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Monday December 19, 2005

The best from Dream Theater

Fans of progressive rock music, listen up. Heavy prog icon Dream Theater hits the Asian trail for an extended 14-date tour next month.

And guess what, we still have to hop over the border north or south in order to see the quintet perform. The band performs in Bangkok on Jan 26 and in Singapore on Jan 27, in addition to nine dates in Japan, and one each in Seoul, Hong Kong and Taipei. The Singapore gig will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Dream Theater.

This modern-day super group features five of rock’s most respected musicians with John Petrucci on guitars, Mike Portnoy (who visited Kuala Lumpur for a musicians clinic in 2001) on drums, John Myung (who was here in February this year for a musicians clinic) on bass, Jordan Rudess on keyboards and James LaBrie on vocals.

Dream Theater’s latest release Octavarium is not only their eighth studio album, but also marks 20 years of existence for these progressive heavy rockers. Not only has the five-piece group resolutely defied both popular trends and fickle public tastes throughout its career, but Dream Theater’s sound and approach is more vibrant, powerful and wide-ranging than ever.

For instance, title track Octavarium is a 24-minute epic rock suite in its own right, while in a couple of album tracks (including Octavarium), the band actually utilises an orchestra backing for the first time in its career.

Now if Dream Theater’s propensity for marathon live shows is realised, surely it’s going to be a long evening to enjoy.

Ticket prices are S$152 (RM347), S$122 (RM279), S$92 (RM210), S$62 (RM142). Visit www.sistic.com.sg, or call the hotline (02-63485555). Bookings in Kuala Lumpur can be made via Holiday Tours & Travel, Sentral Station in Kuala Lumpur (03-22732200).