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Artist Features

The high priest of prog-metal guitar, John Petrucci, is still finding new territory on his instrument.

Photo by Mark Maryanovich

The legendary progressive-metal guitarist details the darknessā€”and the renewed camaraderieā€”that led to his band Dream Theaterā€™s 16th full-length record, Parasomnia.

Some very important events happened in John Petrucciā€™s life in 2024. He celebrated an enormous milestone with his bandmates in prog-metal behemoth Dream Theater: Theyā€™ve been a band for 40 years. Many bands arenā€™t destined to last a single decade, let alone four. Itā€™s a titanic personal and artistic achievement. And yet, that anniversary paled in significance next to another major development: The band wrote and created a new full-length record with founding drummer Mike Portnoy, who had been absent from Dream Theater since 2010.

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Hereā€™s how 21 killer players from the past year of Rig Rundownsā€”including Justin Chancellor, Zakk Wylde, MonoNeon, Carmen Vandenberg, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and Grace Bowersā€”use stomps to take their sounds outside the box.


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The moe. frontline from left: Chuck Garvey (guitar), Rob Derhak (bass), Al Schnier (guitar), and Nate Wilson (keyboards). In the mist behind them is Jim Loughlin (percussion) and Vinnie Amico (drums).

Photo by Paul Citone

The two guitarists are known for their sympathetic 6-string interplay. They remain as tight as ever, despite setbacks, as they deliver the buoyant, vibrant Circle of Giants, the long-running jam bandā€™s 14th studio record.

Thirty-five years ago, a group of University of Buffalo students gathered in a basement, drank a lot of beer, and played some tunes. They had no goal other than to have fun and party. But it wasnā€™t long before they headed into a studio housed in an apartment above local guitar shop Top Shelf Music to record the debut moe. album, Fatboy. Slowly, the band built a devoted fan base, crisscrossing the country in a van. As they persevered, the band and their audience grew up together, and now itā€™s the fansā€™ children who are discovering the group.

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Each night of a G3 tour ends with an all-out jam and on Reunion Live, the trio hits classics by Cream, Hendrix, and Steppenwolf. ā€œWhen you hear each guy solo, you can hear how weā€™ve changed through the years,ā€ says Vai.

Photo by Steve Rose

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson reflect on their groundbreaking tour with a fiery live album that took nearly 30 years to make.

ā€œWhen youā€™re young, youā€™re attracted to all these [guitar] ideasā€”do this, do that,ā€ says Eric Johnson. ā€œYouā€™re like a sponge. If you get yourself out of the way, get rid of the ego, and stay open, you remain a student your whole life. But at the same time, you get to the point where youā€™re like, ā€˜Thereā€™s only so much time, and I donā€™t need to learn this and that.ā€™ There are things that Joe [Satriani] or Steve [Vai] do that Iā€™ll never be able to do.ā€

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