EastWest Records and Dream Theatre makes fans' dreams come true.

New York -- In a surprise move late last night, EastWest Records -- a division of Elektra Entertainment, Inc. -- announced plans for the next release from progressive rock band Dream Theatre. The band is still touring the US and Europe in support of their most recent release, Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From a Memory, an epic 78 minute concept album continuing the story of Metropolis Pt 1: The Miracle and The Sleeper from the band's 1992 release Images and Words.

The new release, titled Metropolis: Compendium, will begin recording later this year, after the band has finished with the Metropolis 2000 tour. This release will be the first from Elektra to take advantage of the recently approved DVD-Audio standard. "This is very exciting for us," said James Swanson, Elektra's press secretary. "This is the beginning of a new era of audio delivery, and Elektra is getting in on the ground level. In order for DVD-Audio to be a viable format, you have to have a band that is able to take full advantage of the high fidelity 5.1 channel Dolby Digital capability, as well as the enormous length of recording time that DVD-Audio allows. We are fortunate enough to have Dream Theatre represented by EastWest."

This marks the first time that any band has recorded and mixed an album specifically for 5 speaker surround sound systems, allowing a dynamic range of effects and offering the end listener the feeling of actually being in the studio.

As for the contents of Metropolis: Compendium, it is best described as a Dream Theatre fan's best dreams come to life. This disc completes the Metropolis saga from beginning to end by incorporating Metropolis parts 1 and 2 with the recently written Metropolis 3, 4, and 5. The band spent part of their Metropolis Pt 2 studio time re-recording Metropolis Pt 1 in anticipation of Metropolis: Compendium. This reworked version includes two new lyrical passages from guitarist (and original Metropolis Pt 1 lyricist) John Petrucci, as well as a full 3 minutes of added instrumental ingenuity. Petrucci had this to say: "I never imagined back in '91 that this would go on this long. We were half-joking when we titled the first song 'part one,' but ever since then the fans have been relentless. We had hoped Metropolis part two would satisfy them, but we quickly realized that the story could not been told in a mere 78 minute song; hence the cliffhanger ending."

Next up on the new album is an astounding 1 hour and 47 minute instrumental song titled "Metropolis Pt 4: Instramission." "It's great for me," said Dream Theatre front man James LaBrie, "it gives me a chance to kick back and relax for a while and rest my chords while the guys are playing. Believe me, that will be a welcome break on tour!"

Rounding off this monumental disc is the final installment in the five part Metropolis series, called simply "Metropolis Pt 5: Closure." And that is what the band hopes to give their fans after nearly a decade of waiting. Jordan Rudess comments on his first lyrical contribution to the band: "Well, to be honest, it was rather daunting. I mean, I am the new guy in the band and they are asking me to write what is essentially a book in the Dream Theatre bible. John and Mike helped me with the story line, and I took it from there. The Book of Jordan. (laughs)"

"The thing I think the fans will like most is the fold out map and timeline included with the DVD-Audio disc to help understand the story," commented LaBrie.

"This really is our best work yet," said Portnoy. "This is something that every fan is going to want to have.

Petrucci added, "Frankly, I'm just waiting to see what Fates Warning does next."

John Myung could not be reached for comment.