Last week, Cael McLeish took us through When Dream and Day Unite, the album that officially kicked off Dream Theater’s career. But before Charlie Dominici joined the band, there was an even earlier chapter—one that traces back to their days as Majesty.
This week, Cael rewinds to 1986, when a young John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy were still refining their craft at Berklee, alongside keyboardist Kevin Moore and original vocalist Chris Collins. The Majesty Demos capture Dream Theater’s earliest musical explorations, giving us a raw and unfiltered look at their beginnings. While Collinsdidn’t remain with the band for long, these recordings highlight both their early strengths and the elements they needed to refine before truly breaking through.
In this write-up, we’ll see glimpses of what was to come—song structures that foreshadowed future classics, early instrumental brilliance, and yes, some moments that didn’t quite land. Plus, Cael also touches on Don’t Look Past Me, a track that later played a role in Dream Theater’s search for a new vocalist when James LaBrie entered the picture.
For those following along, here’s a quick reference of Cael’s deep dives so far and what’s coming next:
Previously covered:
When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
This week’s focus:
- Majesty Demos (1986)
Coming next Friday:
- Images and Words (1992) – The album that changed everything.
And without any further due, here’s Majesty Demos – 1986 by Cael McLeish:
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Yes, we may have only just begun, but it’s already time to turn back time. Before Dominci, there was another singer named Chris Collins. While he ultimately didn’t last long due to his poor live performances and on-stage behaviour, he was around long enough for Majesty, as they were known then, to cut their first demo. These songs were sent to music press and pressed on various cassette tapes at the time, and later expanded for the YtseJam Records release. Today, I’m going to be looking at the songs that were on the original 1986 cassette tapes, being the seven fully realised ones. We’re not going into the instrumental tracks like Cry for Freedom, and we’re definitely not going into stuff like “John thinks he’s Randy song” or “Gnos Sdrawkcab”, however fun they may be.
The first of these, and certainly the most well known, is Another Won, which would later appear on Score. Straight from the get-go, it’s worth noting that the quality of these demos are pretty rough. This is a fairly cool song that I wish would’ve made the cut for When Dream and Day Unite as I’d have liked to hear Charlie‘s take on the song. Instrumentally, this doesn’t feel out of place with Afterlife and A Fortune in Lies. The turnarounds after each chorus are really cool, and the instrumental section that leads into JP‘s solo is pretty great. JP is definitely channelling Alex Lifeson in the first half of the solo, then going into more of a Yngwie Malmsteen vibe for the back half. The lyrics to this one are Petrucci‘s and are pretty vague to me. That’s early Petrucci lyrics for you though. They sound great, but as to what they mean, no one knows for sure. Another Won is a fairly fun song, though I’d stick with the Score version personally. Just sounds better for the fact it’s not a demo and not Chris Collins.
Your Majesty starts with a rocking bass and drum groove, soon joined by Petrucci. This one has some great melodic riffing, but man, the vocal is pretty annoying to me and it’s a little too overpowering for me to get too far into it. The lyricist for this one is unknown to this day and I have to be honest, apart from the opening riff, this one doesn’t really leave that much of an impression for me. I can’t really make out enough of the words to even give you an impression as to what this is about. What I can tell you though is that Your Majesty made its way out of the woodwork in the LaBrie era sooner than Another Won did, having been played a single time on the World Tourbulence cycle. At their show in Paris, they dedicated this to the French fan club, which was known as Your Majesty back in those days. It isn’t one of LaBrie‘s stronger performances from the era, but it’s worth a look. Your Majesty 2002
Learning to Live is oft given the honour of being Dream Theater‘s first song over 10 minutes in length. It actually wasn’t their first attempt at a longer piece. A Vision clocks in at 11:24, and is the longest song on these demos. The majority of this song is a drawn-out melodic ballad with some fairly beautiful lyrics from Kevin Moore. For me, the centerpiece is definitely JP‘s solo. The best song I can think to compare it to is actually Iron Maiden‘s Darkest Hour, which released some 36 years later. The lyrics tell of, what else, someone having a vision and questioning whether to act upon what they’ve seen and if it will all be worth it in the end. Unlike pretty much every other Dream Theater song, while this is a very beautiful piece, I don’t feel like it goes anywhere to really be worth the journey. Unlike many of the demos we have here, this is a song we actually have a Dominci version of thanks to the When Dream and Day Unitedemos. Charlie sings it much better than Collins ever did. This version is also considerably shorter than the original demo, and I honestly find it to be a much better song. I almost wish this had ended up as a 9th track on the finished When Dream and Day Unite. A Vision ’89
Two Far opens with a pretty wicked drum groove. Hardcore fans might recognise this riff from the opening video from the 2004 Train of Thought tour. The opening jam is pretty cool, and Myung is on fire throughout the whole song, almost acting as a lead instrument over the guitar once the vocals kick in. This is certainly a preferable vocal take to what has been on display in a lot of these songs so far. Much like the rest of the songs on this demo, I don’t think there’s any direct meaning to draw from the lyrics. That said, I feel like the little gang vocal at the end of each verse may have been in Portnoy‘s mind with songs like The Mirror further down the line.
Vital Star is the song with probably the most beautiful intro. Or would have been if it weren’t for Collins‘ caterwauling over the first hits from the band. It’s when I got to this point that I wondered if it was really worth continuing on with this insight into the demos. The instrumentals are decent enough, it’s definitely the band that made WDADU, but holy hell these vocals are off-putting. It becomes obviously very quickly why the band felt they would have never had any kind of success with Collins still in the band. I almost feel like Kate Bush could’ve sung some of these parts! Honestly, if they had taken these songs to almost any other singer, these demos would have been a great view at a killer band. Vital Star‘s very sudden change in pace into the instrumental section shows that they could handle heading from more ballady territory into straight metal very easily, and the quick pauses are awesome. I wish I could like these more.
March of the Tyrant hooks me straight off the bat. I don’t know of another Dream Theater song that sounds quite like this. With Charlie, this could’ve been a great song, but as it is, what’s stopping me from putting this into my playlist right now is Collins‘ terrible vocals. I almost feel like holding this up into the faces of people who want to complain about JLB‘s recent performances, even if I am somewhat concerned about his overall vocal health. Anyone who’s checked out performances of Only a Matter of Time from the Images and Words tour probably recognise the instrumental section of this song, which replaced the ending from When Dream and Day. Kinda cool to hear where it came from originally, but now it can go back in its box for me.
It is a shame to have to be so negative about these demos when ultimately the musicianship is already so strong. But to me, it paints a bit of a picture on just what the band went through to reach LaBrie‘s entrance into the band. They needed a better vocalist, and I would honestly take Charlie over Chris any day.
Speaking of LaBrie, I want to touch on one last song and that is Don’t Look Past Me. This song was used as one of the vocal audition pieces back in 1990-1991. I’m sure it’s one that people would often overlook, as it’s only released with LaBrie on the 1999 Fan Club release, Cleaning Out the Closet, which contains a vocal cut in the same sessions as Scenes From a Memory. This is a song that I honestly love. While lyrically atypical for the band talking about a great friendship, this just has so many great hooks in it that I really love. The solos on this song are intricate but melodic, Kevin‘s keyboard sounds are perfect, and this honestly should have been on Images and Words. I really love the overlapping vocal bridge, which is something fairly unique to this song that should have been kept. Man, it’s just a great song!
Alrighty, I’ll get out of your hair now. That’s just a quick little look at some of the demos from this era. I’ll be back on Friday with a look at the masterpiece that is Images and Words.
1. Another Won
2. Your Majesty
3. A Vision
4. Two Far
5. Vital Star
6. March of the Tyrant
Also featuring: Don’t Look Past Me
With the excitement around the band’s reunion at a fever pitch, Dream Theater will be heading out on the next leg of the An Evening with Dream Theater 40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025 this month. The world tour continues December 7 in Mexico City, Mexico, at the Explanada Estadio Azteca, before wrapping up December 22 in Santiago, Chile. The North American leg is scheduled to kick off on February 7 in Philadelphia, PA, and runs through March 22, where it wraps in the band’s hometown of New York City. Dream Theater will be performing classics and fan favorites from their catalog in what promises to be an unforgettable evening of music. More information on all tickets and VIP packages can be found at: https://dreamtheater.net/tour/.
An Evening with Dream Theater 40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025
February 10 – Nashville, TN – Opry House
February 11 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy (Limited Tickets Remain)
February 12 – Biloxi, MI – Hard Rock Café
February 14 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
February 15 – Dallas, TX – Texas Trust CU
February 16 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic
February 18 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Center
February 19 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Theater
February 21 – Las Vegas, NV – The Chelsea
February 22 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater (Limited Tickets Remain)
February 24 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic
February 25 – Sacramento, CA – Safe Credit Union Performing
February 27 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theater (Limited Tickets Remain)
February 28 – Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium
March 2 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra
March 4 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
March 6 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
March 8 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 9 – Cleveland, OH – MGM Northfield Park (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 11 – Toronto, ON – Coca-Cola Coliseum
March 12 – Montreal, QC – Place des Arts (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 14 – Wallingford, CT – Oakdale Theater (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 15 – Boston. MA – Boch Center (Sold Out)
March 17 – Rochester, NY – Kodak
March 18 – Wheeling, WV – Capitol Theater
March 19 – Cincinnati, OH – Brady Music Center (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 21 – Washington, DC – The Anthem (Limited Tickets Remain)
March 22 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall (Limited Tickets Remain)
Find Dream Theater online:
https://www.facebook.com/dreamtheater
https://twitter.com/dreamtheaternet
https://www.instagram.com/dreamtheaterofficial
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