Dream Theater have carved out a niche for themselves as one of rock's truly original bands by always following their own map. Their legend has grown from their native Long Island all the way to the far reaches of Japan, (where they constantly top the year-end rock polls) thanks to a worldwide following of Dream Theater fans. DT's epic storytelling and breathtaking musicianship inspires the kind of audience that knows every guitar lick, follows every set list, trading precious nuggets about the group throughout the world's computer screens on DT websites around the globe. This unbreakable contract Dream Theater has with its fans goes far beyond the usual music business edict of "let's just put out another record." The time and passion the group puts into each new disk is legendary, and their new album, Falling Into Infinity is no exception. Through it all, the steadfast quintet has managed to remain unaffected by the shifting winds of trend.

So it will be no surprise to fans and critics alike that on their fourth full length album, Falling Into Infinity, they chart their own course again by venturing into even deeper unknown territory. Braced by the confident but adventurous hand of producer Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Silverchair) the group decided to approach this LP on a song by song basis, rather than going in with a pre-determined number of tracks to complete. "This album had a totally different environment from any other we've done," says drummer Mike Portnoy. "In the past we'd go in with ten songs and you'd be focusing on finishing the songs so that you really couldn't put the emotion into each one because you're so scattered."

Guitarist John Petrucci echoes Mike's sentiment. "You kind of go in like a machine and play them like a conveyer belt. Kevin didn't want that and we didn't want that this time." Mike affirms that concentrating on one track until completion also created more room for experimentation. "We'd focus on a song at a time and he'd make us try different approaches to a song, sometimes radical approaches, until we got something that worked. We'd mix it and master it even before we got to a next song. Kevin also stressed the live element and we always love to bring that out."

Like all Dream Theater albums, however, Falling Into Infinity is a lesson in contrasts: From the ominous thunder of the LP's opener, "New Millennium," to the pop polish of "You Not Me," to the sail-on wistfulness of "Hollow Years," to the hazy curl of "Peruvian Skies," which Mike points out exquisitely captures the virtuosity and tension that Dream Theater is known for. "I think that one has the best mellow dynamic, and the other half is this heavy balls-to-the-wall dynamic of one extreme to another. Fans will see it as a true Dream Theater song." And Dream Theater has always had a special relationship with its fans throughout the world. From their breakthrough 1992 release, Images And Words, to 1994's smash follow-up Awake, to 1995's "gift" to their fans, the partial live set A Change Of Seasons, the band has always conceptualized their music with their audience in mind. The Long Island group's emergence as one of prog-rock's most influential leaders could not have happened without amassing such a loyal following. It's one that has cemented into a unique band/fan friendship through years of touring, as well as the above-mentioned special internet relationship. In fact it was at their fans urging via the internet that led to the eventual release of their 23 minute classic "A Change Of Seasons," on the album of the same name. Always inspired by their audience's loyalty, the group felt free to even further challenge themselves musically on the new record. "The songs were more tight and focused on this one, there is less meandering, but in a way, we did more jamming," says John. "I went back and listened to the other albums. You can hear the growth and maturity in this one. Everything doesn't feel rushed and nervous sounding, even though the whole album is filled with new instruments. Equipment was set up in the studio for two months so that we could just go at it. It was like recording in a music store."

Bassist John Myung introduced the biggest musical surprise to the group, a stringed instrument called a Chapman Stick. "I just felt since we were working with new sounds that the instrument would give us an extra dimension," he says. It's exactly this type of adventurousness that has kept Dream Theater relevant throughout their career. "One thing we don't do is jump on trends," says Mike, "I mean I will take bits and pieces of what's happening out there, while other bands might shift their entire sound to fit what's happening musically. If you listen to "New Millennium,' for example, it has a quick little snippet of an industrial part, but it's never like we shift to fit some trend that's happening. What makes us Dream Theater is our originality." The song hovers menacingly, twisting and turning on the edgy dynamics that have become Dream Theater's calling card. "The song isn't meant to be literally about the new millennium," says Mike. "It's more about where we're at as a band and all the changes we've gone through in the past few years. It's been a very parallel period for us similar to the time leading up to Images And Words. We made a lot of business changes and in a way we started from scratch again, and the song is meant to reflect the optimism and the frustration."

Dream Theater's more focused approach also led to a keener editing eye on some songs. "Take Away My Pain" is a song that needed a real big transition from the way it was recorded on the demo," says John. "It was pretty much of an acoustic ballad when we started but we've done songs like that before and we wanted to try something different. We went through a whole bunch of orchestrations on it. At one point we went through an Elton John "Rocket Man" kind of thing, and then it was a Peter Gabriel vibe." John laughs. The group actually labels it's song sections with these kind of shorthand notes - "as opposed to verse chorus - verse chorus," - John says.

Other highlights on the album include "Burning My Soul," "Lines In The Sand," featuring King's X vocalist Doug Pinnace, and the soulful ballad "Anna Lee." "That's another one that changed from the demo version," says Mike. "We decided in the studio to play everything live, to stay away from the sterilization of overdubbing so we could catch the feel of us playing together."

It's that incredible vibe Dream Theater still achieves by playing together that has made them so enthusiastic about another album/touring cycle. "It's like I say about the song "New Millennium," says Mike. "I feel like it's a new millennium for Dream Theater too. That we can take this where ever we want to go."