will be the second studio album since Portnoy rejoined the band. A co-founder of Dream Theater, Portnoy played on 10 of their albums, from 1989’s When Dream And Day Unite to 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings, before leaving in 2010. He came back in October 2023, taking over from Mike Mangini, who had recorded five studio albums with the band in the meantime. Portnoy’s first show back with Dream Theater in 14 years took place on October 20, 2024, at London’s O2 Arena.

Alongside LaBrie and Portnoy, the current lineup features John Petrucci on guitar, John Myung on bass and Jordan Rudess on keyboards.

Parasomnia and the tour cycle

Parasomnia came out on February 7, 2025, through InsideOut Music. Produced by Petrucci and mixed by Andy Sneap, the record runs eight tracks and 71 minutes, closing with the nearly 20-minute “The Shadow Man Incident”.

On the “An Evening With Dream Theater” tour, the band played Parasomnia front to back and also brought back the seven-part “A Change Of Seasons” in full for the first time since Portnoy’s return. Their April 22, 2026, show in Santiago, Chile, was professionally captured for an upcoming Blu-ray release.

Last November also saw the release of Quarantième: Live À Paris, documenting the band’s November 23, 2024, Paris concert from their 40th-anniversary tour.

For the record: Dream Theater began life as Majesty in 1985, formed by Portnoy, Petrucci and Myung after they met at Berklee College of Music. LaBrie joined in 1991, with Rudess following in 1999.