Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess will release his new solo record Wired For Madness on April 19. The record will feature appearances from drummer Marco Minnemann, Dream Theater frontman James LaBrie, guitarists Vinnie Moore, Guthrie Govan, Joe Bonamassa and Dream Theater's John Petrucci. There will also be some guest drum spots from Rod Morgenstein and Elijah Wood (not the actor).
Rudess is streaming the third part of the first part of the "Wired For Madness" trilogy (how progressive) below. He adds that the album is not conceptual, but the three-part title track has a story.
"It is not a concept album. However, the title track does have a story that I was envisioning while writing it. The idea was about a guy who wanted to go about a transformational process involving becoming partially computerized and robotic. His functionality as a human was noticeably diminishing and he takes advantage of a modern medical procedure to 'upgrade' and extend his physical and mental capabilities. Through the course (or curse) of this process he becomes more and more separated from the outside 'normal' world, allowing the computer front end to take over much of his day to day tasks and decisions. This leaves his mind free to travel between madness and spiritual enlightenment. After an angel visited him, the listener is left wondering whether he is experiencing true enlightenment or if he is moving out of the physical world to the next dimension."
Dream Theater's new album Distance Over Time is out on February 22.
