Dream Theater, with Redemption & Into Eternity, to Perform Aug. 20

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Dream Theater with special guests Redemption & Into Eternity on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on May 25.

The New York-based quintet's new, ninth album, "Systematic Chaos," is comprised of the kind of complex, technically accomplished, and sprawling progressive rock that has endeared them to fans all over the world for more than 20 years. In total, "Systematic Chaos" demonstrates the cold, hard fact that Dream Theater is the most prominent progressive metal band on Earth.

Mike Portnoy (drums) and John Petrucci (guitars) have led Dream Theater since its inception, having met during their freshmen year at Boston's Berklee School of Music in 1985. By 1989, Dream Theater released its debut "When Dream and Day Unite," now considered a progressive metal landmark.

The band found James LaBrie (vocals) in 1991, a Canadian who would henceforth be the voice of Dream Theater. With LaBrie, the band recorded "Images and Words," which yielded "Pull Me Under," an MTV hit in the age of grunge and an increasing anti-chops ideology in music. After that brief dalliance with the mainstream, the band focused on crafting six ever more complex, uncompromising studio records from 1994 to 2005, including the 1999 concept album "Scenes from a Memory" and 2003's dark, ultra-heavy "Train of Thought."

But nothing is more crucial to the Dream Theater experience than the band's dogged touring schedule, one that has seen them throughout the U.S., Europe, South America and Japan, cementing a devoted worldwide fan base. Every show also features a completely different setlist, ensuring no two shows are the same.

In its 22nd year, Dream Theater finds itself on a new label, Roadrunner Records, and with a new album, but it's still enhanced by the same grit, single-minded determination and independence that has set the band apart from the pack.

Tickets for Dream Theater are $38. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.