Dream Theater currently has two concept albums under its belt – Scenes From A Memory in 1999 and The Astonishing in 2016. The former was an instant classic, and maybe it's just me, but the latter seemed like a bit of a bloated mess of an album. Fortunately the band will be going back to making non-conceptual music come 2018, and is currently working on that material as we speak!
Vocalist James LaBrie tells Rockbook that if Dream Theater is going to be doing another conceptual album, "it's not gonna be anytime soon," and "I think for now it’s best for us to concentrate one album at a time and not thinking in a concept."
"We'll do this tour for the rest of 2017 and in 2018 we're gonna make a new album.
"And we're pretty psyched because we already know what we're gonna do. But I'm not gonna tell you. [Laughs] It's really important for us that the new album will be our best effort.
"It should be who we are at that particular moment. We still want to create something that's better than what we did before. That's what keeps you interested in what you do.
"But if along the way we feel that there is another album we should recognize once again, then we'll do it."
Also, here's hoping drummer Mike Mangini gets a little more of the spotlight on the next album. Dude's an incredible drummer, and Dream Theater's music has always been better when it's a little heavier!
