I admitted to knowing nothing about prog metal legends Dream Theater when they signed to Roadrunner Records last month, an admission that got much derision from CMU reviewer Tom who has been giving me 'how can you call yourself a music fan when you've never heard of Dream Theater' looks every time I've seen him since. But at least collectively Team CMU were up to speed of all things Dream Theater, which hopefully makes my embarrassing admission slightly less so.
Anyhow, the news here is that not only are Dream Theater playing this year's Download Festival, but they will play a warm up show at Newcastle's City Hall on 9 Jun also. Tickets are on sale now and we hear they're selling fast, which doesn't surprise me in the slightest, given the size of their fan base. Tom. His brother. Erm? I don't know - though they are one of the most commercially successful progressive metal bands ever, so lots of other people presumably. Just no one I've ever met.
The band's first album for Roadrunner, by the way, is called 'Systematic Chaos' and is set for release on 4 Jun.