When Dream and Day Unite
1989 album by Dream Theater
When Dream and Day Unite is the debut studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on March 6, 1989, through Mechanic/MCA Records. The album is composed mostly of material that originally surfaced during the band's early years as Majesty, and it is the only Dream Theater album to be recorded with their full original lineup. James LaBrie replaced Charlie Dominici as the lead vocalist on all subsequent albums.
Background
The band was originally formed in 1985 by Berklee College of Music students John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), and John Petrucci (guitar) under the name Majesty, which was inspired by Portnoy's commentary on the ending of "Bastille Day" by Rush. After the band found a keyboardist in Petrucci's childhood friend Kevin Moore, the band hosted auditions and settled on Chris Collins as the lead vocalist.
Majesty recorded The Majesty Demos between 1985 and 1986 but, shortly thereafter, were forced to change their name after another band threatened to take legal action. While touring around New York, Collins left the band, and the band went through many lead singers before settling in with experienced vocalist Charlie Dominici. Still trying to come up with ideas to rename their band, they settled on Portnoy's father suggestion of Dream Theater, which was the name of a nearby movie theater.
Despite not having toured with Dominici, they caught the attention of Mechanic/MCA, who sent a representative to watch them play in the basement of a hair salon where they would practice at the time.
Recording and songwriting
The album was recorded in mid-1988 at Kajem/Victory Studios (a converted gun factory mandated to remain with its original form) in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, notable for the recording of Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche, and the whole process took three weeks, with the band working only at night.
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