Prog Zombie

John Petrucci: The Man, The Myth, The Machine

   

"John Petrucci is a progressive metal machine the likes of which 

we have never seen before and will likely never see again."  

 

John Petrucci and I during a one-night-only screening
of Dream Theater's Live in Luna Park concert film
at Island 16 in Holtsville, NY, in November 2013.

Date: November 2025

I hope the afterlife is one long solo by John Petrucci.

One endless, improved, gorgeous guitar solo that takes me on an extraordinary journey filled with infinite peaks, valleys and everything in between like only a solo by the bearded one can do.    

Now don’t get me wrong, it would be wonderful to be reunited with some late loved ones, my childhood dog, and other people from my past at the pearly gates.  But, if you love Dream Theater or progressive metal in general, a never-ending solo by the legendary Petrucci would be up there too.

I’m making this statement after having watched the progressive metal pioneers celebrate their 40th anniversary during a one-night-only showing of the band’s impressive new live release, “Quarantième: Live à Paris,” at AMC Theaters on Nov. 17.  Since I enjoyed a similar limited showing of Dream Theater's Live in Luna Park concert film at a Long Island movie theater in 2013 (and, in the process, bumped into Petrucci), I couldn't miss the opportunity to see the boys on the big screen over the course of nearly three hours in 4K ultra high-definition video with Atmos audio.  Well, this latest immersive experience reinforced the following for me:

John Petrucci is the man.

Wait, I take that back.

John Petrucci is the motherfucking man.

Of course, the other members of Dream Theater – singer James LaBrie, bassist John Myung, drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboardist Jordan Rudess – are also the motherfucking men when it comes to their individual instruments.  But let’s face it, Petrucci has been the face (or co-face) of the planet’s most consistent and successful progressive metal band for well over three decades as well as arguably the genre's greatest guitarist and one of its most prolific songwriters.  He pretty much pitched a tent at the top of the world in his mid-20s and never left – and, most importantly, never let the group’s music lose its luster.

John Petrucci is a progressive metal machine the likes of which we have never seen before and will likely never see again.  Dream Theater has faithfully released first-rate records every two or three years since the late 1980s, while other songwriting guitarists in the genre who would be considered Petrucci’s contemporaries have either faded away or initiated hiatuses that have halted their band’s momentum.

Former Queensrÿche axeman Chris DeGarmo, for example, wrote or co-wrote some of the band’s biggest hits before bowing out in the late 1990s, while Fates Warning’s Jim Matheos and Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson have both stopped and re-started their bands after extensive breaks. 

Meanwhile, Symphony X and Tool have frustrated fans for taking over a decade to release new music at times.  Their respective shredders, Adam Jones and Michael Romeo, bear the blame for that.

Even Portnoy, a co-founder of Dream Theater, needed a breather when he left the band in 2010.  

"I've come to the conclusion that the Dream Theater machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my Dream Theater spirit hungry and inspired," Portnoy wrote in a statement at the time.

But, through it all, Petrucci has persisted.  He has hoisted Dream Theater onto his broad back and marched onward year after year like some sort of progressive metal superhero who refuses to die.  Sure, there are certain records that fans prefer over others, but no one can say that Dream Theater has ever released a bad album or left fans hanging for years – and that’s a credit to our beloved guitar god.

If you’ve heard the old idiom about death and taxes, I might add one more thing to that list: John Petrucci.  He reached the genre's mountaintop when I was a pimpled-faced middle schooler with Images and Words, and he's still standing there today while I'm a middle-aged man with a family for Parasomnia.  Petrucci remains at the peak.  Day after day, decade after decade.

The dude doesn’t just go through the motions, though.  He pushes himself to the limit, creatively and physically.  And it’s paid off with Dream Theater recently netting their fourth Grammy nomination in 14 years.

Here’s to you, Mr. Petrucci.  May my afterlife be filled with your lightning-fast fingers.