DREAM THEATER “Progressive Nation Tour” Details

N.Y. progressive metal pioneers Dream Theater will embark on its 21-date North American “Progressive Nation” tour starting May 2 at Los Angeles' Gibson Amphitheatre and concluding June 1 in Tampa, FL, highlighted by two shows at New York's brand-new Terminal 5 (May 21-22), which sold out in just two days.

Opening acts Opeth, Between the Buried and Me and 3 were personally picked by Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who helped organize the tour: “I've wanted to do something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal for 10 years now,” he says. “I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk.”

The tour will be preceded on April 1 by the release of Dream Theater's GREATEST HIT (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) on Rhino, the album's tongue-in-cheek title refers to “Pull Me Under,” the first and only major radio hit for the quintet; this is the band's first-ever best-of compilation, spanning 14 years and 22 songs, featuring rare edits, B-sides and three new Kevin Shirley mixes. The two discs are divided into “The Dark Side” (the metallic) and “The Light Side” (the melodic), with songs ranging from their sophomore 1992 release, Images and Words, through 2005's Octavarium.

The band's 22-year career has seen them sell more than 8 million albums worldwide, with their last three DVDs each having gone platinum. The band has been on the road since June 2007, playing to growing crowds in Asia, Australia and South America, on the “Chaos in Motion” world tour in support of their most recent Roadrunner Records studio album, Systematic Chaos, one of the most successful of their career. “Forsaken,” the second video from the disc, shot in Japanese anime, recently debuted on MTV 2's Headbangers Ball after “Constant Motion” was voted #2 Video of the Year by viewers of the show last year. They were featured as Artist of the Month on Microsoft Xbox Live in December 2007

The group continues to grow its fan base all over the world, including Central and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Dream Theater topped the bill for the 2005 Gigantour alongside Megadeth, and has also co-headlined with both Queensryche and Joe Satriani. On April 1, 2006, the band played New York's Radio City Music Hall, a show which sold out in just three days.