Liquid Tension Experiment 3

On December 14, 2020, band members Tony Levin (bass), John Petrucci (guitars), Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and Mike Portnoy (drums) released a series of posts on social media (pictures of themselves wearing surgical masks spelling out "LTE 3") teasing a third Liquid Tension Experiment album; a picture of the four of them together with the same masks was posted the following day.{{cite web |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Axl |title=Liquid Tension Experiment Working on First New Album Since 1999 |url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2020/12/15/liquid-tension-experiment-working-on-first-new-album-since-1999/ |website=Metal Sucks |date=15 December 2020 |access-date=March 31, 2021}} On December 17, 2020, it was formally announced that Liquid Tension Experiment 3 would be released by Inside Out Music in the second quarter of 2021.{{cite web |last1=Maxwell |first1=Jackson |title=John Petrucci's Prog Supergroup, Liquid Tension Experiment, Have Reunited |url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/news/john-petruccis-prog-supergroup-liquid-tension-experiment-have-reunited |website=Guitar Player |publisher=Future US |access-date=December 17, 2020 |date=March 31, 2021}} The date, later announced to be March 26, has since been delayed to April 16, 2021, due to printing errors by the manufacturer.

The album had been recorded secretly in August 2020,{{cite web |title=Liquid Tension Experiment |url=https://www.insideoutmusic.com/artist.aspx?IdArtist=2027 |website=INSIDE OUT MUSIC |access-date=7 March 2021 |archive-date=20 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120222305/https://www.insideoutmusic.com/artist.aspx?IdArtist=2027 |url-status=dead }} at the Dream Theater studio named DTHQ.{{cite web |title=John Petrucci Reacts to Mike Portnoy Wanting to Hire Dimebag Darrell Over Him for LTE, Reflects on Meeting King Crimson Legend |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/john_petrucci_reacts_to_mike_portnoy_wanting_to_hire_dimebag_darrell_over_him_for_lte_reflects_on_meeting_king_crimson_legend.html |website=Ultimate Guitar |access-date=7 March 2021}} Portnoy had previously recorded drums for Petrucci's solo album Terminal Velocity at the studio, their first release together since 2009's Black Clouds & Silver Linings (with Dream Theater);{{cite web |last1=Divita |first1=Joe |title=Liquid Tension Experiment Announce First New Album in 22 Years 'LTE3′ |url=https://loudwire.com/liquid-tension-experiment-lte3-album/ |website=Loudwire |publisher=Townsquare Media |access-date=April 6, 2021 |date=January 11, 2021}} the band would re-use the studio for the LTE sessions. Portnoy and Rudess also had performed together during a Cruise to the Edge a few years before.{{cite web |last1=Bienstock |first1=Richard |title=Liquid Tension Experiment: How COVID "Insanity" Led Supergroup to Prog-Metal Gold |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/liquid-tension-experiment-how-covid-insanity-led-supergroup-prog-metal-gold |website=Revolver |publisher=Project M Group LLC |access-date=April 6, 2021 |date=February 9, 2021}} The drummer said that the "insanity of 2020" allowed them some time to reunite.

Also according to Portnoy, all members plus two studio professionals quarantined and took COVID-19 tests before the album's sessions.

Like Liquid Tension Experiment 2, each song is described by the band in detail within the liner notes.

The track "Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey" is a follow-up to "Chris and Kevin's Excellent Adventure" (from Liquid Tension Experiment) and "Chris & Kevin's Bogus Journey" (from Spontaneous Combustion); Chris and Kevin is how a photographer mistakenly called Mike and Tony during photo sessions for the first album, and that has since remained a recurring internal joke and is used to title duets between the drummer and the bassist. It is a drum-and-bass duet featuring Levin on the electric upright bass.{{cite web |last1=Burgess|first1=Mick |title=TONY LEVIN ( LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT): "["Rhapsody In Blue"] is the gateway drug to use to slowly draw people into the band" |url=https://www.metalexpressradio.com/2021/04/01/tony-levin-liquid-tension-experiment-rhapsody-in-blue-is-the-gateway-drug-that-we-can-slowly-draw-people-into-the-band/ |website=Metal Express Radio |date=April 2021 |access-date=17 April 2021}}

"Rhapsody in Blue", composed by George Gershwin, was arranged and performed by the band during their 2008 tour; the band would record a studio version of the arrangement for the album. The middle section of the band's 2008 arrangement was inspiration for the middle section of "The Count of Tuscany" off Black Clouds & Silver Linings; also, the standard clarinet introduction was played by Levin on the Chapman Stick.{{cite web |last1=Portnoy |first1=Mike |title=Two facts about RiB that people keep incorrectly commenting on |url=https://twitter.com/MikePortnoy/status/1388269939669282826 |website=Twitter |access-date=1 May 2021}}

All music is written and arranged by Liquid Tension Experiment (Tony Levin, John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess); except for "Rhapsody in Blue" written by George Gershwin, arrangement by Liquid Tension Experiment.

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 1: "LTE3"

| title1 = Hypersonic

| length1 = 8:22

| title2 = Beating the Odds

| length2 = 6:09

| title3 = Liquid Evolution

| length3 = 3:23

| title4 = The Passage of Time

| length4 = 7:32

| title5 = Chris & Kevin's Amazing Odyssey

| length5 = 5:04

| title6 = Rhapsody in Blue

| note6 = music: George Gershwin

| length6 = 13:16

| title7 = Shades of Hope

| length7 = 4:42

| title8 = Key to the Imagination

| length8 = 13:14

| total_length = 61:42

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = CD 2: “A Night at the Improv”

| title1 = Blink of an Eye

| length1 = 10:28

| title2 = Solid Resolution Theory

| length2 = 10:02

| title3 = View from the Mountaintop

| length3 = 5:24

| title4 = Your Beard is Good

| length4 = 14:31

| title5 = Ya Mon

| length5 = 15:24

| total_length = 55:49

}}

All credits sourced from liner notes.{{Cite AV media notes| title=Liquid Tension Experiment 3| others= Liquid Tension Experiment| date=2021| type=CD booklet| publisher=Inside Out Music| id=19439837732}}

• John Petrucci – guitars, production
• Tony Levin – Chapman Stick, bass guitar, electric upright bass, production, photography
• Jordan Rudess – keyboards, production
• Mike Portnoy – drums, percussion, production

• James "Jimmy T" Meslin – recording
• Rich Mouser – mixing, mastering
• Bouchra Azizy – additional digital editing
• Matthew "Maddi" Schieferstein – band and studio coordinator
• Sean M. Smith / Echodesignlab – design

{{Reflist}}

{{Liquid Tension Experiment}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2021 albums

Category:Albums impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:Liquid Tension Experiment albums

Category:Inside Out Music albums