Former Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici has died, the iconic metal band announced. He was 72 years old. No cause of death was reported. In a post on Instagram, Dream Theater shared a pair of throwback photos from Dominici’s time in the band and shared a joint statement on the sad news.
“We are devastated to hear the news of the passing of former Dream Theater singer, Charlie Dominici,” the band stated. “Charlie was the voice of DT on our debut album, ‘When Dream And Day Unite’, recorded back in 1988. Beyond being a great singer, he was an incredibly talented songwriter, a well-rounded musician on both guitar and keyboards, and a long-time friend even after his departure from the band. Charlie’s unexpected passing is a tremendous loss to everyone in the Dream Theater family, and we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the Dominici family during this immensely difficult time.”
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Dominici was the singer for Dream Theater from 1986 to 1989. As the band noted, he performed lead vocals on their debut album, When Dream and Day Unite. but was replaced by James LaBrie afterward. Following his exit from the band, Dominici lived outside the spotlight but returned briefly to perform with Dream Theater in 2004. He went on to release a handful of solo projects, after getting the itch to make music again.
In addition to Dream Theater’s joint band statement, founding drummer Mike Portnoy issued his own addition to the memorial. “While we parted ways with him in late 1989, he always remained a friend,” Portnoy wrote, “fronting the band that played at mine and Marlene’s wedding in 1994, reuniting w DT for WDADU’s 15th anniversary show in 2004, opening for DT in Europe with his solo band in 2007 and coming to see myself & JP on our tour together in 2022. I was texting with him as recently as a few weeks ago when he texted me to congratulate me on my return to DT on the day of the announcement. He was so happy and excited for us all…”
Portnoy also offered, “If you haven’t seen it already, there is a documentary on DT’s 1988/1989 era that I compiled for the When Dream And Day Reunite DVD called ‘I Can Remember When…‘ that is a great tribute to Charlie and his time in the band.” Notably, Portnoy also exited Dream Theater and only recently returned to the fold.
Over on X — formerly Twitter — Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess shared a photo of himself and Dominici alongside a written tribute to the late singer. “Today, I’ll be listening to Dream Theater’s When Dream and Day Unite in honor of our band’s original singer, Charlie Dominici, who left us this week. Dream Theater is more than a band; it’s a family, and losing one of our own is an ache that runs deep.”
