08DISTANCE OVER TIME DREAM THEATER

(2019)

From a band of virtuosos, Dream Theater’s 14th album has all the chops that fans have come to expect: guitarist John Petrucci’s trademark displays of warp-speed technical ability and some head-scratchingly complicated time signatures. But in Distance Overtime there is heart as well as flash. As Petrucci says: “You need to be able to play emotively, soulfully and beautifully just as well as you can play fast and technical.” For the majority of the record, Petrucci used his Dimarzio pickup-equipped Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty, and coaxed from it both crystalline lead tones and snarling low-end filth.