In an interview with Cumulus Podcasts, Yes guitarist Steve Howe talked about how Yes influenced the music of Dream Theater. Though many fans and the Yes members have noticed over the years that the band has influenced Dream Theater, it doesn’t seem to bother Howe at all.
“They came from the embryo, if you like, of what ELP and Genesis and, Yes, started doing in the ’70s,” he explained. “And I say, bravo. I love Dream Theater’s adventurousness. They took on some of our ideas. But also, a heavy prog or metal prog or something. Basically, there’s any way you want to do it and fly. I think it’s quite flattering. It could never be annoying.”
Though Dream Theater members didn’t quite talk about ‘copying’ the band, John Petrucci said Yes was a big influence on what his band does today. “My favorite bands growing up were Yes and Rush so ‘Hemispheres,’ ‘Close to the Edge’ ‘And You and I’ – those big, dramatic songs are a huge part of what we do, married with the metal sound and melodic sound that makes us unique,” he said during another interview.
Not only that, but drummer Mike Portnoy also got to perform live with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson. This performance happened in 2014 during the Progressive Nation At Sea cruise in the Caribbean. Portnoy played with three different acts on the cruise, including Transatlantic, where Anderson made a guest appearance.