Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Black Clouds & Silver Linings is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released on June 23, 2009, through Roadrunner Records. It was the last album to feature drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy until Parasomnia (2025) following his return in 2023. The album was recorded between October 2008 and March 2009 at Avatar Studios in New York City, where they previously recorded Falling into Infinity (1997) and Systematic Chaos (2007). Black Clouds & Silver Linings was produced by John Petrucci and Portnoy (their final album to be produced jointly as of 2024, since Parasomnia was solely produced by Petrucci), and was engineered and mixed by Paul Northfield. Black Clouds & Silver Linings was a major success for Dream Theater, becoming their highest-charting album on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number six.