Charlie Dominici, the former lead singer of Dream Theater, has died aged 72.
He was the second vocalist for the prog metal band, and joined them as a replacement for original singer Chris Collins while the band was going by the name Majesty.
He stayed with the band as the frontman for their debut album under the Dream Theater title, ‘When Dream And Day Unite’, which was shared in 1988, and was later replaced by James LaBrie who remains the vocalist for the band today.
In the time since his departure from the line-up, the singer went on to front his own progressive metal band, Dominici, which released three albums up until the time of his death.
News of his death was shared by the band’s drummer Mike Portnoy, who recently rejoined the band. He took to his social media channels on Friday (November 17) to post his tribute.
“I am devastated to share the news of the passing of former Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici,” he wrote. “Beyond being a great singer, he also was an incredibly talented songwriter and well rounded musician on both guitar and keyboards.”
“While we parted ways with him in late 1989, he always remained a friend…fronting the band that played at mine and [my wife] Marlene’s wedding in 1994, reuniting w DT for ‘When Dream And Day Unite”s 15th anniversary show in 2004, opening for DT in Europe with his solo band in 2007 and coming to see myself & [John Petrucci] 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…” he added.
Concluding the post, Portnoy described his death as “a tremendous loss to everyone in the DREAM THEATER family”, and urged fans to watch a documentary from his time in the band called I Can Remember When….
The band also paid their respects to the former frontman, saying they have been left “devastated” by the news: “We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the Dominici family during this immensely difficult time.”
Keyboardist Jordan Rudess also took to X/Twitter, writing: “Today, I’ll be listening to #DreamTheater’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.”