Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com, recently caught up with Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci. In an other excerpt from the interview, Petrucci discusses some of his favorite guitar players today, as well as his stance on modern metal and how he feels about it.
UG: What are your thoughts about the state of modern metal guitar?
Petrucci: “Well, I think it’s amazing. I think about even just the genre that we’re known for, prog metal, and how, when we first started, the prog metal sort of moniker didn’t exist. Now, that family tree has just expanded to where there’s so many offshoots and bands doing some sort of version of metal with a more progressive influence.”
“And so, yeah, incredible musicians all over the place, including my nephew, Jake Bowen, who is in Periphery, and the stuff that they’ve been able to do. Metal is in a great place. And even, sometimes, for people in the US, it’s hard to wrap their head around, ‘Oh, it seems like something that was from the ’80s.’ But all you have to do is step outside of the US, and go to South America, Europe, Asia.”
“I mean, metal is alive and well. Some of the biggest rock and metal festivals that happen in the world are out there that are just a testament to the huge metal community. And, of course, the guitar being really, to me – and maybe I’m biased – the biggest voice as far as defining the genre of metal. Because you can’t have metal music without metal guitar.”
Read more here.
On the heels of their successful 2025 40th Anniversary sold-out North American tour that wrapped at Radio City Music Hall in March, Grammy®-winning, progressive music titans, Dream Theater, are announcing another run of dates in the United States.
As referenced nightly from the stage on the last run, the upcoming tour will be An Evening With Dream Theater that will celebrate the band’s recent chart-topping 16th studio album, Parasomnia. The tour is scheduled for 30 cities across the United States and kicks off September 5 in Reading, PA and runs through October 25 where it wraps in Long Island, NY. The tour will make stops in Orlando, FL; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO and Providence, RI among others.
Dream Theater will be performing their latest album in its entirety as well as classics and fan favorites from their catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music. More information on all tickets and VIP packages can be found at dreamtheater.net/tour.
An Evening With Dream Theater Parasomnia 2025 Tour:
September
5 – Reading, PA – Santander PAC
6 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric
9 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston PAC
10 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound Amphitheater
12 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
13 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
14 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy (40 th Anniversary Tour Rescheduled Date)
16 – Charlotte, NC – Owens Auditorium
18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center
19 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life (Festival)
21 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
22 – Peoria, IL – Prairie Home Alliance Theater
24 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theatre
25 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
27 – Des Moines, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
29 – Colorado Springs, CO – Pikes Peak Center
October
3 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock (Festival)
4 – Oceanside, CA – Frontwave Arena
5 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Terrace Theater
7 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater
8 – El Paso, TX – Abraham Chavez Theatre
11 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
13 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
14 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
17 – Hammond, IN – The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond
18 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
20 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
22 – Providence, RI – Veterans Memorial Auditorium
23 – Schenectady, NY – Proctor’s Theatre
25 – Long Island, NY – Nassau Coliseum
An album that was fifteen years in the making, Dream Theater released their sixteenth studio album, Parasomnia, on February 7, 2025, via their longtime label home, Inside Out Music/Sony Music. From the opening track “In The Arms Of Morpheus” to the closer of “The Shadow Man Incident,” Dream Theater returned with a collection of songs that showcased what has earned the band a loyal following for four decades.
Clocking in at 71 minutes, Parasomnia debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums, the Hard Music Albums and Current Rock Albums chart selling over 18,000 combined units the first week. It also debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200 which is notable for a progressive metal band and shows the bands devout fanbase.
Parasomnia is a term for disruptive, sleep-related disturbances including sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, and night terrors. The album was produced by Petrucci, engineered by James ‘Jimmy T’ Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.
Parasomnia tracklisting:
“In The Arms Of Morpheus”
“Night Terror”
“A Broken Man”
“Dead Asleep”
“Midnight Messiah”
“Are We Dreaming?”
“Bend The Clock”
“The Shadow Man Incident”
"Prophets Of Addiction is a modern day Hanoi Rocks meets The 69 Eyes with plenty of Pop hooks and Whisky drenched vocals." - Metal Sludge.
Listen at https://smarturl.it/prophetsofaddiction
The post DREAM THEATER’s JOHN PETRUCCI On The State Of Modern Metal Guitar – “Incredible Musicians All Over The Place; Metal Is Alive And Well” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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UG: What are your thoughts about the state of modern metal guitar?
Petrucci: “Well, I think it’s amazing. I think about even just the genre that we’re known for, prog metal, and how, when we first started, the prog metal sort of moniker didn’t exist. Now, that family tree has just expanded to where there’s so many offshoots and bands doing some sort of version of metal with a more progressive influence.”
“And so, yeah, incredible musicians all over the place, including my nephew, Jake Bowen, who is in Periphery, and the stuff that they’ve been able to do. Metal is in a great place. And even, sometimes, for people in the US, it’s hard to wrap their head around, ‘Oh, it seems like something that was from the ’80s.’ But all you have to do is step outside of the US, and go to South America, Europe, Asia.”
“I mean, metal is alive and well. Some of the biggest rock and metal festivals that happen in the world are out there that are just a testament to the huge metal community. And, of course, the guitar being really, to me – and maybe I’m biased – the biggest voice as far as defining the genre of metal. Because you can’t have metal music without metal guitar.”
Read more here.
On the heels of their successful 2025 40th Anniversary sold-out North American tour that wrapped at Radio City Music Hall in March, Grammy®-winning, progressive music titans, Dream Theater, are announcing another run of dates in the United States.
As referenced nightly from the stage on the last run, the upcoming tour will be An Evening With Dream Theater that will celebrate the band’s recent chart-topping 16th studio album, Parasomnia. The tour is scheduled for 30 cities across the United States and kicks off September 5 in Reading, PA and runs through October 25 where it wraps in Long Island, NY. The tour will make stops in Orlando, FL; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO and Providence, RI among others.
Dream Theater will be performing their latest album in its entirety as well as classics and fan favorites from their catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music. More information on all tickets and VIP packages can be found at dreamtheater.net/tour.
An Evening With Dream Theater Parasomnia 2025 Tour:
September
5 – Reading, PA – Santander PAC
6 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric
9 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston PAC
10 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound Amphitheater
12 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
13 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
14 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy (40 th Anniversary Tour Rescheduled Date)
16 – Charlotte, NC – Owens Auditorium
18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Benedum Center
19 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life (Festival)
21 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
22 – Peoria, IL – Prairie Home Alliance Theater
24 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theatre
25 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
27 – Des Moines, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
29 – Colorado Springs, CO – Pikes Peak Center
October
3 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock (Festival)
4 – Oceanside, CA – Frontwave Arena
5 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Terrace Theater
7 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater
8 – El Paso, TX – Abraham Chavez Theatre
11 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theater
13 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
14 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
17 – Hammond, IN – The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond
18 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
20 – Syracuse, NY – Landmark Theatre
22 – Providence, RI – Veterans Memorial Auditorium
23 – Schenectady, NY – Proctor’s Theatre
25 – Long Island, NY – Nassau Coliseum
An album that was fifteen years in the making, Dream Theater released their sixteenth studio album, Parasomnia, on February 7, 2025, via their longtime label home, Inside Out Music/Sony Music. From the opening track “In The Arms Of Morpheus” to the closer of “The Shadow Man Incident,” Dream Theater returned with a collection of songs that showcased what has earned the band a loyal following for four decades.
Clocking in at 71 minutes, Parasomnia debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums, the Hard Music Albums and Current Rock Albums chart selling over 18,000 combined units the first week. It also debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200 which is notable for a progressive metal band and shows the bands devout fanbase.
Parasomnia is a term for disruptive, sleep-related disturbances including sleepwalking, sleep paralysis, and night terrors. The album was produced by Petrucci, engineered by James ‘Jimmy T’ Meslin, and mixed by Andy Sneap. Hugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.
Parasomnia tracklisting:
“In The Arms Of Morpheus”
“Night Terror”
“A Broken Man”
“Dead Asleep”
“Midnight Messiah”
“Are We Dreaming?”
“Bend The Clock”
“The Shadow Man Incident”
"Prophets Of Addiction is a modern day Hanoi Rocks meets The 69 Eyes with plenty of Pop hooks and Whisky drenched vocals." - Metal Sludge.
Listen at https://smarturl.it/prophetsofaddiction
The post DREAM THEATER’s JOHN PETRUCCI On The State Of Modern Metal Guitar – “Incredible Musicians All Over The Place; Metal Is Alive And Well” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...