Welcome to Gaia! ::

1.) The Bio

Genre: Progressive Metal
Lyrical Themes: Fantasy (early), Faith, Emotion, Addiction (later)
Origin: United States of America (Long Island, New York)
Current Record Label: Roadrunner Records

Dream Theater formed in 1985 under the band name Majesty in the area of Long Island, New York. Band members John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy met at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and formed the band. It was in Long Island where they picked up their instruments, however, and enlisted the talent of Chris Collins for the vocal work, and Kevin Moore on keyboards.

Unfortunately, they were forced to drop the name when they discovered another band owned the copyright. Finding another name was easy, as Mike Portnoy’s father recommended using the name of an old movie house out in California, known as the Dream Theater. As fate would have it, Collins was proving unfit for the job of vocalist, so they had to let him go in 1987, two years after the band formed. However, finding a new vocalist was proving to be a difficult job. After a considerable amount of time and searching, they settled on the talent of Charlie Dominici, who, while much older than the rest of the group, possessed quite a set of pipes, similar to the nasally vocal style of Rush’s Geddy Lee.

As Dream Theater’s career launched, so did their exposure. The MCA subsidiary known as Mechanic became quite attracted to the group, and a recording contract was started. One Terry Date helped produce them, and with his help, their first album, When Dream and Day Unite came to fruition, an 8-track album featuring a taste of things to come for the band. It was released after only a month of recording during the summer of 1988 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, at the Victory Studio. Unfortunately, due to several factors beyond the band’s control, the album never received the attention it deserved.

The talent of James LaBrie was found in the early 1990’s. He was approached by the producer of Voivod, and an audition was set up. In 1992, the critically acclaimed Images and Words was released, which featured the song ‘Pull Me Under,’ a song that helped to really define the Progressive Metal style.

After the 1994 release Awake, Kevin Moore decided to leave to pursue his own musical style, one that shows itself in the form of ‘Space-Dye Vest,’ a seven-minute piece that is melancholic in nature. Moore went on to work on his own solo project, called Chroma Key, and he even did two albums with Fates Warning.

In 1995, Derek Sherinian was chosen as the keyboardist, and he appeared on the A Change of Seasons E.P. and Falling Into Infinity in 1997, as well as the live album Once in a LIVETime in 1998. After his departure, Jordan Rudess was chosen (after having previously been asked to work with the band, in which case he declined). A piano virtuoso by nature, he was accepted to the Julliard School of Music at 9 years old, but decided to move on to the world of electronic synthesizers. He utilizes a synthesizer known as the ‘Continuum Fingerboard,’ a keyboard of his own creation that fits his every need in recording and live performances.
This lineup has remained to this very day, despite the scare in the late nineties with James LaBrie having to go through a voice box operation to fix a ruptured vocal chord.

Dream Theater are one of the most active members of the music community today, many of them having solo projects and collaboration projects, as well as the occasional step-in for other bands, like Portnoy stepping in when Mark Zonder left Fates Warning. With their record contract to Atlantic ending after Octavarium, they were signed to Roadrunner Records, who have been promoting them at a fever pitch. Their popularity will only continue to grow from this point.

3.) The Members that Stumped Them All



LaBrie was born Kevin James LaBrie in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada and started singing and playing drums at age 5. By his mid-teens, LaBrie was a member of several bands as a singer and/or drummer, and in 1981, at age 18, he moved to Toronto to further his musical pursuits. He currently still resides in Toronto, with his wife Karen, daughter Chloe, and son Chance.

After stints with various bands, he became the vocalist for glam rock band Winter Rose, who released a self-titled album in 1987.

In 1991 he learned that a relatively unknown American progressive metal band called Dream Theater was in the market for a singer, so he sent down a tape and was quickly flown to New York for a full audition. The trial went well, and he was chosen ahead of 200 other hopefuls to fill the full-time vocalist position in that band.

Having two Johns (Myung and Petrucci) in the band already, and with another Kevin in the band, LaBrie dropped his first name and adopted the stage name James LaBrie.

In 1993, he was the first choice consideration to replace departed Iron Maiden vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, as well as a consideration to replace Rob Halford in Judas Priest. (Dream Theater went on to record Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" at the BBC radio studios with Bruce Dickinson, as well as perform an Iron Maiden medley live with Bruce in Los Angeles.) James has since had a significant impact on the vocal melodies on each Dream Theater album, but continues to have little input into the musical side of Dream Theater. To date he has written lyrics for at least one song on each album (excluding Images and Words) Dream Theater has released with him in the band.

On December 29, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie suffered a severe case of food poisoning and while vomiting, ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do for him and the only thing he could do was rest his voice as much as possible. However, on January 12, 1995, and against doctor's orders, he was on the "Awake" tour in Japan with his voice far from normal. James has said he didn't feel vocally "normal" until at least 1997.

His musical inspiration comes from many different genres, including such artists as Metallica, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pink Floyd, Queen and Sting, whose inspiration, according to LaBrie, is shown on Dream Theater's latest release, "Octavarium".

Throughout his career with Dream Theater, he has lent his voice to many other artists' records as well as tribute albums to some influential artists. He has appeared on many Trent Gardner releases (including Leonardo: The Absolute Man and Explorer's Club), as well as appearing on albums by such artists as Ayreon (The Human Equation, released 2004), Shadow Gallery, Tim Donohue and Frameshift.

With Matt Guillory and Mike Mangini, LaBrie has released three solo albums under various names (Mullmuzzler, James LaBrie's Mullmuzzler, and simply James LaBrie). His latest, Elements of Persuasion, was released in March, 2005. A fourth solo album is widely rumored to be in the works.

Since 2004, LaBrie has been working with the True Symphonic Rockestra project, along with Thomas Dewald, Vladimir Grishko, Dirk Ulrich, Christopher Jesidero, Sandro Martinez, Paul Mayland, Marvin Philippi, and Igor Marin. Their 2006 album, TSR, has been finished since early July, with Brainworx and Marinsound working on a release.

LaBrie is also a featured vocalist on Henning Pauly's "Babysteps" project released in 2006, LaBrie plays the role of the arrogant doctor.

James has said in many older interviews that he is Christian, and actively practices the religion. However, more recent interviews, along with some of his lyrics (including "Undecided" on Elements of Persuasion) imply a more spiritual and deist perspective, separate from any form of organised religion.



Petrucci first played guitar at age 8 when he noticed his sister (who was taking organ lessons at the time) was allowed to stay up past her bed time to practice. He soon dropped it when his plan failed. At age 12, he began playing again when he was invited into the band of his friend Kevin Moore, who would later become the first keyboardist of Dream Theater. Petrucci began to practice in earnest whilst exercising physically. He was a largely self-taught guitarist who developed his skills through attempts to match the skill of his idols, who included Steve Morse, Steve Howe, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Al Di Meola, Alex Lifeson and Allan Holdsworth. He has jokingly referred to his guitar idols as "the Steves and the Als".

Petrucci attended Berklee College of Music in Boston with childhood friend John Myung (bass), where they met future bandmate Mike Portnoy (drums). These three in addition to another childhood friend of Petrucci and Myung, Kevin Moore (Keyboards), formed the band Majesty, which would later become Dream Theater.

While Dream Theater is what Petrucci is most commonly associated with, he is also a part of the project band Liquid Tension Experiment and has appeared as a guest on several records by other artists such as the Age of Impact album by the Explorer's Club.

Petrucci has released a guitar instructional video, "Rock Discipline", which covers warm up exercises, exercises to avoid injury while playing, alternate picking, sweep picking, chords and other techniques for developing one's guitar playing. Petrucci also has a book named "Guitar World presents John Petrucci's Wild Stringdom", which was compiled from columns he wrote for Guitar World magazine, bearing that same title.

In 2001 he was invited by Joe Satriani and Steve Vai to tour with them on the popular G3 guitar tour, which exposed him to a massive number of new fans and inspired him to record a solo album. Suspended Animation was released on March 1, 2005, and made available for order from his web site. He also appeared on the 2005, 2006 and 2007 G3 tour.

Petrucci also wrote and recorded two instrumental soundtrack songs for a Sega Saturn game titled Digital Pinball: Necronomicon. Each track is roughly two minutes long and they are simply titled "Prologue" and "Epilogue". Petrucci is an avid Sega Saturn gamer, and has revealed in interviews that he never tours without one.

In 2007, John Petrucci went on G3 tour again, this time with Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert.



Mike Portnoy was born and raised in Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. His father worked as a DJ at a local radio station, helping Portnoy gain an appreciation for music at an early age through bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Yes and The Beatles. Although Portnoy taught himself how to play the drums he did take music theory classes in high school, and during that period he began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, the latter of which released an album. He left Inner Sanctum after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he met John Petrucci and John Myung, and formed a band called Majesty, that would later become Dream Theater.



Born in Chicago to Korean parents, John Myung grew up in Kings Park, Long Island, New York. He played the violin from the age of five until he was asked to play electric bass in a local band when he was fifteen. He stuck with bass from then on, and after graduating from high school he enrolled at the Berklee College of Music, where he and high school friend John Petrucci (guitar) met future band mate Mike Portnoy (drums). The three of them formed the band Majesty with another friend from high school, keyboardist Kevin Moore, and vocalist Chris Collins. They would later be known as Dream Theater.

Though Dream Theater is his primary focus musically, he has appeared in a number of other projects through his career. His first non-Dream Theater venture was in the pop-prog band Platypus with Rod Morgenstein, Ty Tabor and ex-Dream Theater bandmate Derek Sherinian. He is also a member of Jelly Jam, which consists of the same line-up as Platypus, but without Sherinian. John's main influences include Chris Squire, Steve Harris, Geddy Lee and Cliff Burton, and their respective bands Yes, Iron Maiden, Rush, and Metallica.

Apart from his membership in these bands, he has appeared as a guest on numerous records.



Rudess was recognized by his 2nd grade teacher for his piano playing and was immediately given professional tuition. At nine, he entered the Juilliard School of Music Pre-College Division for classical piano training, but by his late teens he had grown increasingly interested in synthesizers and progressive rock music. Against the council of his parents and tutors, he turned away from classical piano and tried his hand as a solo prog rock keyboardist.

After performing in various projects during the 1980s, he gained international attention in 1994 when he was voted "Best New Talent" in the Keyboard Magazine readers' poll after the release of his Listen solo album. Two of the bands who took notice of the young Rudess were The Dixie Dregs and Dream Theater, both of whom invited him to join. Rudess chose the Dregs, primarily as being a part time member of the band would have less of an impact on his young family, a choice he was not given with Dream Theater.

During his time with the Dregs, Rudess formed a "power duo" with drummer Rod Morgenstein. The genesis of this pairing occurred when a power outage caused all of the Dregs' instruments to fail except Rudess', so he and Morgenstein improvised with each other until power was restored and the concert could continue. The chemistry between the two was so strong during this jam that they decided to perform together on a regular basis (under the name Rudess/Morgenstein Project or later RMP) and have since released a studio and a live record.

Rudess encountered Dream Theater once again when he and Morgenstein secured the support slot on one of Dream Theater's North American tours.

In 1997, when Mike Portnoy was asked to form a supergroup by Magna Carta Records, Rudess was chosen to fill the keyboardist spot in the band, which also consisted of Tony Levin and Portnoy's Dream Theater colleague John Petrucci. During the recording of Liquid Tension Experiment's two albums, it became evident to Portnoy and Petrucci that Rudess was what Dream Theater needed. They asked Rudess to join the band, and when he accepted they released their then-keyboardist Derek Sherinian to make way for him.

Rudess has been the full-time keyboardist in Dream Theater since the recording of 1999's Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. He has recorded 4 other studio albums: 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2003's Train of Thought, 2005's Octavarium, and the upcoming 2007 release Systematic Chaos. In addition, he has appeared on the live albums Live Scenes From New York , Live at Budokan and Score.



Chris Collins is mostly known as being the first vocalist for the progressive metal band that later became known as Dream Theater. Collins was chosen after hearing a demo tape in which he was part of a Queensrÿche tribute band; the band was impressed with his ability to hit very high notes. Guitarist John Petrucci states in Score that Collins was their buddy from Long Island, New York and he never was a singer ("I guess he was aspiring to be a singer." ). When they returned from Berklee, they were surprised to see Collins sing like Geoff Tate. After joining Dream Theater when it was still known as Majesty, Collins recorded six tracks with the band that became the famous "Majesty Demos" that were mostly circulated by the band in the form of tapes given out at shows.

Collins was fired from Majesty due to his poor range and lackluster live performances. His most notable contribution to the band's early years were the lyrics he wrote for the songs "Afterlife" and "Cry For Freedom"; however, neither song was ever recorded with his lyrics, and later Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici re-wrote the lyrics to "Afterlife".

Collins all but faded into obscurity afterwards, occasionally doing Dream Theater related interviews. At some point, he obtained a cover of the Bon Jovi song "Wanted Dead or Alive" recorded by John Petrucci for a student; he added lyrics to it and the song now circulates on file-sharing programs. He is now part of the band Winterspell.



Charlie Dominici, born in Brooklyn, New York, is a singer best known as the first vocalist for the progressive metal band Dream Theater, having replaced Chris Collins (while the band was called Majesty) and later being replaced by James LaBrie.

His singing style is considered by some to be quite similar to that of Rush's Geddy Lee or Mike Reno of Loverboy.

Charlie originally came into prominence as a member of Franke and the Knockouts, in which he played guitar and sang backing vocals. He auditioned for Dream Theater in 1987 and was hired for the job in November of that year.

Charlie performed on the band's debut album, 1989's When Dream and Day Unite. However, Dominici was older than the rest of the band and there were personal and creative differences at work. It was felt that, despite being a very talented singer, his decidedly "pop" vocal style did not fit in with the distinctive progressive direction that the band's compositions were taking. According to Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, "It was like having Billy Joel singing in Queensrÿche." A good singer in the wrong band, they amicably parted ways shortly thereafter.

Charlie remained in contact with Dream Theater throughout their career, despite lapsing out of the music business and obtaining a job as a finance manager in the automobile business. Charlie was hired by Mike Portnoy to sing at his wedding to Marlene Apuzzo. Charlie started working on an album with his brother, guitarist Kane Daily, that never saw the light of day. In 2003 he released a song on his website entitled "Now The Time Has Come" but it was taken down after a few months, and the track did not feature any guitars, only piano.

Charlie's voice was also heard on the YtseJam Records release "When Dream And Day Unite Demos" which featured pre-production and vocal demos of several songs, as well as Charlie singing Beatles Covers and the traditional Christmas song O Holy Night.

On March 6th, 2004, Charlie joined his former bandmates onstage in Los Angeles for the first time in 15 years for a special performance celebrating the 15th anniversary of the band's first album. After the band performed the entire album, they began playing "To Live Forever" a non-album track that was written in the same time period, and singer James LaBrie announced Charlie, who sang most of the song. The band then launched into "Metropolis" which was also written in that time period, with Charlie and James singing a duet, and also being joined by former keyboardist Derek Sherinian. This performance was later released by YtseJamRecords on CD and DVD versions entitled "When Dream And Day Reunite". The DVD version also features footage from the band's 1989 tour with Charlie of each song, as well as documentary footage. Despite having not actively sung since leaving Dream Theater in 1989, this performance gave him the itch to make music again and in 2005, he released a solo album entitled O3: A Trilogy, Part 1, the first album of what will be a three-album concept piece about a terrorist sleeper agent in the United States that falls in love with the country, and discovers that the biological weapon he is creating could destroy the entire world.

Charlie has now inked a deal for a worldwide release on the "InsideOut Music" label for his second installment of the trilogy, O3: A Trilogy, Part 2, which was released in February 2007. This CD is much heavier and progressive and was recorded with a full band under the band name Dominici.

Dominici will open for Dream Theater at 3 shows at their Chaos in Motion World Tour this summer.



Kevin Moore began his music career in Kings Park, Long Island, New York, learning piano at the age of six and writing his first song at the age of 12. After graduating high school in 1985, Moore briefly attended SUNY Fredonia, where he studied classical music, before returning home to form the band Majesty with childhood friends guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung, who had recruited drummer Mike Portnoy (a fellow Long Islander) during their short enrollment at Berklee College of Music. Singer Chris Collins handled vocal duties for Majesty, but he was subsequently replaced by Charlie Dominici (and eventually James LaBrie) and the band was renamed Dream Theater.

Dream Theater's debut studio album was 1989's "When Dream and Day Unite," which earned the group comparisons to well-known progressive rock bands such as Rush and Queensrÿche. Their big breakthrough, however, came in 1992 with the album "Images and Words," featuring the band's highest charting single to date, "Pull Me Under." The song, which included lyrics by Moore, reached #10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Following their relentless touring in support of the sophomore album, the band also went on to release a live album, "Live at the Marquee," and a video, "Images and Words: Live In Tokyo." The video's extensive documentary footage would subsequently introduce many fans to Moore's sarcastic sense of humor.

In 1994, the band released its third studio album, "Awake," which was the band's highest charting album to date, reaching #32. The album featured Moore's signature song, a haunting piano-driven ballad called "Space-Dye Vest," which describes a heartbroken man flipping through a magazine and falling in love with a stranger modeling a vest. But shortly before the album was mixed, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he wished to concentrate on his own musical interests and would be quitting Dream Theater. According to Portnoy, Moore had grown distant with the other members and was more interested in the independence of working on his own as opposed to the compromise of a band environment. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and started writing material for his a solo album. Although Dream Theater has since invited him to play reunion shows, Moore has said he prefers to move forward as opposed to looking back.

In March 2007, Kevin performed his first live show since leaving Dream Theater in 1994. The hour-long concert, which was held at Turkey's Balo Stage on March 23, was described as a try-out to "play some songs for a local crowd...with longer, more elaborate shows planned for the future." In April 2007, Moore announced plans to produce the debut album of Turkish industrial rock band Makine to be released in late 2007.



Derek began taking piano lessons at the age of five in Santa Cruz, California, and after his junior year of high school received a scholarship to the highly-regarded Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has since studied with other noted keyboard players including Mitchel Forman, T Lavitz, and Russell Ferrante. His first notable gigs after leaving Boston were with legendary rock/jazz drummer Buddy Miles playing the "Chitlin' circuit". He then began touring and recording with long-time rocker Alice Cooper in 1989. After hearing Sherinian for two years, Cooper was quoted in an 1991 interview in Keyboard Magazine, describing Sherinian as "the Caligula of keyboards". Derek followed the Alice Cooper experience with a stint playing keyboards in support of the 1992 KISS Revenge tour.

In 1994 Derek replaced Kevin Moore in the progressive metal band Dream Theater, originally just as a replacement for the band's promotional tour for Awake, but by the end of the tour he was a full time member for the band. He recorded the albums A Change of Seasons (1995), Falling Into Infinity (1997) and Once In A LIVEtime [1998] with Dream Theater before being replaced in 1999 by Jordan Rudess.

Since 1999, Sherinian has recorded several solo albums on which artists including Al Di Meola, Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Wylde, Jerry Goodman, Steve Lukather and Simon Phillips have lent their talents. Sherinian's first solo project, 1999's Planet X, recorded with Australian drummer Virgil Donati, subsequently led to the formation of the group of the same name (Planet X), as Sherinian and Donati decided to expand on the concept by recruiting guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine. Sherinian has stated in a number of interviews that his intention when forming Planet X was to create a group of musicians that "played their instruments so fiercely, that they would strike fear in the hearts of all musicians".

In 2001, Derek teamed with drummer Simon Phillips and studio guitar ace Steve Lukather to record Inertia. Sherinian commented "These guys are two of the biggest cats in the business, to be exposed to them is just incredible". Lukather responded that "Derek's CD (Inertia) is probably my best recorded work in my whole career".

Inertia subsequently became the foundation for Black Utopia (2003). In addition to the returning members Lukather and Phillips, three new faces joined Sherinian’s all-star team: bassist Billy Sheehan, legendary rock guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen – with whom Sherinian had previously toured in 2001 – and jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola. Sherinian was quoted at the time as saying "One of the highlights of my career was flying to Miami to produce Yngwie, and the next day Al Di Meola - all for my record!". He went on to say “I have always been a fan of jazz fusion, but from the perspective of a rock player crossing over to jazz, not vice versa. I think that is how Jeff Beck approached his classic instrumental records and I like to follow in that path.”

Sherinian extended further into the fusion realm by collaborating with noted guitarist Allan Holdsworth and Jerry Goodman (formerly of the Mahavishnu Orchestra) on the 2004 release Mythology. In addition to another appearance by Phillips, other musicians appearing on this recording were Zakk Wylde, John Sykes, Steve Stevens, and Tony Franklin.

Beginning in 2002, Sherinian has also regularly toured and recorded with rocker Billy Idol of "Rebel Yell" and "White Wedding" fame. Derek's fifth solo album Blood of the Snake (2006) features contributions from Idol, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, John Petrucci and Brian Tichy, in addition to return engagements with Phillips, Franklin and Lukather. A video for a cover version of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" was released along with the album. In a nod to Idol, the bass drum is painted with the script "Derek Sherinian and The Rebellious Yellers!". Sherinian also worked with duduk master Djivan Gasparyan on the song "Prelude To Battle" on the release, written for his great grandmother who fought the Turks in the Armenian genocide.

Sherinian's Web site announced he would again be playing with Yngwie Malmsteen on a series of dates in the Far East and Australia in November, 2006. A new Planet X recording featuring Allan Holdsworth and Brett Garsed as guest guitarists is scheduled to be released in May, 2007.

5.) Images and Side Projects

*Bands of which each DT member is an ex member.
#Touring Members Only.

James LaBrie
Frameshift*
Mullmuzzler
Winter Rose

John Petrucci
Explorers Club

Mike Portnoy
Fates Warning#
Inner Sanctum
John Arch
Neal Morse
Overkill*
Transatlantic

John Myung
Gordian Knot
The Jelly Jam

Jordan Rudess
Dixie Dregs
Jordan Rudess
Rudess Morgenstein Project
Vinnie Moore*

Chris Collins
Oblivion Knight

Charlie Dominici
Dominici
Franke and the Knockouts

Kevin Moore
Chroma Key
Fates Warning

Derek Sherinian
All Too Human*
Alice Cooper
Jughead
KISS
Planet X
Section A
Yngwie Malmsteen

Collabs (and what DT members are included)
John Petrucci (John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy)
Liquid Tension Experiment (Portnoy, Rudess, and Petrucci)
Office of Strategic Influence (Portnoy and Moore)
Platypus (Myung and Derek Sherinian)

7.) These Living Links

Dream Theater Official Website
Dream Theater's Myspace
Dream Theater's Metal Archives Page
Ytse Jam Records
James LaBrie's Official Website
John Petrucci's Official Website
Mike Portnoy's Official Website
John Myung's Official Website
Jordan Rudess' Official Website
Chroma Key and Kevin Moore
Derek Sherinian's Official Website

Funny Stuff:

Dream Theater Misheard Lyrics

9.) Six Degrees of Song Analysis

This is a section that I have written that is about the song "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence". This are all my opinions and analysis on the lyrics of the songs. The italicized, and colored words are the original lyrics, and the following text is my review on them. The individual people are being referred to as "Degrees".

She can't stop pacing
She never felt so alive
Her thoughts are racing
Set on overdrive


The intro to the first degree of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. This sets the stage for Degree 1, as she will become known from now on. This is basically describing a mental condition, most likely Bipolar.


It takes a village
This she knows is true
they're expecting her
And she's got work to do

He helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
As he rubs his red-rimmed eyes
He says I've never seen her get this bad


People with Bipolar Disorder will often work for hours to the point of exhaustion, and often forget other things to tend to whatever goal they have set their minds on at the time. Bipolar Disorder gets worse as it progresses, and her presumed father sees this (I've never seen her get this bad.)


Even though she seems so high
He knows that she can't fly
and when she falls out of the sky
He'll be standing by


People with Bipolarity often go through peaks of energy, then crash into bouts of depression. "...When she falls out of the sky, he'll be standing by." referring to again, her presumed father being there for her during her depression.


She was raised in a small mid western town
By a charming and eccentric loving father
She was praised as the perfect teenage girl
And everyone thought highly of her

And she tried everyday
With endless drive
To make the grade
Then one day
She woke up to find
The perfect girl
Had lost her mind


The first part is describing her life before becoming bipolar. She had it made, basically; "She was praised as the perfect teenage girl." The next lyrics, however, tell that she had one day woken up to find her mind in a completely different state altogether.


Once barely taking a break
Now she sleeps the days away
She helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
All she wants to do is cry
No one ever knew she was so sad


Degree 1 used to be active in her everyday life. Always doing something. Now that she has succumb to bipolarity, she is basically lifeless (as with most people with this disease). Bipolar Disease not only causes deep depression, but also extreme exhaustion. People with Bipolar Disease often sleep for 16 hours or more.


Cause even though she gets so high
And thinks that she can fly
She will fall out of the sky
But in the face of misery
She found hopefulness
Feeling better
She had weathered
This depression

Much to her advantage
She resumed her frantic pace
Boundless power
Midnight hour
She enjoyed the race


People with bipolar disease often suffer from pre-manic surges of energy, thinking they can do anything (thinks that she can fly), but soon come "crashing" down, so to speak, into a deep depression again. Falling back into depression can be beneficial, because it'll stop the patient from doing anything he/she can't do, although they try.







Napalm showers
Showed the cowards
We weren't there to mess around

Through heat exhaustion
And mind distortion
A military victory mounted on innocent ground


This sets the scene for Degree 2. He seems to suffer from post-war trauma, or "shell-shock". This condition is basically reliving a war that the victim has been in. These lyrics describe a war type scene.


Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head


"Hearing voices from miles away - saying things never said." really keys in on the post-war trauma. Degree 2 thinks that he is still in a war. (my guess is Vietnam?)


Years and years of
Bloodshed and warfare
Our mission was only to get in and kill

A free vacation
Of palmtrees and shrapnel
Trading innocence for permanent psychotic hell


Again, describing the atmosphere of the war. I can't think of any other war that had palm trees, other than Vietnam, so that's my guess as to what war Degree 2 is "fighting". "Trading innocence for permanent psychotic hell." reveals that Degree 2 will have this disorder for the rest of his life.


Hearing voices from miles away
Saying things never said
Seeing shadows in the light of the day
Waging a war inside my head

Feeling strangers staring my way
Reading minds never read
Tasting danger with each word I say
Waging a war inside my head


"tasting danger with each word I say." This shows that Degree 2's anxiousness of war have become more prominent, and he could start to do drastic things. Sadly, the song cuts off into Degree 3. (The Test That Stumped Them All.)






Standing in the darkness
Waiting for the light
The smell of pure adrenaline
Burning in the night

Random blinding flashes
Aiming at the stage
Intro tape begins to roll
Igniting sonic rage


Well this sure starts off fast and edgey, eh? "Intro tape begins to roll... Igniting sonic rage." referrs to a symptom that patients suffering from schizophrenia often experience, hallucinations. My guess is that Degree 3 is locked up in some mental institution due to his case of schizophrenia.


Still they keep me between these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me
The answers to the test that stumped them all


There is no cure for schizophrenia, hence the title "The Test That Stumped Them All."


"The boy is simply crazy
Suffering from delusions
We honestly think that maybe
He might need an institution

He lives in a world of fiction
And really could use some help
We have just the place to fix him
To save him from himself"


Here, the doctors are most likely talking now. "...To save him from himself." is describing schizophrenics his hallucinations again. People with schizophrenia are sometimes coaxed by these hallucinations to harm themselves, or others. To some extremes, even death.


Curled up in the darkness
Searching for the light
The smell of stale sweat and s**t
Streaming through the night

Random urine testing
Pills red, pink and blue
Counseling and therapy
Providing not a clue


The only treatments during the writing of this song for schizophrenia were anti-psychotic medications (Pills red, pink and blue), and shock treatment. The institutions at this time were also very poorly maintained (the smell of stale sweat and s**t streaming through the night.)


Still they keep me between these hollow walls
Hoping to find in me
The answers to the test that stumped them all


Chorus.


"We can't seem to find the answers
He seemed such a clear cut case
We cannot just let him leave here
And put all this work to waste

Why don't we try shock treatment
It really might do some help
We have just the tools to fix him
To save him from himself"


Again, the doctors find no cures for his disorder. The pills are doing nothing, so they go to the other extreme, shock treatment. At this point, I think the doctors are more conserned about losing money on meds that don't work, then actually helping the patient, Degree 3. At the end, the lyric again referrs to the hallucinations. The song ends with a nice solo, one of my many favorites of Dream Theater, and ends on a somewhat quiet note that leads into the next song and degree, Goodnight Kiss.





Goodnight kiss in your nightgown
Lavender in your bed
So innocent as you lie down
Sweet dreams that run through your head


This song opens up with a serene and peaceful background. Sounds like a family and little child playing together. "Sweet dreams that run through your head" is indicating that these sounds were merely reminisence of a memory a mother is having of her child.


Are you lonely without Mommy's love?
I want you to know I'd die for that moment
You're just a poor girl
Afraid of this cruel world
Taken away from it all


Degree 4 is most likely suffering from a deep depression due to losing her child. "Taken away from it all." is just further evidence of the lost child.


It's been 5 years to the day and
My tainted blood's still the same
I can't help acting this way and
Those b*****d doctors are gonna pay


"Those b*****d doctors are gonna pay." basically is saying that her child was taken away by doctors. My guess is for testing, a birth defect, or because the mother was simply unfit for having a child ("I can't help acting this way" could relate to abusiveness.) Or, another take on it, is that the baby has died during birth and the mother is blaming the doctors because of it (maniacal laughter of doctors later on in the song), but this doesn't make much sense, because of the background played at the start of the song.


I'm so lonely without baby's love
I want you to know I'd die for one more moment
I'm just a poor girl
Afraid of this cruel world
Taken away from it all


This stanza is showing how depressed and lonely the mother is feeling now. She feels that she's the only one in the world without her baby.





He seemed no different from the rest
Just a healthy normal boy
His mama always did her best
And he was daddy's pride and joy

He learned to walk and talk on time
But never cared much to be held
and steadily he would decline
Into his solitary shell


This is probably my favorite song in Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. It's just so lively and joyful. The intro describes "a healthy normal boy". Seems pleasant enough, except the "...And steadily he would decline into his solitary shell." Degree 5 has autism. People with autism tend to seclude themselves from everyone else. Degree 5 started out fine, but steadily grew worse.


As a boy he was considered somewhat odd
Kept to himself most of the time
He would daydream in and out of his own world
but in every other way he was fine


Autism is a very strange disease. Patients tend to seem normal, depending on the case of autism you have. Degree 5 is one of those patients. He seems like a normal boy, but he'll randomly head off into his own world.


He's a Monday morning lunatic
Disturbed from time to time
Lost within himself
In his solitary shell

A temporary catatonic
Madman on occasion
When will he break out
Of his solitary shell



This shows another symptom of autism: unexpected outbursts. When things don't go his way, he'll throw a tantrum and go crazy. (A temporary, catatonic madman on occasion.)


He struggled to get through his day
He was helplessly behind
He poured himself onto the page
Writing for hours at a time


This shows the concentration aspect of autism. Autistics are able to focus on one thing for hours and hours, never deterring from it for anything. Again, back to "his own world", in a sense.


As a man he was a danger to himself
Fearful and sad most of the time
He was drifting in and out of sanity
But in every other way he was fine


Degree 5 is now no longer a boy, but rather a grown man. Here, the autism has grown into something more serious. He's not just normal anymore. The autism has completely taken his life. He seems normal on the outside, but he's basically a time bomb on the inside.


He's a Monday morning lunatic
Disturbed from time to time
Lost within himself
In his solitary shell

A momentary maniac
With casual delusions
When will he be let out
Of his solitary shell


Chorus, again. This time, the second stanza is showing a more in-depth look at his outbursts (A momentary maniac). The final questing being asked, "will he ever get better"?






I'm alive again
The darkness far behind me
I'm invincible
Despair will never find me

I feel strong
I've got a new sense of elation
Boundless energy
Euphoria fixation

Still it's hard to just get by
It seems so meaningless to try
When all I want to do is cry
Who would ever know I felt so sad

Even though I get so high
I know that I will never fly
And when I fall out of the sky
Who'll be standing by

Will you be standing by


This song is a real eye opener for Degree 1. She is realizing the problem she has now (Bipolar Disease). She's finally seeing that she's trying to do all these things, and knows she can't (Even though I get so high, I know that I will never fly.) She knows what's happening to her, and she will hopefully be relieved of this horrible disease before something drastic happens.






She dresses in black everyday
She keeps her hair simple and plain
She never wears makeup
But no one would care if she did anyway


I've always felt that "Losing Time" and "Grand Finale" were two seperate tracks, so that's how I'm going to write this. I'm torn between this song, and "Solitary Shell" as to my favorite from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. This song is just so epic, along with Grand Finale. Degree 6 suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. A very horrifying disorder that is extremely sad to even hear about, let alone live with. Degree 6 has no friends, as explained by the lyric "She never wears makeup, but no one would care if she did anyway".


She doesn't recall yesterday
Faces seem twisted and strange
But she always wakes up
Only to find she'd been miles away


This tells us that she indeed does have Multiple Personality Disorder. (She always wakes up only to find she'd been miles away.) How hard must it be to be somewhere one day, then the next day you're thousands of miles away from where you last remember? I seriously feel for Degree 6, and anyone else who has this horrible problem.


Absence of awareness
Losing time
A lapse of perception
Losing time

Wanting to escape
She had created a way to survive
She learned to detach from herself
A behavior that kept her alive


Ah the chorus. So epic indeed. I adore LaBrie's vocals here. By "detaching from herself", she is able to live without feeling and emotion. She doesn't remember who she is, anyway, but now she has no feelings or emotions. This bold act is what is keeping her alive through this torture.






Hope in the face of our human distress
Helps us to understand the turbulence deep inside
That takes hold of our lives
Shame and disgrace over mental unrest
Keeps us from saving those we love
The grace within our hearts
And the sorrow in our souls



A person wouldn't normally notice the transition between songs, but I just like to write about them seperatley, as they deal with two different things. Grand Finale is about being more understanding and caring for those who are different from us that are afflicted by these diseases and disorders.


Deception of fame
Vengeance of war
Lives torn apart
Losing oneself
Spiraling down
Feeling the walls closing in


This part is where the whole song comes together. These six lines represent each degree of the song, and (in my opinion) it is amazing how it all comes together in an epic masterpiece.

Deception of fame — Degree 3: The Test That Stumped Them All

Vengeance of war — Degree 2: War Inside My Head

Lives torn apart — Degree 4: Goodnight Kiss

Losing oneself — Degree 6: Losing Time

Spiraling down — Degree 1: About To Crash (and Reprise)

Feeling the walls closing in — Degree 5: Solitary Shell


A journey to find
The answers inside
Our illusive mind


And the conclusion. The lyrics are pretty much self-explanatory here.








Well I hope that by taking the time to read this, you've gained a better understand of the song, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.

This thread, officilized by badloki (who somehow disappeared), IS NOW OPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, you got the thread here biggrin