Octavarium
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''Octavarium'' is the eighth studio album by American
progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...
band
Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...
. Released on June 7, 2005, it was the band's final release with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. Recorded between September 2004 and February 2005, it was the last album recorded at
The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...
in New York City. With it, the band decided to create "a classic Dream Theater album", drawing upon their various stylistic influences while trying to make the music less complex. The album takes its creative concept from the musical
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
. ''Octavarium'' peaked in the top five in the Finnish, Italian, and Swedish charts, and in the top ten in the Dutch, Japanese, and Norwegian charts. Critical reception of the album was generally positive; the diversity of the music was praised, although critics found some of the songwriting to be inconsistent. Dream Theater promoted the album on a year-long world tour, with the majority of concerts lasting almost three hours and featuring a different setlist each night. The tour finished at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
accompanied by an orchestra; this performance was recorded and released as a live album and concert video entitled ''
Score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
''. They co-headlined the 2005 North American '' Gigantour'' with
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
.


Background

After completing a North American tour supporting one of their main influences,
Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...
, in summer 2004, Dream Theater took a two-month break. The band reconvened at
The Hit Factory The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano. History In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...
in New York City in November 2004 to begin work on their eighth studio album. The Hit Factory, a studio in which artists such as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
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,
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, U2 and
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had recorded, was earmarked for closure. Dream Theater was the last band to record at that original location before it was permanently closed. After writing the
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
'' Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory'', the double album ''
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'' is the sixth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released as a double-disc album on January 29, 2002, through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Dream Theater album to fe ...
'' and the metal-focused ''
Train of Thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...
'', the band decided to create "a classic Dream Theater album". Keyboardist
Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American keyboardist, composer, and software developer, best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment. Early lif ...
described it as "really going back to creating a real band effort, as well as drawing upon all our various stylistic influences." On ''Octavarium'', the band wanted to make the music less complex, featuring songs which Rudess regards as "quicker to appreciate", although noted that the twenty-four-minute " Octavarium" was not as accessible. Guitarist
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 Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's absence from the band 2010-2023 ...
noted that they wanted to focus on writing strong songs. To achieve this, the band stripped the sound down to piano, guitar and vocals when writing, focusing on the melodies and song structures. Drummer Mike Portnoy dismissed claims that ''Octavarium'' was an attempt to write a more commercial album, stating that the band simply " asthat side to
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
We love bands like U2 or
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
, as well as liking shorter songs as well." Portnoy noted that, after writing ''
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'' is the sixth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released as a double-disc album on January 29, 2002, through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Dream Theater album to fe ...
'' and ''Train of Thought'', they had not written an album of shorter songs for some time. He said that the band had found writing longer songs easier than writing shorter ones, and that the band was not trying to write a radio hit as "the label wouldn't have done crap with it anyway." The band had previously written an orchestral-style piece in the form of "Overture" on ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'', but Jordan Rudess recorded these using two keyboards- his Kurzweil K2600 and
Korg KARMA The Korg KARMA music workstation was released in 2001 as a specialised member of the Korg Triton family. KARMA stands for Kay's Algorithmic Real-time Music Architecture. The unit features up to 62 note polyphony and is 16-part multitimbral. Its s ...
, the latter being a then-new synthesizer that Rudess had bought fairly recently at the time. The tracks "The Answer Lies Within", "Sacrificed Sons" and "Octavarium" marked the first time Dream Theater worked with an orchestra, conducted by
Jamshied Sharifi Jamshied Sharifi (born October 17, 1960) is a Tony Award-winning American composer, conductor, musician, and record producer. Born in Topeka, Kansas to an Iranian father and an American mother, Sharifi was exposed to music at an early age, lear ...
(who studied at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
at the same time as Portnoy, Petrucci and bassist
John Myung John Ro Myung ( ; born January 24, 1967) is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Background and personal life Born in Chicago to South Korean parents, Myung grew up with John Petrucci on Lon ...
). The orchestra was selected based on their
sight reading In music, sight-reading, also called ''a prima vista'' ( Italian meaning, "at first sight"), is the practice of reading and performing of a piece in a music notation that the performer has not seen or learned before. Sight-singing is used to des ...
ability, allowing all their parts to be recorded in a maximum of two takes, even though they had never seen or played the music before. Sharifi would later go on to conduct the Octavarium Orchestra on Dream Theater's ''
Score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
'' album.


Concept

When starting to work on what would become ''Octavarium'', Portnoy noted that it would be their eighth studio album and that they had recently released their fifth live album, '' Live at Budokan''. This sequence mirrored the
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
on a
musical keyboard A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, sho ...
: each octave contains eight naturals and five accidentals. Portnoy suggested that they use that concept for the entire album. When writing, the band delegated each song a different key. Sound effects were placed between songs to connect them: for example, " The Root of All Evil", written in
F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
, and the following track, "The Answer Lies Within", written in
G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...
, were connected by a sound effect in the key of F♯ minor. The album's lyrics and song titles featured references to this concept. Portnoy cited the titles "The Root of all Evil" (referring to the musical term "
root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...
") and "Octavarium" ("the octave of the octave") as two examples of this. ''Octavarium'' begins "The Root of All Evil" with the final note of the band's previous album, ''
Train of Thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...
'' with "In the Name of God". ''Train of Thought'' started "As I Am" with the last note from ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'' with the
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
, which in turn started with the noise that ended '' Scenes from a Memory'' at the end of "Finally Free". Portnoy was inspired to do this thanks to the
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
album ''
Women and Children First "Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the ''Birkenhead'' drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically aband ...
''; the outro of the album's final song ended with a new riff being played which faded out. Portnoy recalled that he expected Van Halen's next album to start with that ending riff, but was disappointed when it did not. He later realized he had "dug a hole where we're expected to do it every time". He solved this problem on ''Octavarium'', where the final track ends with the beginning of the first one. This made the album a cycle in itself, allowing the band to have a clean start with their next album. At 04:52–05:17, there is a lyrical and musical reference to the chorus of "This Dying Soul" from ''Train of Thought''. This reference comes from Portnoy's Twelve-step Suite. All of the negative time sections on the CD version were omitted on the digital versions initially, but later made available again.


Content

"The Root of All Evil" is the third part of Portnoy's Twelve-step Suite, a set of songs from various Dream Theater albums which describe his journey through
Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
. The song contains parts six and seven of the suite: "Ready" and "Remove". "The Answer Lies Within" and "I Walk Beside You" are the two shortest tracks on the album. Rudess regards them as radio-friendly songs which still maintain Dream Theater's style. Portnoy wrote the lyrics to "Never Enough" as a response to fans who Portnoy perceived to complain about every thing that Dream Theater did. Portnoy stated that while he appreciated the devotion of Dream Theater's fans, he was frustrated because he was "constantly tearing imselfaway from isfamily" to give more to the fans. He found it discouraging that, even though he spent "countless nights" writing special setlists and the band spent days rehearsing, some fans would still complain that they went to a show and did not hear " Pull Me Under". "It's discouraging and makes me crazy sometimes," he said. "Sacrificed Sons", at almost eleven minutes long, is the second-longest song on the album. Its lyrics, written by vocalist
James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, ...
, deal with the
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. Rudess noted that the band enjoyed writing about more serious topics instead of love songs. When working on the lyrics, LaBrie said that there was "a lot of discussion" about the song's wording and how direct it should be. The title track, " Octavarium", is the longest track on the album, at 24:00, and divided into five parts. Petrucci stated that the band wanted to write an epic song that thematically developed and would use an orchestra. The band was heavily influenced by the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
sound of
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,
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and
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. The instrumental introduction, heavily influenced by Pink Floyd's "
Shine On You Crazy Diamond "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part composition recorded by English rock band Pink Floyd written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright, which was first performed on their 1974 French tour and appeared in their 1975 concept a ...
", was performed by Rudess using a
lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
and Continuum. Additionally, there are many references to other progressive rock songs in the lyrics. The song ends with the introductory theme of "The Root of All Evil" before fading out (instead there is an alternative version for some releases, with the reprise flute from the first part of "Octavarium" playing in the background). The ending establishes a cyclical theme to the album, and breaks the continuity of the meta-album established since ''Scenes from a Memory'', thus allowing the band the opportunity for a fresh start on the next album.


Artwork

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC), best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has contributed as a keyboard player ...
provided the artwork for ''Octavarium''. The idea of depicting a giant
Newton's cradle Newton's cradle is a device, usually made of metal, that demonstrates the principles of Momentum, conservation of momentum and conservation of energy in physics with swinging Sphere, spheres. When one sphere at the end is lifted and released, i ...
was born out of discussions between Syme and Portnoy. The two talked about how "for everything you do in music you create either a
cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...
or triad", according to Syme. "And then it became evident that for every action there is an opposite reaction. So I thought we could do something based on the Newton's cradle." There are numerous references to the numbers five and eight throughout the artwork, alluding to the album's concept. For example, the Newton's cradle has eight suspended balls, and there are five birds on the cover. The album booklet features an octagonal maze, spider and octopus, among other references. The landscape on the cover is made up of a sky and grass from
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, and a background from the
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. Octavarium marked the beginning of an extended association with the band for Syme. He would go on to provide the artwork for all the following studio albums (apart from
The Astonishing ''The Astonishing'' is the thirteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on January 29, 2016 through Roadrunner Records, which was their final release through the label. It is the band's second concept album, ...
) and most of the following live releases.


Release

A week before the scheduled release of ''Octavarium'', Portnoy shut down the official Dream Theater and Mike Portnoy forums.
Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
reported that this was in response to the album being leaked. Portnoy stated that " echose to do this mainly mphasis removedto build anticipation for the big 'official' unveiling next week", although noted that "the repeated requests to refrain from spoilers and links for the new album against the band's wishes were frustrating". ''Octavarium'' was released on June 7, 2005. It was their final album with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
, ending a contract which had lasted fourteen years. Although in recent years the band had been allowed creative freedom, they were dissatisfied by the lack of promotion the label offered them. Portnoy released a DVD entitled ''Drumavarium'' in 2005, containing footage of his drum performance from the ''Octavarium'' recording sessions. Rudess released a solo piano version of "The Answer Lies Within" on his 2009 album '' Notes on a Dream''. "Panic Attack" is featured as a playable song in ''
Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...
'', where it is listed as the hardest song for both bass and drums.


Reception

''Octavarium'' reached the top five in the Finnish, Italian, and Swedish charts, as well as the top ten in the Dutch, Japanese, and Norwegian charts. Critical reception of the album was generally positive. Writing for Blistering, Justin Donnelly praised the album as "diverse, melodic and hard hitting all at the same time", ranking it as one of Dream Theater's best releases. He particularly praised the title track, considering it to be "another Dream Theater classic". ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' considered the results of the band's attempt to write shorter songs and use warmer instrumental textures to be "excellent", particularly praising "The Root of All Evil", "These Walls" and "I Walk Beside You". Harley Carlson of MetalReview.com regarded ''Octavarium'' as "successfully howcasingthe band's ability to craft emotive music," although noted that it is "unquestionably Dream Theater, yet there is something missing." Vik Bansal of
musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
praised "Never Enough", "Panic Attack" and "Sacrificed Sons", but dismissed "The Root of All Evil" as "Dream Theater by the numbers". He criticized "Octavarium" as "bloated", although noted that fans of the band's ''
A Change of Seasons ''A Change of Seasons'' is the first EP by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, first released on September 19, 1995, through East West Records. It comprises the 23-minute title track and a collection of live cover songs performe ...
'' would enjoy it. He said that "there's enough on the remainder of ''Octavarium'' to keep the rest of us interested and the prog rock haters whining dismissively". Writing for ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'', Greg Pratt praised the album's artwork and production, but said that "there’s nothing that blows any minds here, or even gives a mild bend; hell, a good chunk of this disc feels like basic radio rock from the local old-guy bar band". He noted that although there were some longer songs on the album, "this just feels like 76 minutes of overdramatic rock, too heavy on the light and weak, and not enough time spent on just showing off". Donnelly considered ''Octavarium'' to be "somewhere between ''
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 a ...
'', ''
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'' is the sixth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released as a double-disc album on January 29, 2002, through Elektra Records. It is the first full-length Dream Theater album to fe ...
'' and ''Train of Thought''". Carlson stated that the album "draws closest comparison to ''Falling into Infinity'' and '' Metropolis II: Scenes from a Memory'', but with far less complexity and edge." Tammy La Gorce of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
noted that "a post-hardcore edge - call it a leap into 2005 - has invaded he band'spledge of allegiance to theatrical heavy rock... What's changed is Dream Theater's commitment to carrying on their reputation as underground progressive rock's classicists, and it seems well-timed." Critics noted a strong
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
influence on some tracks, on some cases generating negative reviews.


Touring

Dream Theater began the Octavarium Tour in support of ''Octavarium'' in Europe on June 10, 2005, beginning at the
Sweden Rock Festival Sweden Rock Festival is a rock festival outside the town of Sölvesborg in Blekinge in southern Sweden. The festival offers the best possible mix of classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and related genres. The first version of the festival, k ...
in Sölvesborg. The band co-headlined the ''Gigantour'' with
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
across North America from July 21 to September 3. The Montreal concert was recorded and released as a live album and concert video on August 22, 2006, and September 5, 2006, respectively, titled '' Gigantour''. The main ''Octavarium'' world tour began in September in Finland, and saw the band continue with their "An Evening With Dream Theater" concert format. This meant the band would play for almost three hours, with a different setlist each evening. Many of the shows would center around a tour of the band's history to that point, featuring a song (or part of a longer song) for each album before wrapping up the regular set with several from ''Octavarium''. Combined with interviews, rehearsals during soundcheck and meet-and-greet sessions with fans, the band became physically and mentally drained. Dream Theater performed two shows on consecutive nights both in Amsterdam and London. On the second night in both cities, the band covered the entirety of Pink Floyd's ''
The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...
'' album. Theresa Thomason, who had previously performed on ''Scenes From a Memory'', was flown in to perform vocals on "
The Great Gig in the Sky "The Great Gig in the Sky" is the fifth track on ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', a 1973 album by English rock band Pink Floyd. The song features music by keyboard player Richard Wright and improvised, wordless vocals by session singer Clare Tor ...
". The London performance was released as a live album and concert video in 2006 by Portnoy's YtseJam Records. The band covered all of
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
's '' Made in Japan'' at concerts in
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and
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; a recording of which was also released as a live album by YtseJam Records in 2007. To celebrate the band's twentieth anniversary, the final concert on the tour was performed at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
in New York on April 1, 2006. For the second half of the concert, the band was accompanied by a thirty-piece orchestra conducted by Jamshied Sharifi. The concert was filmed and released as a live album and concert video named ''
Score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
'' on August 29, 2006, by
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.


Track listing


Personnel

;Dream Theater *
James LaBrie Kevin James LaBrie (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater, which he has been fronting since 1991. Early life Kevin James LaBrie was born in Penetanguishene, ...
– vocals *
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 Mike Portnoy before Portnoy's absence from the band 2010-2023 ...
– guitars, vocals, producer *
Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American keyboardist, composer, and software developer, best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment. Early lif ...
– keyboards, Continuum,
lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
*
John Myung John Ro Myung ( ; born January 24, 1967) is an American bassist and a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Background and personal life Born in Chicago to South Korean parents, Myung grew up with John Petrucci on Lon ...
– bass *
Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure fro ...
– drums, vocals, percussion, producer, art concept ;Additional personnel *
Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
on "Sacrificed Sons" and "Octavarium" **Elena Barere –
concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...
**Katherine Fong, Ann Lehmann, Katherine Livolsi-Stern, Laura McGinniss, Catherine Ro, Ricky Sortomme, Yuri Vodovoz – violins **Vincent Lionti, Karen Dreyfus
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s **Richard Locker, Jeanne LeBlanc – celli **Pamela Sklar – flute **Joe Anderer, Stewart Rose –
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...
s *
String quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
on "The Answer Lies Within" **Elena Barere – first violin **Carol Webb – second violin **Vincent Lionti – viola **Richard Locker – cello *
Jamshied Sharifi Jamshied Sharifi (born October 17, 1960) is a Tony Award-winning American composer, conductor, musician, and record producer. Born in Topeka, Kansas to an Iranian father and an American mother, Sharifi was exposed to music at an early age, lear ...
– strings arrangement, conductor *Jill Dell'Abate – orchestral contractor ;Technical personnel *Doug Oberkircher –
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
*Colleen Culhane, Kaori Kinoshita, Ryan Simms – assistant engineers *Bert Baldwin – additional studio assistance *Michael H. Brauer – mixing *Keith Gary – assistant and
Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
engineer *Will Hensley – second assistant *
George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...
mastering *
Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC), best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has contributed as a keyboard player ...
– art direction, design, illustration, art concept *Colin Lane – photography


Chart positions


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Octavarium (Album) Dream Theater albums 2005 albums Atlantic Records albums 2000s concept albums