Over the course of various lineup changes, Petrucci and Myung have been the only two constant members, and Portnoy remained with the band until 2010, when he left to pursue other musical endeavors and he has since been replaced by Mangini. After a brief stint with Chris Collins, followed by Charlie Dominici (who was dismissed from Dream Theater not long after the release of their first album), LaBrie was hired as the band's singer in 1991. Dream Theater's first keyboardist, Kevin Moore, left the band after three albums and was replaced by Derek Sherinian in 1995 after a period of touring. After just one album with Sherinian, they replaced him with current keyboardist Jordan Rudess in 1999.
To date, Dream Theater has released fifteen studio albums. The band's highest-selling release is their second album Images and Words (1992), which reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart. Both the albums Awake (1994) and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002) also entered the charts at No. 32 and No. 46, respectively, and received critical acclaim. Their fifth album, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999), was ranked number 95 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. It was also ranked as the 15th Greatest Concept Album in March 2003 by Classic Rock Magazine.
As of 2018, Dream Theater has sold over 12 million records worldwide and has received three Grammy Award nominations (including one win in 2022). Along with Queensrÿche and Fates Warning, the band has been referred to as one of the "big three" of the progressive metal genre, responsible for its development and popularization.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Theater
Studio albums
When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
Images and Words (1992)
Awake (1994)
Falling into Infinity (1997)
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999)
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
Train of Thought (2003)
Octavarium (2005)
Systematic Chaos (2007)
Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
Dream Theater (2013)
The Astonishing (2016)
Distance over Time (2019)
A View from the Top of the World (2021)
The Dark Eternal Night
Dream Theater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Speak of the terrible danger
The hideous ancient warnings
Forged in the void of night
He has risen up
Out of the blackness; chaos
Belongs to the prophet's sister
A sickening monstrous sight
Through that stifling heat underneath the pale green moon
(Hungered with the thirst to see things not yet seen)
Climbing endless stairs, leading to the choking room
(Eager to explore his most shocking mysteries)
Drifting beyond all time
Out of the churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Black forces
Rage in a vortex, fighting
Rays of destruction swallowing
The echo of the universe
I am the last
Born of the blood of the pharaohs
The ultimate god of my creation
Sent to unleash this curse
Restless crowds draw near
Nameless hooded forms appear
(Amidst fallen ruins
Grotesque creatures battle)
Shadowed on a screen
Yellow evil faces leer
(Vacant monuments
Corpses of dead worlds left behind)
Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night
Drifting beyond all time
Out of a churning sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Of the dark eternal night
Trapped in a hellish dream
Spinning past worlds unseen
And frightfully vanishing
Into the dark eternal night
The Dark Eternal Night by Dream Theater is a song that conveys a sense of danger, ancient mystery, and chaos. The opening lines, "No one dared to speak of the terrible danger, the hideous ancient warnings forged in the void of night," set the tone for the rest of the song. It is a warning to those who might dare to explore the unknown that there are consequences they cannot even imagine. The lyrics are dark and ominous, hinting at the horrors that lie ahead for those who are brave enough to venture into uncharted territories.
As the song progresses, the singer of the story is revealed. He is a pharaoh, the last of his kind, and the ultimate god of his creation. He has been sent to unleash a curse upon the world, and his power is unstoppable. He is drawn to the beckoning light of the dark eternal night, a place where all worlds converge and the secrets of the universe are revealed. The imagery in the lyrics is vivid and unsettling, conjuring images of ancient ruins, grotesque creatures, and fallen worlds left behind.
Ultimately, the song is a warning to all who would seek to explore the unknown. The dark eternal night is a place of danger and chaos, and only the bravest and most powerful can hope to survive its horrors. The lyrics are a reminder that there is much we do not know about the universe, and that the mysteries that lie ahead may be too much for us to bear.
Line by Line Meaning
No one dared to
Everyone was too scared to
Speak of the terrible danger
Talk about the danger that was coming
The hideous ancient warnings
Warnings from ancient times that were terrible to hear
Forged in the void of night
Created in the darkness of the night
He has risen up
Something has risen from the darkness
Out of the blackness; chaos
Out of the darkness came chaos
Belongs to the prophet's sister
The chaos belongs to the sister of a prophet
A sickening monstrous sight
What they saw was terrible and monstrous
Through that stifling heat underneath the pale green moon
They went through unbearable heat under a green moon
(Hungered with the thirst to see things not yet seen)
(Curious and wanting to see things that are unknown)
Climbing endless stairs, leading to the choking room
They went up stairs that seemed to have no end, leading to a room where they couldn't breathe.
(Eager to explore his most shocking mysteries)
(Excited to discover secrets that were shocking)
Drifting beyond all time
Moving through time and space
Out of the churning sky
From the turbulent and chaotic sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Attracted to the light that was calling
Of the dark eternal night
Of the never-ending darkness
Black forces
Unknown, dark powers
Rage in a vortex, fighting
In a chaotic vortex, they fight against each other
Rays of destruction swallowing
Powerful beams of destruction that are consuming everything
The echo of the universe
The sounds of the destruction echo through the universe
I am the last
None exist after me
Born of the blood of the pharaohs
Someone is born from the bloodline of pharaohs
The ultimate god of my creation
They believe that they were created by the ultimate God
Sent to unleash this curse
Sent out to release a powerful and dangerous curse
Restless crowds draw near
Unsettled people are coming closer
Nameless hooded forms appear
People who are unidentifiable appear wearing hooded garments
(Amidst fallen ruins
(Everything is destroyed and in ruin
Grotesque creatures battle)
Ugly, monstrous beings are fighting
Shadowed on a screen
Projected onto a screen or wall, but shadows conceal the images
Yellow evil faces leer
The faces with twisted expressions appear to be evil and leer at them
(Vacant monuments
(Buildings and monuments that are abandoned and empty
Corpses of dead worlds left behind)
Dead civilizations and worlds are left behind.
(Drifting beyond all time
(Moving through time and space
Out of a churning sky
From the turbulent and chaotic sky
Drawn to the beckoning light
Attracted to the light that was calling
Of the dark eternal night)
Of the never-ending darkness
Trapped in a hellish dream
Stuck in a terrible nightmare
Spinning past worlds unseen
Moving quickly past worlds that no one has ever seen before
And frightfully vanishing
All of it was disappearing quickly in front of them, and it was frightening
Into the dark eternal night
Everything was being drawn into the endless darkness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN MYUNG, JOHN PETRUCCI, JOHN RO MYUNG, JORDAN RUDESS, JORDAN CHARLES RUDESS, KEVIN JAMES LABRIE, KEVIN JAMES LA BRIE, MICHAEL PORTNOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind