Over its 22-year history, Dream Theater has grown from a niche band to a recognized figurehead of the progressive-music movement.
The quintet is touring to support its new album "Systematic Chaos" on a brand-new label, Roadrunner Records. And drummer Mike Portnoy — a driving force behind Dream Theater since it formed in 1985 in Boston at the Berklee School of Music — says the band is energized by its move.
"Right now we have the freedom to call our own shots," he said by phone. "When we signed that deal with Atlantic (Records) we were kids, we had no leverage. We found ourselves, finally, after 14 years as free agents."
Atlantic kept picking up its option on the band in a contract that Portnoy said was heavily favored in the label's interests. This time when recording its newest effort, the music was the priority, not the label, and he sounds pleased with the new decision.
The recording process was the same as on previous efforts which, according to Portnoy, means the group gathers at a studio to start writing and recording from scratch. Since all five are married with children and work hard all week and enjoy family time on the weekends, they will tour for perhaps five weeks and then schedule a couple of weeks of home-time between legs.
For whatever reason, album sales have jumped. The new disc flashed in at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 with one-week sales of 36,000— both high benchmarks for the band. On record as feeling under-promoted, the group has built up its fan base without much help from traditional outlets, such as radio. A week after signing with its new label, it was purchased for $74 million by Warner Music Group — the owner of Dream Theater's previous two labels. Still, Portnoy is pleased with the new arrangement.
"Roadrunner is the best label out there for the type of band we are," he said.
And the type of band it is might have been part of the problem for a label that just didn't quite know what to do with such non-conventional music. At times sounding like driving heavy metal and at other times launching into epic songs and concept albums that aren't exactly tailored for the iPod generation, Dream Theater can be a tough sell.
"A band like ours can't rely on mainstream outlets," Portnoy said. "We rely on the passion and devotion of our fan base."
Portnoy is involved with all aspects of the band from co-producing the albums to merchandising to interfacing with fans through the Internet, which the band has been relying on extensively since around 1997. Even before that, in 1995, fans used the Web to petition for and finally get 20-minute concert song recorded and released as the EP "A Change of Seasons."
One constant over what Portnoy calls the band's "sustained journey" is a level of respect it has always been given by other musicians, even when it didn't quite fit in. "I think the type of music we play, which is sometimes uncool and unfashionable, we were never given much acceptance but we were always respected as serious musicians. Love us or hate us, you can't ignore us."
That respect has given Portnoy the chance to meet the musical heros who influenced him, including respected Rush percussionist Neil Peart. "It was great because he rarely does interviews, and we have stayed in touch. It is a chance to be embraced by somebody I so admired for so many years."
Equally important are those who reach him at the cinema. "I am every bit as inspired by great directors as great musicians. (David) Lynch and (Stanley) Kubrick are as important to me as Peart is, or as Frank Zappa is, just to pull out some names."
But he hasn't met any of those influences on the cinema side of things. "The worlds just haven't collided," he said.
The Utah show is the first for the band since 2000. The last show was canceled because of a blizzard that didn't allow the equipment trucks to get to Salt Lake City. "People are waiting for us to come back. That show was sold out and it was as big a disappointment for us as it was for the fans. We have to make up for lost time."
If you go ...
What: Dream Theater
Where: E Center, 3200 Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City
When: Monday, 6:30 p.m.
How much: sold out
E-mail: LC@desnews.com