Dream Theater have revealed that they’ve started recording their 16th studio album and first with drummer Mike Portnoy in 15 years.
The band took to Instagram to share the news with fans, posting an in-studio pic and a brief caption: “DT16 is officially underway!”
The prolific prog metallers have wasted no time getting to work now that Portnoy is back in the fold. The drummer returned to the band in October after nearly 15 years away from Dream Theater, having initially exited the group to explore other musical paths following 2009’s Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
As for the direction of the new album, guitarist John Petrucci said the band hadn’t written a note of music as of an interview last month at NAMM 2024, but that he was excited to be “reuniting with that sort of classic magic that started the band.”
“It’s exciting,” Petrucci added. “And I think that’s gonna dictate where things go.”
In the meantime, Portnoy has been keeping his chops up with some entertaining drum content videos on the Drumeo instructional platform. He also recently made an appearance at the Bubba Bash charity concert held by RUSH cover band YYNOT, performing the iconic instrumental “YYZ” alongside the tribute act.
Watch that clip below and see Dream Theater’s Instagram post.
