Portnoy was my favourite member of the band until around September 2010.
After that he just made it worse and worse for himself.
If *you* want a break from the band - don't bitch about the rest of them in the press because *they* don't want to.
What I absolutely DO NOT miss : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5RLln_Hk7w
I tend to agree with that. And thanks for sharing the video, Iīde never seen that before!
I think Mike realized after the BCSL Tour that the band needed a fresh start and needed to improve/fix their relationship to move on. Sadly though, the solution he proposed was not accepted, and it took him leaving for the band to reconnect again and work as a tight unit. While I do not know what goes on in the "inner circles" of the band, I imagine that the end result was exactly what Mike wanted, but unfortunately it came through at his expense.
What really ruined the whole thing for me was Mikeīs attitude in some of the interviews and posts on the internet after he left. As much as he wanted to share details of band life with the fans, some of the things he said should have been avoided. I donīt have the exact quotes, but in summary, he complained about the guys moving on while he himself wanted to leave. I guess his biggest mistake was to play the card of "Iīll quit and theyīll come running after me, and in the end Iīll get what I wanted from them in the first place". That completely backfired for him, and in my opinion, by doing that he thought he was more important than DT. To put this in a marketing perspective, he didnīt realize then that fans go after the BRAND DT, not after individual members. No matter how much you represent for the band, thatīs always the case. For the record, I think Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford thought the same thing when they left Maiden and Priest, only to realize a few years later that going solo is a tough thing to do. Think about the Queensryche rift thatīs still going on - whoīs getting more credit for carrying on, Geoff Tate or Queensryche? An the situation with him right now goes lik this:he starts a new project, seems quit happy about it, fans start to get excited, and then a few months later another comment from him about rejoining DT comes up in interviews. Why does he do that? In my opinion, he should avoid mentioning DT as much as possible now, just like DT is doing about his deput parture. My advice to him would be "enjoy your side projects Mike. I do like TWD, Flying Colors, and AMob. Focus on those bands now, and leave DT aside for some time. You may or may not return to the band, but we will always be grateful for your contribution to it. But please leave them aside for now".
All that said, I do miss Mikeīs stage presence and in-you-face drumming, and I think thatīs the one side DT will never recover from after he left. People blame him for the heavy direction they took in BCSL and SysChaos, but forget that he also created the whole (great) concept of Octavarium, arguably the most prog (proggest?) album they released. He also took the band to where they got in SFAM by fighting for creative freedom when things were tough during the FII era.
Whether or not he will come back, I donīt know. Stranger things have happened: Roth rejoined Van Halen after fighting with the band for yars on end on the press; Sting reunited with The Police even though nobody even thought about it anymore, almost 25 years after they split. Right now, I think both sides should move on, and think about a reunion (permanent or not) a few more years down the track. I would like to see MP back ONLY if it was for the benefit of the band as a unit. Otherwise, only a one-off show would suffice.
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Topic: Would you like to see Portnoy back in Dream theater? (Read 86960 times)