Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, before they dropped out to support the band. Though a number of lineup changes followed, including Portnoy's departure in 2010, Petrucci and Myung remain today along with James LaBrie, Jordan Rudess and Mike Mangini.

The band has had moderate mainstream success, notably with Pull Me Under in the early 1990s, which received extensive MTV rotation. Dream Theater's (commonly abbreviated 'DT') three highest selling albums are the gold selling Images and Words (1992), despite it reaching only #61 on the Billboard 200 charts, and Awake (1994) which reached #32 on the Billboard 200. Systematic Chaos entered US Billboard 200 at #19. Recently Black Clouds and Silver Linings reached #6 on the Billboard 200 Charts. Dream Theater has sold over two million albums in the U.S., and over 8 million albums and DVDs worldwide.

In January of 2005, the band obtained their first United States platinum disc (representing 100 000 DVDs sold) with Live At Budokan, recorded April 2004 in Tokyo, Japan.

The band released an album entitled Systematic Chaos, their ninth studio album, in collaboration with their new label Roadrunner Records. The album is available in two formats, first one being just a regular edition CD and the other being a CD/DVD album with the entire album mixed in 5.1 surround sound and also "Chaos in Progress - The Making of Systematic Chaos" (a 90-minute documentary directed by Mike Portnoy).

The band is well-known for the technical proficiency of each instrumentalist, winning many awards from music magazines. They are highly respected by many of rock and metal's biggest names, leading to collaborations between Dream Theater members and many other well known musicians. In a famous example, guitarist John Petrucci was named as the third player on the G3 tour with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, following in the foot steps of Eric Johnson, Robert Fripp, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Dream Theater is also noted for their musical versatility and the many different genres their music incorporates, which has made it possible for them to perform with a very diverse range of acts. Some of their more notable touring partners include Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Iron Maiden, Joe Satriani, King's x, Marillion, Megadeth, In Flames, Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree, Opeth, Queensrÿche, Spock's Beard, Fear Factory, Enchant, Symphony X, Yes, Big Wreck, I Mother Earth and Fates Warning.

Current members:

* James LaBrie - Vocals, percussion (1991 - present)

* John Myung - Bass, Chapman Stick (1985 - present)

* John Petrucci - Guitars, backing vocals (1985 - present)

* Mike Mangini - Drums, percussion (2010 - present)

* Jordan Rudess - Keyboards, lap steel guitar, Continuum (1999 - present)

Former members:

* Chris Collins - Vocals (1985-1986)

* Charlie Dominici - Vocals (1987- 1990)

* Kevin Moore - Keyboards (1985-1994)

* Derek Sherinian - Keyboards (1994-1998)

* Mike Portnoy -Drums, percussion, backing vocals (1985-2010)

Studio albums and EPs:

1989 - When Dream And Day Unite

1992 - Images and Words

1994 - Awake

1995 - A Change of Seasons (EP)

1997 - Falling Into Infinity

1999 - Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From a Memory

2002 - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

2003 - Train of Thought

2005 - Octavarium

2007 - Systematic Chaos

2009 - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Singles:

1992 - Pull Me Under

1992 - Another Day

1994 - Lie

1994 - The Silent Man

1997 - Hollow Years

2000 - Through Her Eyes

2003 - As I Am

2007 - Constant Motion

2009 - A Rite of Passage

2009 - Wither

Live albums:

1993 - Live at the Marquee

1998 - Once in a Livetime

2001 - Live Scenes From New York

2004 - Live At Budokan

2006 - Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour Live with the Octavarium Orchestra

2008 - Chaos In Motion

Official Bootlegs (from Ytse Jam Records):

1985-1986 - The Majesty (Demo)

1987-1989 - When Dream And Day Unite Demo (Demo)

1989-1991 - Images And Words Demo (Demo)

1994 - Awake Demo (Demo)

1995 - Tokyo, Japan (10/28/95) (Live)

1996 - Old Bridge, New Jersey (12/14/96) (Live)

1999 - The Making Of Scenes From A Memory (Studio Recordings)

2002 - The Number of the Beast (10/24/02) (Live)

2002 - Master of Puppets (02/19/02) (Live)

2004 - When Dream and Day Reunite (03/06/04) (Live)

2005 - Dark Side Of The Moon (10/25/05) (Live)

2007 - Made in Japan (Live)

International Fan Club Releases (Christmas CDs):

1996 - Christmas CD

1997 - The Making of Falling Into Infinity (Studio Recordings)

1998 - Once in a LIVEtime Outtakes

1999 - Cleaning Out The Closet

2000 - Scenes From a World Tour

2001 - Four Degrees of Radio Edits

2002 - Taste the Memories

2003 - Graspop 2002

2004 - A Sort of Homecoming

2006 - A Walk Beside The Band

It may also be noted that Dream Theater's previous name was Majesty, after the band listened to the song Bastille Day by Rush and described it as being majestic. However, this name was short-lived as another band were performing and recording under the same name. So, they re-named themselves Dream Theater after a small cinema which was close to where drummer Mike Portnoy's father was living at the time. The name Majesty is the source of the band's "M" logo appearing on the cover artwork of several albums. The Dream Theater song entitled "Ytse Jam" is "Majesty" backwards and "Ytse Jam" is also the name of Mike Portnoy's record label.

Official website: http://www.dreamtheater.net/

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