Dream Theater at Wembley Arena

With over 20 years of history and experience behind them, it’s no wonder that Dream Theater took to the stage at Wembley Arena to a sea of screaming devotees for their Along for the Ride tour. Opening with bold and theatrical visuals, the energy from the audience is truly ecstatic, and when the band begin with The Enemy Inside it is clear as to why.

From the very first lick it’s a high octane race of riffs and solos and sheer volume. There is no point at which the extensive skill and talent of these musicians is not showcased to the extreme. Integrating their latest, self-titled album (including Illumination Theory, Enigma Machine, and Along for the Ride) with their previous work (such as The Mirror and The Shattered Fortress), Along for the Ride spans the full timeline of the band’s career.

For fans of the band and their style of performing, this show must have been phenomenal, but for the average well-I-quite-like-Pink-Floyd listeners, it is unlikely to foster the same level of enthusiasm. It would have been interesting to see more variation in the tempo, volume, or style of songs played, but instead they behaved much like a bag of sweets left on a sunny dashboard, melting together incoherently to form a rich and sickly sweet mass. It turns out that there can be too much of a good thing.

At the end of the day, this was Dream Theater doing what they do best, and the fans were clearly happy. It is pointless denying their musical prowess, and it really is quite a spectacle to see, however it was somewhat of a shame that the visuals and lighting failed to live up to it. Certainly not for those suffering from a headache.

Phoebe Person
Photo: Focka

For further information and future events visit Dream Theater’s website here.

Watch the video for The Looking Glass here: