Liquid Tension Experiment: Beating The Odds

For multiple decades the biggest question in the world of progressive metal has been ‘will LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT ever release another album?’ It may have taken a global pandemic and a lot of adherence to guidelines to make it a possibility but at long last the time has come.

“I can’t tell you how many messages there were between me and Mike discussing LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT over the years,” jokes keyboardist Jordan Rudess. “The first problem was of course scheduling as DREAM THEATER is always either on the road, making an album or trying to get a little time off. When the pandemic hit we were all at home and we were like ‘lets work out a way to get in the studio and do this’. When we finally worked it out we were so happy. We got into the studio and it was just such a great feeling. It wasn’t easy to work out because beyond just bringing the band back together again the pandemic made it hard to schedule anything with other people. So we all got COVID-19 shots and promised each other to be careful about where we went and to stay at home until we got to the studio. We had a very productive time in the studio. We spent about two and a half weeks there. The way we do it is get together and do a lot of improvising, compose pieces and then after that we all go our own ways and put the tracks together. I spent a lot of time at home, probably a full week or more just doing my parts. John went into DREAM THEATER HQ and did his parts and everybody worked in their own space.”

With such an extended gap between releases and the expectations of the fans weighing on their shoulders even a veteran of the industry was starting to feel the pressure. “When you hear people asking every day for 20 years about when the next album is going to come you start feeling a little bit of extra intensity around the project,” admits Jordan. “I was a little nervous thinking ‘what happens if the muse is not with me when I get to the studio?’ People get writer’s block so I was concerned and I actually did spend some time putting together some seeds or short ideas so if I was there and couldn’t come up with something then I had some stuff I could possibly work on so that was helpful.”

“But when I got into the studio with everybody there were no shortage of ideas, we just bounced off each other. It was very much like a musical conversation and the next thing you know is a song is born. For me, it was a combination of having some ideas beforehand and also being inspired when we were there. It really was the best of both worlds on that level. Our techs are so good, we walked into the studio and everything was already set up so we could just start playing. We hardly said hello at first and just walked over to our instruments and our first jam was probably like 30 minutes long. It was very natural, we enjoyed being together and I think it shows with what we have created. We actually have a bonus disc that will be coming out where we selected certain parts of the jams that we thought were the best.”

At this stage, it may be considered slightly impatient to consider what the future holds for LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT and when the opportunity will arise for the quartet to once again reunite somewhere down the line but Jordan has hinted that we may not have as long to wait as what may be anticipated. “I believe we have signed to a two record deal and I think we’re all really excited about it. We all want to do it and we have so much fun so it’s so cool just to kind of put the old band back together again. It’ll definitely happen. We’ll do another for sure.”

During his career as a musician that has spanned over 30 years, Jordan has achieved what some can only dream of. Touring the world, creating countless albums and performing with some of the most talented musicians on the planet. Something that he never takes for granted as he continues to progress and innovate with each passing day. “The thing about me is that I live and breathe music. That’s like my whole life. I’ve always been very kind of like one-sided. I’ll be in the studio with DREAM THEATER then I’d get back to my hotel room and I’m playing my continuum or my seaboard or I’m making music on my iPad. I’m always doing it. I really enjoy the entertainment factor of the likes of Instagram and interacting with people that way.”

“I started a Patreon about nine or ten months ago and it has been very successful and a great way to share and educate people. There is never a shortage of things to do. If I have time I’ll post exercises to my Patreon or share videos of my playing on new software. That’s just kind of who I am. I think it just comes from my being very passionate about sound. I’m not a programmer or anything like that. I love the sounds and I love the control. We touch something, what does it feel like? How does it make sound? It’s very appealing to me to think about new ways of expressing sound and using technology to achieve that. I get a lot of products sent to me because people know I’ve got a pretty big following and if they send me their latest keyboard or software and I like it that I’m going to show it off and people may buy it. I have a long term relationship with instruments and software so I can really offer some perspective and feedback.”

Liquid Tension Experiment 3 is out now via InsideOut Music

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