"Music they couldn't have done without Mangini."

[nikatapi]

Though MP sometimes was sloppy with his double bass work live, i also think that MM plays "too soft" on the double bass and it does sound a bit weak compared to MP. I've noticed this both live and in some live footage.

Also, i don't like MM's hihat sound, its not so defined and it never sounds completely closed. It may have to do with the brand or type of hihats he uses, but its not as tight as MP's.

But i think we can all agree that MM is much more advanced than MP technically, some of his polyrythmic playing is absolutely sick and probably MP would be unable to come up with that kind of stuff.

So it's a mixed bag for me so far, but i really like MM's use of dynamics and the fact that he plays closely to the original tempo of the songs live.

[MetropolisxPt1]

They are 2 very different drummers where MP is more of a rock/ metal who listened to Bonham, Peart, etc where MM learned the more technique centered side of drumming it doesn't make either one better then the other and its senseless to argue over it. However, it does effect where the bulk of your playing comes from on the kit. MM's limb independence and familiarity with jazz and other styles of music  make him much more versatile to any drumming situation.

[snapple]

Though MP sometimes was sloppy with his double bass work live, i also think that MM plays "too soft" on the double bass and it does sound a bit weak compared to MP. I've noticed this both live and in some live footage.

Also, i don't like MM's hihat sound, its not so defined and it never sounds completely closed. It may have to do with the brand or type of hihats he uses, but its not as tight as MP's.

But i think we can all agree that MM is much more advanced than MP technically, some of his polyrythmic playing is absolutely sick and probably MP would be unable to come up with that kind of stuff.

So it's a mixed bag for me so far, but i really like MM's use of dynamics and the fact that he plays closely to the original tempo of the songs live.

The double bass thing is bullshit. MP's double bass was always mixed waaaaay too loud.

[jackbauer114]

As a drummer who uses a symmetrical setup, i can say that it really does inspire different types of grooves and fills. All the symmetrical drummers ive seen tend more towards "linear" fills as opposed to the traditional, (as Gavin Harrison puts it) "badada badada badada bosh!" type of fills that are easier to do on a standard, descending, dominant hand dependent setup. So i don't think they could have done it without Mangini. Portnoy and Mangini are programmed totally different; they are from two totally different schools of thought.

[nikatapi]

The double bass thing is bullshit. MP's double bass was always mixed waaaaay too loud.

This could also be the answer, i dont know. There are some videos that show MM's footwork and it seems "soft" sometimes. For example this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJnDrNMXt5M
I also thought about the knee surgery he has mentioned in some interviews and he said that he changed his technique, but as you said it might be down to the mix.

[Reaven]

It's kinda funny for me to see somebody questioning MP drumming and could he play ADTOE. I really think that it would be no problem for him. As for writing drum parts of ADOTE, I also don't see any problems there for MP either. AFAIK JP said he wrote drum parts for the whole album and then gave them to MM to develop them and blend with rest of the music, but it's JP's work in essence. I'm not trying to say MM is worse in anyway than MP but to question MP like this is kinda silly. Dream Theater is what it is today because all of them in band and than includes MP, and not to mention how many awards he got in all those years drumming for DT.

OK

That's what I like here. You can have same opinion as the rest of the forum or the wrong one 

[Bertielee]

It's kinda funny for me to see somebody questioning MP drumming and could he play ADTOE. I really think that it would be no problem for him. As for writing drum parts of ADOTE, I also don't see any problems there for MP either. AFAIK JP said he wrote drum parts for the whole album and then gave them to MM to develop them and blend with rest of the music, but it's JP's work in essence. I'm not trying to say MM is worse in anyway than MP but to question MP like this is kinda silly. Dream Theater is what it is today because all of them in band and than includes MP, and not to mention how many awards he got in all those years drumming for DT.

OK

That's what I like here. You can have same opinion as the rest of the forum or the wrong one 

OK

[hefdaddy42]

It's kinda funny for me to see somebody questioning MP drumming and could he play ADTOE. I really think that it would be no problem for him. As for writing drum parts of ADOTE, I also don't see any problems there for MP either. AFAIK JP said he wrote drum parts for the whole album and then gave them to MM to develop them and blend with rest of the music, but it's JP's work in essence. I'm not trying to say MM is worse in anyway than MP but to question MP like this is kinda silly. Dream Theater is what it is today because all of them in band and than includes MP, and not to mention how many awards he got in all those years drumming for DT.

OK

That's what I like here. You can have same opinion as the rest of the forum or the wrong one