Dream Theater - London Review

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dream Theater at the Eventim Apollo was one of only six shows that I managed to attend in 2020. The band played two nights at the Apollo, which were eventually immortalised via the Distant Memories: Live in London release, which ended up being some of the final shows that the band played prior to the worldwide lockdowns. It was my fourth time seeing the band live, and it was as good as ever. Each Dream Theater show that I have seen has been special for different reasons - largely as the band tend to make an effort to significantly shake up the setlist between each tour. The 2020 Apollo show celebrated both the band's excellent 2019 release Distance Over Time and 1999's seminal Metropolis - Part 2: Scenes from a Memory - with a complete performance of the latter included. Scenes from a Memory is generally regarded as one of the band's best albums, so seeing in performed in full was a real treat. The packed out Apollo clearly agreed, and the atmosphere was perfectly captured on the resulting live release. Sadly, I think at least one planned leg of the tour fell to the pandemic. If I remember correctly, most of the Distance Over Time touring cycle had taken place by the time the European leg came to an end with London and Glasgow - but I think that some parts of the world sadly missed out on what was an excellent tour. Dream Theater used the pandemic downtime wisely, however, and last year released another excellent album in the form of A View from the Top of the World. A View From the Top of the World is easily the band's heaviest and most overtly progressive album for a while, and unsurprisingly it has been very well received by the fanbase. The album's lead single The Alien recently won a Grammy Award, too, bringing the band a tiny amount of more mainstream attention. To the delight of the band's fans, too, the pandemic has now calmed down to the extent that international touring is once again possible. It has also been great to start visiting arenas again, as I did yesterday evening when Dream Theater returned to London. Due to their strong performances and varied setlists, Dream Theater are a band that I try and catch on every tour. Despite the pandemic, the aforementioned show at the Eventim Apollo was only just over two years ago - but the gap felt longer due to the circumstances. Clearly buoyed by two nights at the Apollo, this time the band decided to return to the Wembley Arena - a venue which they last played in 2014. It is a venue that has always been a little too big for Dream Theater, but it can be reconfigured in a number of ways. Whilst last night's show was far from a sell out, the venue was laid out in such a way to make it feel full - and, in my opinion, much more successfully than some of the other layouts that I have seen there before.

Unlike the band's recent tours, the touring cycle for A View from the Top of the World has taken on a more traditional format - with the band foregoing their recent 'Evening With...' shows and instead bringing a support band along. The support act for the three UK shows on the band's European run was TesseracT, a five-piece UK-based progressive/tech metal act who I have seen a number of times live. I last saw the band in October last year opening up for Bullet for My Valentine, and I think that it is fair to say that they left a crowd full of lovers of metalcore largely confused. Dream Theater's audience was certainly more open to TesseracT's rhythmic, yet atmospheric, sound, however, and the band cruised through 40 minutes or so of music to a strong reception. Wisely, the band played a set that was very much focused around the more atmospheric and melodic end of their sound - with many of the heavier staples left out. There were still plenty of big riffs throughout, however, but they were certainly less prominent than usual. Chiming guitar arpeggios and synth backdrops were generally the order of the day, but when Acle Kahney (guitar) did launch into one of his trademark polyrhythmic riffs they made a big impact. Tech metal rarely does anything for me, but what sets TesseracT apart from the crowd is frontman Daniel Tompkins. The guy has a serious voice, and he is a big reason why I enjoy TesseracT. They will never be a favourite band of mine, but they have a very distinct sound and I always enjoy seeing them live - largely due to Tompkins' stagecraft and how ridiculously tight the band are. To pull of TesseracT's music the band need to be really in tune with each other, and they always manage to pull it off. They always have a great light show, too, and yesterday was no different. Their live sound mix was also very clear, and everything came together to allow TesseracT to put on a powerful show that would have certainly earnt them a few new fans - although I would not be surprised if there were already a few in attendance given the reaction that the band generally received throughout their time on stage.

Despite leaving the 'Evening With...' format behind, any concerns regarding being short changed would have been misplaced. Despite only featuring 10 songs during the evening, Dream Theater played for over two hours - and impressed the good-sized crowd with a handful of songs from A View from the Top of the World and a few others which had not been played live for a number of years. It also seems that the band really wanted to showcase some of their longer pieces. Most of the songs played were over 10 minutes long, and as such the evening was one of real virtuosity - with plenty of time for both John Petrucci (guitar/vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards) to solo. All five band members shone, however, and the set was structured to allow everyone some time in the spotlight. The night opened with Grammy-winning The Alien, and the heavy track set the tone for what was to come. Given the general heaviness of the band's latest album, it was fitting that much of the material played was also similarly heavy. The Alien got things off to a great start, and found frontman James LaBrie in fine voice, before the clock was turned back to 1994 for an airing of 6:00. Mike Mangini (drums) opened the song with a barrage of drum fills, before the groovy song impressed the crowd thanks to a gritty LaBrie vocal and plenty of stabs of organ from Rudess. Despite having seen the band four times previously, all but two of the songs played were new to me in a live context. The first three songs were all live debuts for me, with the 8-string madness of Awaken the Master being an early highlight. The heavy track is a favourite from the new album, and it was great seeing the band really showcase their metal credentials during it. It contained some of the evening's best riffing, and it led perfectly into Endless Sacrifice - one of the few songs in the set to have some downtime. This respite only came during the verses, however, as the rest of the song is still pretty heavy. The verses allowed LaBrie some time in the spotlight, before the powerful choruses were one of the evening's main sing-a-long moments. The ending section of the song was perhaps the best, however, as it turned into a real instrumental showcase - with Rudess strapping on his keytar to join Petrucci and John Myung (bass guitar) at the front of the stage to shred.

Endless Sacrifice was another highlight, but in truth essentially everything played was one. The soaringly melodic Bridges in the Sky gave LaBrie a chance to really dig into a chorus, before two uncharacteristically shorter songs were played. Invisible Monster was probably the only song of the night that featured anything like a traditional arrangement, but the relatively straightforward track still went down well with the crowd. By this point, though, Dream Theater could do no wrong. The sound mix was very clear, even if LaBrie was occasionally a bit low in the mix, and the band seemed really fired up. Mangini was really going for it behind his uncharacteristically small drumkit, whilst Petrucci delivered a real masterclass in metal guitar. Rudess quietened things down briefly to delicately introduce About to Crash - part of the lengthy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence suite which had not been featured live for a while. The song is generally quite piano driven, so his intro worked well, and the song later segued perfectly into the lengthy The Ministry of Lost Souls. The song from 2007's Systematic Chaos became another unexpected highlight. It has never been a song that I have paid a huge amount of attention to before, but it came across really well live. It was probably the closest thing to a ballad played all night, with the lengthy atmospheric verses really allowing LaBrie to shine. The song still rocks when it needs to, but it gave everyone a chance to somewhat catch their breath before the huge title track from the band's latest album brought the main set to a close. At over 20 minutes A View from the Top of the World was the longest song of the night, and it was another highlight. I have always enjoyed hearing the song as part of the album, but seeing it performed live made all of the sections really make sense. It kept the large crowd's attention during its entire duration, too, which is a testament to the band's compositional skills - and the band rightly received a huge cheer when they left the stage. There was time for one more, however, and the encore proved to probably be the overall highlight of the night for me. I have loved The Count of Tuscany for years, and hearing it live again was a real treat. LaBrie really dominated early on vocally, but the overall standout performer was Petrucci. His opening solo was excellent, and the ebow mid-section really filled the arena - before the symphonic closing section brought the crowd to its feet to give the band a standing ovation as they left the stage. The setlist was:

The Alien

6:00

Awaken the Master

Endless Sacrifice

Bridges in the Sky

Invisible Monster

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Part II: About to Crash

The Ministry of Lost Souls

A View from the Top of the World

-

The Count of Tuscany

Dream Theater gigs are always special, and this one at Wembley Arena was no different. The band are on another level when it comes to technical ability, but they always pull it off live - which is why I keep coming back for more. I have been to longer Dream Theater shows, but last night was another extremely memorable night - which included a number of great songs which I saw the band play live for the first time. It was a great showcase of the band's heavier side, too, and after the more melodic previous tour it was good to see the band really rocking out this time.