How did you discover Dream Theater?

[Setlist Scotty]

JayOctavarium, where are yooooouuuuuuuuuuu??     

[Rodni Demental]

 

[Hourglass Prison]

It's kinda long, but:

Spring of 2007, I'm 15. In our high school we had a rock band class, and my best friend and I were in the class, both guitar players. We had an end-of-the-year show coming up and our bassist (a senior and the only one with a car and license) was driving me and the drummer to practice. He was driving through the suburbs near a wooded park area, where the roads were all winding. So he's hitting all these crazy turns and curves at like 45 mph, all the while blasting a mix CD. He gets tired of that, and puts in another one. The first song starts, and was like nothing I had heard before. Gradual intro, huge drums and guitar, then the riffing starts and the verses and choruses, all while speeding down those winding side streets (and kind of fearing for my life). That was As I Am, and my introduction to my favorite band.
A few months prior I had a Guitar World magazine that read, "Dream Theater lesson with John Petrucci". I assumed they were a kind of Trans-Siberian Orchestra sort of band, and I never checked it out. Of course, after the riffs and chorus of As I Am got stuck in my head for months, I checked that lesson out and bought Train of Thought, and slowly everything else in their back catalogue.

Before that I was into Power Metal; any kind of metal that didn't have growls was great to my ears, so As I Am was the PERFECT introduction for me. And what's great is that DT opened the doors for other bands to me. I got into Rush (my 2nd favorite band now), as well as LTE, Transatlantic, Spock's Beard, JR's solo stuff, DS's solo stuff, Scale the Summit, PT...all because of Dream Theater!   

[masterthes]

I was looking through limewire constructing another mix CD, I don't remember what exactly I searched for, and Another Day popped up (to put in perspective, this probably around when Train of Thought was released). I think I was intrigued by the name of the band. Anyway, after listening to it once, I liked it, looked up I&W and my brain turned to mush

[weeping-icon]

Knowing I was into stuff like Rush, Genesis, Floyd etc, my mate just stuck a CD into my hand and said with knowing smile "Listen to this". This was 1994 and the album was Images and Words. I was totally blown away.

[Scrub206]

back in 2003 on a bus going to an indoor percussion competition my buddy had Awake in his CD player and i heard 6:00 and as a drummer coming from bands like Green Day that intro is fucking rockin'. So i instantly fell in love and the next 7 years of my life were dedicated to Dream Theater. I kinda became obsessed. I learned how to control it so i was able to expand to other bands. I am now a prog snob and wish I wasn't. I just got so spoiled and obsessed with their sound and it was EVERYthing I loved about music in one band. (kinda funny thing to say when i loved punk rock i know).

[Dublagent66]

I didn't discover DT.  They discovered me.  That's what bands do.  They discover fans.   

[Cable]

First heard Surrounded, thought it was terrible in late 90's. Then heard PMU in 2001 via my cousin saying to do so, thought that was cool. Bought I&W, thought it was bad outside of PMU. Plus it had Surrounded, so that sucked.

Listened to samples of FII I think on CDnow or something before an amusement park trip. After shortened trip, went on and bought the CD on a whim. After New Millennium, I was hooked for as long as I can foresee. Thankfully I&W eventually was great, and Surrounded is a little better for me now.

[RJ86]

My first post here, so easy on me.
First off, glad to see there are other fans of DT besides myself. Have had a lot of fun reading through this forum the last week of lurking.

Believe it or not, my first DT CD was When Dream and Day Unite. I bought it the week it came out. In the late 80's, one of my weekly stops was a local sam goody to see if there was anything new out. The guy at the store was a huge rush fan and told me these guys were like rush and queensryche with Yanni on keyboards (relax kids, Yanni used to be a rocker long ago). It intrigued me, so I bought it. After a listen through, I was hooked. It finally unseated Fates Warning Awaken the Guardian as my second favorite album at the time. Operation Mindcrime was my favorite at the time.
Anyway, a few years later Images and Words came out and it took me several listens through before I could like LaBries voice. I got used to it and can't imagine anyone else singing for them, now.
Oh, never did like Ray Alder replacing John Arch in Fates. Guardian was the last album I ever really liked.

[Calvin6s]

Summer 1992 - Guitar World review.

[ytserush]

Guess I'll pollute another thread with this diatribe....


The well worn tale about how I discovered Dream Theater appears below:



"The Spirit Of Rush Fanzine Number 8 which I bought in New York City about August 1989. On the back inside cover was a Dream Theater feature and When Dream and Day Unite album review that was reprinted from an issue of Kerrang (Never found out what issue it was)

There weren't too many recent bands recording music that I liked in the late 80s save for maybe Kings X, Queensryche, Faith No More and Living Colour.

The feature and review mentioned influences such as Rush, The Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and at that time it didn't seem like anyone new was recording music with those influences so I was easily suckered in.

I couldn't find the CD anywhere and was forced to spend $17 at a mall chain store for it. I listened to it constantly for about 3 solid months until Presto came out. I never heard another word about them until I stumbled on their mispelled name on the marquee at the Ritz November 14, 1989 opening for the Hogarth-fronted Marillion's debut in New York City.

Yes, I was lucky.

Never heard a word about them again until I found a promo copy of Images and Words for $5 at a spring 1992 record show. It took me a while to get used to James' voice since I'd been listening to Charlie for about 3 years, but I got used to it. James has improved SO much since then.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this amusing quote (I'm not sure who is responsible for it but I think it was the editor) regarding When Dream And Day Unite from The Spirit Of Rush Number 9 (Fall 1989)

"The aforementioned opener (A Fortune In Lies) sums up the album completely--a dense hard rockers paradise with more time changes than the entire Rush and Yes back catalogs put together. A drummer who puts Neil Peart to shame, a vocalist fully capable of holding his own and a sound so full that it actually takes 20 plays to hear everything that's going on in the mix, and all this perfectly crafted and laid down on tape in just four weeks.
Quite frankly, this album rubbishes at least three Rush albums, and the entire Yes series, Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery being the only album I can think of in the same league. I never thought it would happen, but this album makes something like Signals sound resolutely boring; I know I'm going to get hate mail for saying so, but I have to be honest...
If Geddy, Neil and Alex have heard this album, then they probably reacted in one of two ways--become blubbering nervous wrecks, in the knowledge they have some serious young competition, or (hopefully) they have pulled out their fingers in order to show that they can indeed rise to the occasion. This album will either bring out the best in our friends or finish them off..."

That quote was what sold me being a Rush fan."



First CD 1989: When Dream And Day Unite
First Cassette 1992: When Dream and Day Unite promo
First Vinyl 1990: When Dream and Day Unite
First CD single 1990: Afterlife promo
First Cassette single 1992: Another Day
First Video 1993: Live At The Marquee
First DVD 2001: Metropolis 2000 Scenes From New York
First Concert: 11/14/89 Dream Theater opens for Marillion at the old Ritz in New York City

[Illethal]

I've always known about Dream Theater, but never fully gave them a listen.

Essentially, I learned about them through Rock Band. My family was huge into Rock Band, and we decided to play a couple of their songs as we were intrigued by the difficulty. Needless-to-say we got our butts handed to us trying to play Panic Attack and Constant Motion. This was right around the time SC came out so I decided to get that album and I just remember being blown away by the music.

For a while I was hooked on just that album, but recently i've decided to open up the DT catalog (thanks to Spotify), and I went through every album I could find.

I'm hoping to be able to catch them live soon, and i'm starting to build my DT collection. They have quickly shot up to the top of my all time favorite bands list.

[took_the_time11]

When I was approaching freshman year. My longtime friend told me to listen to a song called "Metropolis Part 1". I said OK and put it on the back burner. We spent our time listening to metallica and iron maiden. That kind of stuff. So, one night, I went onto YouTube and searched up Metropolis. I listened to the whole thing and let it soak a bit. I didn't know what to think, it was unlike anything I had ever heard. I kinda put it in the back of the old mind. Little did I know, I had planted a seed in my unconscious; it was a progressive sort of seed. Flash forward a few months to the beginning of freshman year, I began to listen to ADTOE.  When I first heard On The Backs of Angels, I was immediately hooked. The seed had sprouted into the dedicated fan stage. For the rest of the year, I listened to ADTOE religiously, slowly and steadily adding on the other albums as well. This band had a profound effect on me. The odd times really embodied my quirkiness and lust for progression. The long arrangements completely broadened my idea of music and set inside of me a lust for innovation. Dream Theater will always be my favorite band of all time

[jvelvet3]

Old thread...been a long time lurker, and figured this was a good spot for a first post.

I first heard about Dream Theater in an old video game magazine called Diehard Gamefan. May 1995 - Volume 3 Issue 5 (I found it recently while cleaning, hence this post now). The writer that responded to fan letters answered a question about game music, and mentioned that he listened to Steve Vai, Van Halen, and Dream Theater. The fan had mentioned in his letter liking Joe Satriani, Rush, Boston, and Scorpions. Well I'd heard of and liked all of those bands/artists except for Dream Theater (never heard of them). I'd always wanted to check them out but this was before I had internet access so most of the music I knew about was from the radio or MTV. Fast forward to the fall of 1997 and the old Rock 103.5 in Chicago played a song that I had never heard before, but really liked. I waited till it was over to hear who it was...and it was Dream Theater - Burning My Soul (I know, not the best intro to DT). I went out and bought Falling into Infinity and loved it. I got Awake and I&W shortly thereafter, and I've been following them ever since.

Me

[Systolic]

Covered Overture 1928 in high school with some friends.  2003, I think

[rab7]

Unfortunately, Avenged Sevenfold's drummer had to die in order for me to fully discover DT.

I heard PMU for the first time in Guitar Hero: World Tour, thought it was amazing, but didn't look any further. Fun story, after downloading the track from several different websites thinking each file was wrong because it cut off at the end, I ended up buying it on iTunes because they couldn't possibly be wrong, right?  That ended up being the first dollar I ever spent on DT.

Fast forward a few months later. Avenged Sevenfold was one of my favorite bands, and The Rev's death was devastating. But when I learned that Mike Portnoy would be filling in for him temporarily, that was when I finally decided to look more into DT's discography. Thankfully, Beyond This Life and Finally Free were the first songs I looked at, and the story was so intriguing I just had to get the rest of SFAM and I fell in love from there.

[TAC]

Saw DT open for Iron Maiden at the Ritz on June 8, 1992. Within 30 seconds of seeing them play, I knew I had a new favorite band.

[rab7]

Saw DT open for Iron Maiden at the Ritz on June 8, 1992. Within 30 seconds of seeing them play, I knew I had a new favorite band.

Good God, I was 2 days old when that happened.

[Podaar]

What a coincidence, so was TAC.

[SwedishGoose]

I used to spend the night between Sunday and Monday watching Headbangers Ball on MTV (23.30 - 02.00).

One night Wanessa Warwick played the video for a little song called Pull me Under..... I was hooked immediately

[TAC]

What a coincidence, so was TAC.

This picture was taken of me just before the show!

[Podaar]

This was his nightie.

[TAC]

 


I shit all over that thing!

[pdurbin22]

I heard "Pull Me Under" on a late night metal radio show in 1993 when I was 12. I was blown away - who was this band? For whatever reason I didn't buy the album, but two years later a buddy loaned me "A Change of Seasons" and "Awake" and it reignited the love I discovered two years prior.  I've been hooked ever since.

[Pax]

I was watching some top 10 drummers list on YT (maybe like 6 years ago), I saw Portnoy playing that solo in ytse jam, and that's the first time I ever listened to something by DT. The drummer of my band became a fan in the future, and he kept convincing me to check DT out (but I was too lazy lol)
But I checked out Panic Attack, and it was an ok song to me (but not good enough for me to start exploring the band, I also hated those James' vocals)

So, 2013 came by, self-titled just came out, and my friend was like "omg you have to check this song Illumination Theory", and I was like "ok, ffs, I will check it out", annoyed by his insisting, so I decided to give the band another shot.
Got home, lied down, started the song on YT, and 20 minutes later, I concluded that was the best metal song I ever heard (note that I was a metal fan for 5 years then, and that it was my FIRST listening to that song)
And the rest is history, in like a month, they became my favourite band
So, I'm not a long-time fan (not even for three years), but since I became a fan, there was hardly a day to pass for me without listening to any DT song

[TheOutlawXanadu]

When I was like 10, or something like that, my dad was really into SFAM, especially the live DVD. Sometimes I would walk by and he'd be watching it.

Around the same time, a Dragon Ball Z (anime) movie came out that used SFAM songs in its soundtrack. That got me way into the band temporarily.

Fast forward a few years. I'm 14 and my family moves down to NC from Canada. I didn't know anyone and had nothing to do all day. I'd been listening to Metallica non-stop for about a year but was starting to get bored of them. I decided to give DT another spin and immediately become a die hard fan. I think the next album I listened to was TOT, then 8VM. I can remember watching Live at Budokan one night and being blown away. I also thought the bonus documentary was awesome and how connected the band was to fans.

Still here over ten years later...

[InFlames235]

I got into guitar from listening to metal - started out with super meh bands like Slipknot and Korn but then got into In Flames and really started to like melodic/more technical metal. I was still a young teen who loved heavy heavy metal so only liked screaming bands but my guitar teacher insisted I listen to Dream Theater if I loved technical stuff. He showed me Fatal Tragedy and while I, at first, HATED the vocals, the guitar absolutely blew me away, especially the solo. The rest is history - and now I actually love the vocals and don't really like screaming as much heh. How things change....

[Bertie_Wooster]

Read a guitar magazine article about JP.  From their description of him and their new album "images and words" it sounded like something I would like.
At the time  Extreme was my favorite band .   Their album III sides to every story was my favorite.     DT did not start being my favorite band until Scenes from a memory.
But I did like them and bought every album on the day it came out.   Being a truck driver  I remember I was in indiana when Falling into infinity came out and I stopped
several places until I found it.   When Train of Thought came out I was between Cincinatti and Columbus Ohio.   The last few I have been home and just downloaded them
off Itunes.

[V_R11]

It was 2010. I was 13. A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to hear a song her band was gonna play at middle school graduation-type-of-thing. I said yes. It was Through Her Eyes. I liked it. She played me a few other,even heavier songs, and I was blown away by the talent. I did forget about DT for a few years then, but in 2014 I rediscovered my love for them.

[Kwyjibo]

Quote from an older thread including typos and all:

In the transition between Images & Words and Awake.

A friend of my sister called me one day and said that he had two tickets for a band named Dream Theater and if I wanted to go with him, because the original ticket holder was sick. I asked him what they sound like, because I hadn't heard of them and he replied that they sound like a mixture of Iron Maiden (the heavyness) and Yes (the proginess). Being a fan of both Maiden and Yes I was interested but unfornately couldn't make it because of other commitments. The concert in question was the European leg of the Images and Words tour in 1993.

Some months later I was at the local record store and they had both WDADU and I&W for sale. Remembering what my sister's friend said about them I thought, well, let's give it a try and bought I&W without ever hearing a single note. This was in fact the first time thatI ever bought a record where I haven't heard anything before. I chose I&W because I liked the album cover better, lucky me  . I don't know what would have happened if my first record of DT would have been WDADU.

So anyway, I went home, put the disc in the player, not knowing what to expect and listened closely. Wow, cool intro. Cool guitars and now great drumming and nice keyboards. Now if only the singer is good I'm gonna like this a lot. Then James began singing and I was completely hooked. The next week I bought WDADU and Live At the Marquee and while I liked them I was a bit disappointed especially with WDADU. But I played the shit out of I&W and from then on bought every new DT album on the first day.

Then came Awake and my first DT concert on the Waking up the world tour (2/11/1995 Düsseldorf, Philipshalle). I remember that I thought that Kevin Moore had cut his hair and that he looked different from the photos in the booklet, until I had a closer look and realized that this, in fact, wasn't even Kevin Moore but someone else and I was very surprised. But then this were the days before the internet and info on bands like Dream Theater, who weren't excactly mainstream, were hard to get.

[OpenYourEyes311]

From the "Moment DT Clicked for You" Thread:

My dad brought me to see two of his favorite bands Deep Purple and ELP in 1998, when I was 14. This band that was unknown to us, Dream Theater, was opening. I remember thinking they were pretty good, and having a moment with my Dad during Peruvian Skies (as they started quoting Pink Floyd, he got all excited and was like "This is FLOYD!," then they quoted Sandman and I got all excited and was like like "This is METALLICA!!"). I also remember him saying that Hollow Years sounded like it was their Lucky Man. After the show, though, I was pretty much impressed with ELP that I got their Hits album and listened to not much else (other than Metallica).

In any event, a year later I saw the brand new Dream Theater album in the store (Scenes), and remember looking at it, thinking "I can't get this, I don't even know any songs by this band!" Regretfully, I put it back and didn't think about DT for years. Then around the time St. Anger came out, and Napster was a pretty big deal, I remember wanting something more/different since my favorite band wasn't doing it anymore. So I went to a buddy's house and downloaded The Spirit Carries On and Voices to hear if I'd be interested in picking up some DT. I thought both were pretty good and the next day went to pickup the album I should have 4 years prior.

Popped it in the CD player in the car. Regression comes on, and I can hear the melody from Spirit, which I thought was so cool! Then Overture 1928 starts... and it clicks.

That was the moment DT became my favorite band.

[erciccio]

Well, my Charon to the DT world was the great, one and only Richard Benson ( ) in 1993!
He used to play Metropolis every day during "Ottava Nota", his legendary TV transmission..
The guy is actualy quite weird, I'm sure the other Italian folks here know what I'm talking about...
Here is a recent TV show where he presented DT 12--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYHWNZyD5A0
It's in Italian, but it is fun anyway..

[ResultsMayVary]

I had a friend recommend Dream Theater in passing sometime after Train of Thought was released. I never really went out of my way to check the band out until I saw Octavarium on the new releases shelf at (the time) my local music store. It happened to be the release day for that album, coincidentally. I bought the album and have been a fan ever since.

[MHStrawn]

I honestly can't remember.  All I know is in 1992 I somehow purchased Images & Words.  I found it dense and hard to digest....but kept going back and back and back and it slowly morphed into one of my favorite albums.  Since then I've purchased every release on day of release.  I will say, though, that A Change of Seasons was the disc the really elevated DT to "favorite" status.  From the first time I listened I knew it was an outstanding piece and I played it over and over for a good six months it seems. 

Have to admit I have mixed feelings about The Astonishing.  I'm purposefully avoiding any and all info about it as I want to know as little as possible when I first listen to it.  But the grand amibition that has created outsized expectations leave me thinking this is either going to be the band's most lasting effort or a jump-the-shark moment.

[metrojam]

The late, great Tommy Vance played a couple of tracks from WDADU on The Friday Rock Show, when it was released in 89 and I was very impressed but not completely blown away. I did purchase the cassette!! but then forgot about them a little. BUT then he then had MP on as a guest on his show when I&W was released and that sealed it for me. The step up from the debut was huge and from that day on, I was completely in love with their music and have loved them (and every release, apart from the dreadful DT12!) ever since.