DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci has checked in via Facebook with the following message:

"Let the fun begin..."

Stay tuned for updates.

Petrucci is featured in a new interview with Metal Insider discussing the band's decision to re-sign with Roadrunner Records and their next studio album. An excerpt is available below:

Q: How developed is the new album?

Petrucci: "So far it’s not very developed at all. We’re scheduled to go into the studio in January. Being a month out or so, we have a handful of ideas we compiled while we were on the road, and we have those archived. And since I got back from the road, and have had some off time, I’ve been spending more time compiling, writing and demoing some things. There are a bunch of seeds, a bunch of ideas, and a definite direction. Everybody is hired, the studio is locked, and the vision for the type of album has been talked about and secured. The only thing that’s not there is the main material, but we’ll go in January full force."

Q: You mentioned you have the direction figured out. Is that anything you’re prepared to discuss?

Petrucci: "Not yet, it’s too early. Before we go into an album, I like to sit down and think about what we’re going to do instead of just going in and winging it. I’ll usually come up with some sort of proposal, and we’ll talk about it a bunch of times over the course of the month, and get everyone on the same page. This way, people can start to think about musical ideas in that direction, and get in the right headspace. For me, it makes everything so much clearer when you’re in the studio. If you have a direction and a goal, you get better results."

Q: Will Mike Mangini be more involved in this record?

Petrucci: "Yes. For the last album, he wasn’t involved in the writing. We wrote it without him for 2 ½ months, and he came in and tracked. This time, he’s going to be in from day one, so we’ll write together as a full group. The tapes that we have from doing that a bit on the road have been incredible. At soundcheck, if I’d come in with an idea and we’d start jamming on it, he was really quick and had great creative concepts. I think it’s going to be a very cool experience."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Dream Theater has re-signed with Roadrunner Records. The group first signed with Roadrunner Records in January 2007 and has released three albums with the label. The label first issued Dream Theater’s ninth studio album, Systematic Chaos, in 2007 and went on to release Black Clouds & Silver Linings in 2009 as well as their most recent album, A Dramatic Turn of Events in September 2011. The band will soon begin recording a new album as part of the new agreement with Roadrunner Records.

In 2012 and while with Roadrunner Records, the band received their first-ever Grammy nomination for 'On The Backs Of Angels' in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category. The song was the first single from their eleventh studio album A Dramatic Turn Of Events, which had 14 Top 10 debuts around the world including the US, where it entered at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings also charted strongly, debuting at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, the highest charting record of the band’s career. They have also won several awards while at Roadrunner Records including Rollingstone.com’s readers' poll for “Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time” (2012), several awards from the leading Japanese rock magazine Burrn! (2012) and the "Spirit Of Prog" achievement award at the 2009 Classic Rock Awards. Overall, the legendary progressive metal masters have sold in excess of 10 million records and DVDs worldwide. A powerhouse live act, they’ve headlined and sold out shows all over the globe.

The band commented, “We are all very excited to be re-signing with Roadrunner Records! Over the past 5 years from the release of Systematic Chaos to our latest A Dramatic Turn of Events, we've developed strong creative and professional bonds with everyone at Roadrunner as well as many great friendships along the way.”

The band adds: “Roadrunner's dedication and commitment to Dream Theater has been evident to all of us from the very beginning, and is consistent in all departments and on all levels, right on through to the top. Roadrunner is a record label that is not only great at what they do but who truly understand what Dream Theater is all about as well as the amazing people who support us all around the world whom we proudly call our fans. They are a record company we relate to as an organization firmly rooted in its ideals and mission, while always pushing the envelope in an effort to keep things moving ever forward. We’ve reached many career defining milestones while at Roadrunner and are all incredibly pumped in anticipation of our continued future together!”

Dream Theater formed in 1985 under the name MAJESTY. The lineup has evolved to become John Petrucci (guitar, founding member), John Myung (bass, founding member), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum) and drummer Mike Mangini.

More on Dream Theater here.