DREAM THEATER is planning to enter the studio in late 2023 to begin recording its sixteenth studio album.

The progressive metal giants’ timetable for the follow-up to 2021’s “A View From The Top Of The World” was revealed by guitarist John Petrucci in a new interview with SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”.

Asked about DREAM THEATER‘s plans for 2023 after he is done touring in support of his second solo album, “Terminal Velocity”, John said: “DREAM THEATER is gonna continue touring in 2023. Just like everybody else, we were shut down for two years and have a lot of catching up to do. We’re supporting ‘A View From The Top Of The World’. We’ve done extensive tours of U.S. and Europe, but even… We played two shows only in Asia; we played, like, four shows in South America. There’s a lot more ground to cover. So 2023 is gonna be filled with DREAM THEATER touring; I’m certain of that.”

Asked if he and his bandmates have thought about working on new music yet, Petrucci said: “We’re still working the last record. I can’t see us being back in the studio until roughly this time next year. If you kind of just look forward to next year, you see the way it’s gonna lay out, and we’ve got festivals. Before you know it, it’s August. There’s not gonna be any studio work done before the fall; I highly doubt it. So a new record wouldn’t be released before the following year.”

“The Alien”, a track from “A View From The Top Of The World”, landed DREAM THEATER its first-ever Grammy in the “Best Metal Performance” category at the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which was held in April in Las Vegas. DREAM THEATER‘s previous Grammy nominations were for the song “On The Backs Of Angels”, from 2011’s “A Dramatic Turn Of Events” album, and the single “The Enemy Inside” from 2013’s “Dream Theater”.

“A View From The Top Of The World” was described in a press released as “DREAM THEATER at its musical finest, expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe.” The seven-song album also marked the second studio album with InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR). “A View From The Top Of The World” was produced by Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.