Dream Theater’s legendary guitarist John Petrucci painted a vivid picture of the band’s current monumental era, framed by their 40th-anniversary tour and the hauntingly thematic new album, Parasomnia. Delving into the dark, cross-cultural phenomena of sleep disturbances, he revealed that he penned the lyrics for the album’s sprawling 19 minute epic centered on sleep paralysis. To bring this conceptual nightmare to life sonically, he didn’t just rely on the band’s signature sound; he actively expanded it. Embracing the 8 string guitar not to alter his core style but to deepen his sonic range, he also spent a year mastering a breathtaking new hyper speed picking technique. Inspired by gypsy jazz and utilising the elbow as a secondary fulcrum, this fierce new skill is showcased in a blistering unison passage with keyboardist Jordan Rudess on the tra ...