Dream Theater are gearing up for the release of their new album, The Astonishing. Guitarist John Petrucci spke with Rolling Stone about the new venture; an excerpt from the interview is available below.

Q: What prompted The Astonishing — not just the idea of creating a rock-opera concept album this elaborate, but also inventing a full, detailed storyline?

Petrucci: "The idea to do a concept album as a band felt right. The last one we did (1999's Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory) was about 15 years ago, and it really felt like we were in a good place to do this. I knew that what needed to happen, first and foremost, is that we had to have a story to base this on, because the idea of basing an album off of a loose concept or something that was sort of arbitrary, that didn't interest me at all. I wanted this not only to be a concept album, but really to write a full show. And to have all the elements in place, the story needs to drive that. We needed to have the storyline, a plot, places, characters, maps — you name it."

"So that started about two and a half years ago; it took about a year for me to get that story done and ready to present to the guys. And I wanted to write from a place that was familiar to me, so I knew that music had to play a role in the story somehow. I'm a huge fan of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, so I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go. But it was a matter of really diving into it and working on it, revising and revising again, and working on it every day until I had something solid." 

Q: Were there specific albums by other performers or bands that emboldened you to tackle a project this big?

Petrucci: "My thought was that this could be taken as far as our imaginations could take it. Not as an album, not only as a standalone show, but it could be novelized, it could be a movie, it could be a musical — it could be all these different things. The one instance that kept speaking to me — where a band had this presentation where it wasn't only about the album, but there was a movie connected to it, there were animations, and there was a show that was immersive — was when Pink Floyd did The Wall. At the same time, I purposely didn't want to really think too much about other concept albums or rock operas, and come from more of a storytelling perspective, take my love for everything — whether it be Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Disney movies — and come from the perspective of the elements that make those things so special, and such a big part of our lives."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Dream Theater have revealed the cover art and tracklisting for The Astonishing, expected to arrive early 2016. The band has also opened up a mini-site for the album as it looks to a concept as it introduces some “characters” in the album and will be presented in two acts and looks to be a double disc effort.

The band has made the song "The Gift Of Music" available to hear now:

The band comments on the artwork: “This album cover extends an ominous invitation into the retro-futurist dystopian setting of The Astonishing. The deceptively beautiful yet chillingly totalitarian image is a bold harbinger of the visual components and ideas presented by the sonic story that is our most ambitious creative work to date. We are very proud to soon bring you…The Astonishing.”

Tracklisting:

Act I
“Descent Of The NOMACS”
“Dystopian Overture”
“The Gift Of Music”
“The Answer”
“A Better Life”
“Lord Nafaryus”
“A Savior In The Square”
“When Your Time Has Come”
“Act Of Faythe”
“Three Days”
“The Hovering Sojourn”
“Brother, Can You Hear Me?”
“A Life Left Behind”
“Ravenskill”
“Chosen”
“A Tempting Offer”
“Digital Discord”
“The X Aspect”
“A New Beginning”
“The Road To Revolution”

Act II
“2285 Entr’acte”
“Moment Of Betrayal”
“Heaven’s Cove”
“Begin Again”
“The Path That Divides”
“Machine Chatter”
“The Walking Shadow”
“My Last Farewell”
“Losing Faythe”
“Whispers In The Wind”
“Hymn Of A Thousand Voices”
“Power Down”
“Astonishing”

Dream Theater has announced new tour dates for a momentous European headline run which is set to kickoff February 18th at the Palladium in London, England. The winter run will see the prog-titans delivering a one-of-a-kind set in which they will be debuting their forthcoming album live in its entirety.

The unique tour is set to make stops at prestigious theaters around Europe including Amsterdam’s Carre Theater, Oslo’s Konserthus, Stockholm’s Cirkus, Paris’ Palais des Congres and Milan’s Teatro Degli Arcimboldi with additional dates to be announced (see itinerary below).

Dream Theater European Tour 2016

February
18 - London, England - Palladium
22 - Amsterdam, Holland - Carre Theater
28 - Oslo, Norway - Konserthus

March
2 - Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
5 - Paris, France - Palais des Congres
6 - Paris, France - Palais des Congres
18 - Milan, Italy -Teatro Degli Arcimboldi