Prog-metal rockers Dream Theater [ tickets ] have invented their own package tour--"Progressive Nation"--and will launch the maiden voyage in North America this spring.

Dream Theater will headline the trek and bring along Sweden's Opeth, New York pop/funk/hard rockers 3 and North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me. The outing is scheduled to kick off April 29 in Mexico City and then cross the US, with a couple of stops in Canada, before wrapping June 4 in Puerto Rico. Two-night stands are booked in New York City and Calgary. Details are listed below.

The tour is the brainchild of Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who's been developing the concept over many years.

"With all of the festivals and package tours that go through America, I've been talking with our manager and agent for over 10 years now about doing something that focuses on the more progressive, musician-oriented side of hard rock and metal," Portnoy said in a statement. "I decided it was time to stop talking the talk, lace up and finally walk the walk."

He added that he's always prided himself on choosing new and exciting opening acts and helping them expand their fanbases.

"I am hoping 'Progressive Nation' will continue to do the same thing in offering an audience for more daring and experimental acts that otherwise may not get the mainstream exposure they so rightly deserve," Portnoy said.

Dream Theater has been on the road since last summer, traveling the world to support its ninth album, "Systematic Chaos," which reached No. 19 on The Billboard 200 in June.

The band has set an April 1 release date for its first best-of compilation, "Dream Theater's Greatest Hit (... & 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)," which covers material from 1991 to 2005, and includes rare single edits, B-sides and a trio of new remixes. The set's 22 tracks are split evenly between two discs--"The Dark Side" (metal songs) and "The Light Side" (melodic songs). The tongue-in-cheek title refers to Dream Theater's one and only radio hit, "Pull Me Under," from the 1992 album "Images and Words."

Though Dream Theater has never gained wide mainstream success, it has built a hefty grassroots following during its more than 20-year career. The band has sold upwards of 6 million albums and DVDs, and headlined shows in 42 countries in front of audiences 20,000 strong, according to a press release.