Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci gave an extended interview
to UltimateGuitar.com recently, discussing the recording process
behind the band's upcoming self-titled studio album (pre-order
your copy now!). He talks about gear, methodology, personal and
artistic goals and much more!  He talks about writing the music
with the same amps, effects and everything else that would be
used for the final recording: "Everybody's instrument was miked
and captured while we were writing with the idea that if there
were any performances that were great at that point that we'd be
able to use them...So it was kind of twofold: one was to not
have to say, 'Oh, in the mix it'll come together.' We wanted to
hear what it was gonna sound like ahead of time so it'll sort of
dictate the way the songs shape up and the kind of the direction
of the album we're making. So it was that and it was also so we
could capture performances as they happened and were inspired."
Dream Theater (the album) covers a broad range, from the hard-
roc