When starting to work on what would become Octavarium, Portnoy noted that it would be their eighth studio album and that they had recently released their fifth live album, Live at Budokan.
Když se začínalo pracovat na albu Octavarium, Portnoy poznamenal, že to bude jejich osmé studiové album a že nedávno vydali své páté živé album Live at Budokan.