James LaBrie has been fronting Dream Theater for over 30 years now, meaning he's toured with and heard more bands than he can probably even count. So who does he feel best represents the genre moving into the future? LaBrie named Architects and Periphery as his two picks in an interview with Revolver.
"I think Architects are doing well. My son turned me onto them, and then they played a couple shows with [Dream Theater]. They went out and did a couple of shows over in Europe with us. They were all fans, and they're like, 'Hey guys, we listen to you.' But I mean, we get that a lot. When we're out, they're like, 'Oh, yeah, man. I grew up,' and I'm like, 'Fuck you. How old were you? Five years old when you started listening?' Anyways, I love the production of their albums. I think it's superior. It's just so well thought-out.
"I would say Periphery, too. I love those guys. Amazing musicians. I love everything they put out. It's just well thought-out, and it's a great representation of musicianship but at the same time, songsmith. I'm not necessarily always listening to metal music. Believe it or not, I'll listen to Young the Giant or OneRepublic, or even listen to Coldplay and U2's latest [albums]. So I actually purposely get away from maybe what it is that [Dream Theater] represent, with the metal and the progressiveness.
"But every so often, I'll hear a band and say, 'Wow, that's intelligent. That's well thought-of, and good for them. And hopefully they're going to be around for a while.' And if [Periphery] keep writing like that, I can't see why they wouldn't."
Dream Theater is hitting the road in North America this spring with Devin Townsend and Animals As Leaders for their inaugural Dreamsonic traveling festival. Get those dates below and get your tickets here.
6/16 Cedar Park, TX @ H-E-B Center At Cedar Park
6/17 Dallas, TX @ Texas Trust CU @ Grand Prairie
6/18 Sugar Land, TX @ Smart Financial Centre
6/21 Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
6/22 Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live Arena
6/23 Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock
6/25 Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theater
6/27 Washington, PA @ Wild Things Park
6/28 New York, NY @ Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden
6/30 Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
7/1 Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
7/2 Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
7/4 Laval, QC @ Place Bell
7/5 Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
7/7 Gary, IN @ Hard Rock Casino
7/8 Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion
7/9 Newport, KY @ MegaCorp Pavilion
7/11 Detroit, MI @ Masonic
7/12 OshKosh, WI @ OshKosh Arena
7/13 Cedar Rapids, IA @ Alliant Energy Power House
7/15 Denver, CO @ Mission Theater
7/17 Spokane, WA @ First Interstate Center
7/18 Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle
7/19 Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee
7/21 Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
7/22 Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Live
7/24 San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic
7/25 Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater
7/26 Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
