A Broken Man

Album: Parasomnia (2025)
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Songfacts®:

  • "A Broken Man" erupts with an unrelenting fusillade of locked-in riffs that promptly gives way to James LaBrie's impassioned narration of a war veteran haunted by sleep disorders. We are deep in the realm of parasomnia, a term that encompasses everything from night terrors to sleepwalking.
  • Jordan Rudess' eerie keyboard textures evoke the disorientation of insomnia. Then when Mike Portnoy reaches the song's climax, his frantic drumming mimics the chaos of nightmares. To hammer the point home, the song incorporates audio from real veterans recalling their harrowing wartime experiences.
  • "A Broken Man" is the second single from Parasomnia, Dream Theater's 2025 odyssey into concept-driven prog metal. Recorded between February and July 2024 at their Long Island headquarters, the album is steeped in the unsettling world of sleep disorders. By focusing on PTSD-induced sleep disturbances, "A Broken Man" reinforces Parasomnia's core message: sleep disorders are not just biological phenomena but often manifestations of deeper psychological struggles.
  • Parasomnia was released on February 7, 2025, a date with special significance - it marks exactly one year since the album's recording sessions began.

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