Biography
Keyboard virtuoso Derek Sherinian carved his reputation in progressive metal through extensive sideman work and a parallel solo career. He joined Dream Theater as a member in 1994 and remained until 1999, contributing to A Change of Seasons (1995), Falling into Infinity (1997), and Once in a LIVEtime before his departure that year. In 2000 he launched the instrumental rock supergroup Planet X, and later co-founded the hard rock ensembles Black Country Communion in 2009 and Sons of Apollo in 2017. His solo discography includes Blood of the Snake (2006), Oceana (2011), and The Phoenix (2020), while additional touring and recording credits encompass Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Kiss, and Whitesnake.
His playing is distinguished by a versatile, aggressive style that often emulates guitar textures; alongside keyboard figures such as Keith Emerson and Jon Lord, he draws inspiration from six-string players Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. Raised in California, Sherinian honed his hard rock and fusion technique at the Berklee School of Music. Late-'80s and early-'90s road work included stints with ex-Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles, Alice Cooper, and Kiss, leading to his appointment as a permanent Dream Theater member in September 1994, an association that produced four albums.
Planet X, his debut solo release from 1999, directly inspired the formation of the band bearing the same name. The lineup featured a rotating roster of progressive and hard rock musicians including Tony MacAlpine, Billy Sheehan, Allan Holdsworth, and Virgil Donati; the group delivered three albums that fused jazz fusion, metal, and instrumental rock before entering hiatus in 2012. Throughout those years Sherinian continued issuing solo projects—Inertia, Black Utopia, Mythology, Blood of the Snake, Molecular Heinosity, and Oceana—that enlisted guests such as Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Stevens, Slash, and Al Di Meola. In 2009 he helped establish the blues-inflected hard rock outfit Black Country Communion with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Joe Bonamassa, resulting in the self-titled debut (2010), followed by 2 and Afterglow, before the band disbanded in 2012. His subsequent venture, the progressive metal supergroup Sons of Apollo, united Billy Sheehan, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal; the ensemble released Psychotic Symphony in 2017 and MMXX in 2020, the same year Sherinian’s eighth solo album, The Phoenix, appeared.
His playing is distinguished by a versatile, aggressive style that often emulates guitar textures; alongside keyboard figures such as Keith Emerson and Jon Lord, he draws inspiration from six-string players Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. Raised in California, Sherinian honed his hard rock and fusion technique at the Berklee School of Music. Late-'80s and early-'90s road work included stints with ex-Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles, Alice Cooper, and Kiss, leading to his appointment as a permanent Dream Theater member in September 1994, an association that produced four albums.
Planet X, his debut solo release from 1999, directly inspired the formation of the band bearing the same name. The lineup featured a rotating roster of progressive and hard rock musicians including Tony MacAlpine, Billy Sheehan, Allan Holdsworth, and Virgil Donati; the group delivered three albums that fused jazz fusion, metal, and instrumental rock before entering hiatus in 2012. Throughout those years Sherinian continued issuing solo projects—Inertia, Black Utopia, Mythology, Blood of the Snake, Molecular Heinosity, and Oceana—that enlisted guests such as Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Stevens, Slash, and Al Di Meola. In 2009 he helped establish the blues-inflected hard rock outfit Black Country Communion with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Joe Bonamassa, resulting in the self-titled debut (2010), followed by 2 and Afterglow, before the band disbanded in 2012. His subsequent venture, the progressive metal supergroup Sons of Apollo, united Billy Sheehan, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal; the ensemble released Psychotic Symphony in 2017 and MMXX in 2020, the same year Sherinian’s eighth solo album, The Phoenix, appeared.
Albums
Singles
