"On the Backs of Angels" is a song by American

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Dream Theater, featured on their 11th studio album ''

A Dramatic Turn of Events A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''. The song was written by the band's guitarist and producer

John Petrucci John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with former member Mike Portnoy before he departed the band in 201 ...

, bassist

John Myung John Ro Myung (; born January 24, 1967) is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Dream Theater. Background and personal life Born in Chicago to South Korean parents, Myung grew up with John Petrucci on Lo ...

, and keyboardist

Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experi ...

. "On the Backs of Angels" was released as ''A Dramatic Turn of Events

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on June 29, 2011. A music video for the song was released on September 14, 2011.Warner, Brett. Watch This: “On The Backs Of Angels” By Dream Theater. Oology

Published & Retrieved 09/14/11. The song was nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the

2012 Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted t ...

, eventually losing to " White Limo" by Foo Fighters. In composing "On the Backs of Angels", on the advice from one of their fans and co-writers, Dream Theater tried to illustrate their signature sound.DREAM THEATER - A Dramatic Turn Of Events Track by Track Interview. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuw-25y6GC4. Published 08/16/11. Retrieved 10/19/11. From the start, the band envisioned the song as an album opener that, according to Petrucci, would make their fans "feel at home". Subsequently, many fans have compared the structure of the song to that of their biggest hit, "

Pull Me Under "Pull Me Under" is the debut single by Dream Theater from their 1992 album '' Images and Words''. It is also featured on the '' Live at the Marquee'' CD, '' Once in a LIVEtime'' CD, '' Live at Budokan'' CD and DVD, the '' Images and Words: Live in ...

" from 1992's "''

Images And Words ''Images and Words'' is the second studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on July 7, 1992, through Atco Records. It is the first Dream Theater release to feature James LaBrie on vocals. Since its release, the alb ...

''. Clocking in at 8:43 long and with numerous

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

changes, the song is mostly played in 4/4 and 3/4 time. Its introduction features a moody and foreboding arpeggiated guitar pattern that was written by Petrucci and inspired by the music of said fan favorite, Pink Floyd.Bosso, Joe. Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn Of Events: full album preview. Music Radar. http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/dream-theaters-a-dramatic-turn-of-events-full-album-preview-488940/2. Published 08/17/11. Retrieved 10/19/11. At 5:51, the song breaks down into a piano passage that was improvised by Rudess.

Music video

A music video was released for the song. It features shots of the band playing the song live, along with gears turning, the White House, various American cities, temples, and money. The video ends with the sun rising.

''Rock Band 3''

It was made available to download on November 29, 2011, for play in ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' 'Basic' and 'Pro' mode which utilizes real guitar/bass guitar, and

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...

-compatible electronic drum kits/keyboards in addition to vocals. It is one of the few songs available through the main store that is rated 'Impossible' (the highest difficulty) on 8 out of 10 instruments, and is the hardest song available for Keys and Pro Keys.

References

{{Authority control Dream Theater songs 2011 singles