Bridges in the Sky

Album: A Dramatic Turn of Events
Lyricist: John Petrucci
Subject: Shamanic rituals and soul-searching.


The Music

“A total riff factory. One of the challenges that I like to present myself with on a song like this is to try to make each riff original and unique and have them weave in and out of different syncopations. As they go by, no pass is ever the same; they’re constantly changing.

“Doing this can be tricky, because it makes everything harder to play and difficult to remember. But I think that’s ultimately what makes the song original and interesting - putting that kind of thought into it.

“The cool thing about Mike Mangini is he’s very aware musically of whatever everybody’s doing. He matches things so effortlessly. Even if it sounds like a groove is going by, he catches little rhythmic elements with his kick drums, or he’ll match fills that go in the same direction as the guitar. And he’s constantly changing things up as well. Seeing and hearing him work his magic is incredible.

“Actually, right at the end is one of the sickest drum parts I’ve ever heard. It’s like a machine gun, the intensity. When he would play it, I would be watching and listening to him, and I was in awe. ‘How is this even happening?’ I said to myself. ‘How is a human being doing this?‘ He’s remarkable.”

(John Petrucci - Musicradar.)

JP: "Musically, it's very riff-driven, but again, extremely melodic at the same time, and has a really cool instrumental breakdown that's almost slightly Israeli. It's really cool. It gets an ethnic breakdown.
JP: "At the beginning of Bridges in the Sky there's a voice - it's actually at the end of the song, as well - and that's a shaman. That wasn't one of us, that was a shaman, but we don't know who. We can't reveal."
JLB: "We were in the studio, and Jordan was going through hundreds of these samples going 'Hey guys, what do you think of this, check this one out,' and us going 'Wow, that's cool! Remember that one, put that one aside,' and then he'd come out with these Gregorian vocals and we'd go 'Oh, man, that'd be really cool.'"

(James LaBrie & John Petrucci - The Mirror & Roadrunner Records - Published Aug 2011.)


The Lyrics

"It's a soul-searching tune. It's about being in a very dark period, very soulless, and trying to go through the healing process, as a shaman."

(James LaBrie - The Mirror & Roadrunner Records - Published Aug 2011.)


"The Shaman's Trance"

JP: "The song Bridges in the Sky used to be called The Shaman's Trance. That was the original working title for the song."
JLB: "There's a line in the song that says "Bridges in the Sky," so it was just something that John Petrucci thought the title should be changed to."

(James LaBrie & John Petrucci - The Mirror & Roadrunner Records - Published Aug 2011.)


A Dramatic Turn of Events
1. On the Backs of Angels
2. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
3. Lost Not Forgotten
4. This is the Life
5. Bridges in the Sky
6. Outcry
7. Far from Heaven
8. Breaking All Illusions
9. Beneath the Surface