Esteemed guitarist John Petrucci of Dream Theater brought his solo tour, featuring Mike Portnoy and Dave LaRue, to the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida on October 23, 2022.

The trio displayed all of their prog rock skills, performing instrumentals off of Petrucci’s solo albums, “Suspended Animation” and “Terminal Velocity”.

This is a very special tour for long-time fans of Dream Theater, the legendary progressive rock band started by Petrucci and Portnoy at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1985. After Portnoy left the band in 2010 to pursue other projects, the 2 friends had not performed live together until now.

The night was extra special for bassist Dave LaRue, as it was a hometown show for him, and the Orlando crowd was in full support.

The show was also a family affair, as it was opened by Meanstreak, a female thrash band whose members became spouses of Dream Theater’s players. Marlene Portnoy plays guitar, Martens Myung slaps bass, and guitarist Rena Sands is Petrucci’s wife. The band is rounded out by drummer Yael Rallis and vocalist Bettina France.

Go here to find out tour dates and get tickets.

John Petrucci Orlando 2022

43 photos

Petrucci, Portnoy and LaRue Electrify Hard Rock Orlando first appeared on Game On Media.

2020 has been an atypical year for the music industry. The usual album and tour cycles have been turned on their heads. Some bands chose to hold their albums for when touring starts up again. Some bands found creative ways to release their albums, many with livestreams to go with it. Other bands took the opportunity to record and release unexpected music, and much more of that will be coming in 2021. In doing research for the end-of-year lists, I discovered new albums that I had not even known about, from bands I had only vaguely heard of. Here are our Five Fave: 2020 Metal Albums You May Have Missed.

5 – Odraza – Rzeczom

Odraza comes from Kraków, Poland and they sing in Polish. Their album “Rzeczom” is sonically similar to Germany’s Rammstein.

4 – Katatonia – City Burials

Katatonia is from Stockholm, Sweden. They returned from a well-earned hiatus with “City Burials”, an excellent album in the vein of Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Deftones.

3 – Dark Tranquillity – Moment

Dark Tranquillity hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, the birthplace of Swedish melodic metal. Three decades in, they dropped “Moment” in 2020, with 2 new guitarist joining the band. The sound is reminiscent of early Dream Theater.

2- Spirit Adrift – Enlightened In Eternity

Spirit Adrift is a metal project based in Phoenix, Arizona, which has been very active for 5 years. In 2020, they slimmed down to Marcus Bryant on drums and Nate Garrett handling everything else. The result is “Enlightened In Eternity”, which harkens back to the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal from the early 1980’s.

1 – Paradise Lost – Obsidian

Paradise Lost, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, has been consistently cranking out albums for 30 years. Their 16th, “Obsidian”, evokes the Seattle sound made famous by Alice In Chains and Soundgarden.

Five Fave: 2020 Metal Albums You May Have Missed first appeared on Game On Media.