DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[TAC]

Way late to this party, but after hearing and reading what Mike Mangini has said, it is my opinion that the other four members of Dream Theater made a decision to let Mangini go and bring back Mike Portnoy. No idea whether that is exactly what went down, but that's what it sound like, to me. No real big deal. Mangini was classy, as he always is.

Finally, a lawyer without the word salad.
And one that has an actual opinion.
Imagine that. 

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

can't we all just get along?

[Trav]

Way late to this party, but after hearing and reading what Mike Mangini has said, it is my opinion that the other four members of Dream Theater made a decision to let Mangini go and bring back Mike Portnoy. No idea whether that is exactly what went down, but that's what it sound like, to me. No real big deal. Mangini was classy, as he always is.

Finally, a lawyer without the word salad.
And one that has an actual opinion.
Imagine that. 

Bosk will ask that it be stricken from the record. 

[TAC]

 

Objection.

Motion to strike.

[bosk1]

[Ben_Jamin]

This is how I feel about it.

https://youtu.be/6kE4SDIgPMY?si=LYORFCxP4LTXO-IT

It's a lack of integrity and in a sense hypocrisy by stating the lineup with Mangini is the definitive version of DT and all that jargon. Then they go against their own words.

That's my problem with this situation. And what it tells me. Musicians will just say bullshit in interviews. We should not take their worlds as truth. So when a musician says one thing in an interview we shouldn't take it as fact since they can flip-flop and go against their own words.

[Mosh]

I've seen a lot of people upset about that, feeling mislead by Dream Theater. I get it on some level but on another, I just don't get it. Every rock band ever says that the current incarnation is the definitive lineup and that the current album is the best one they ever did. What are they supposed to say? "We enjoy having Mangini in the band right now but hope that eventually we can bring Portnoy back into the fold." "Mangini is cool but we're never going to be as good as we were with Portnoy." That would be ridiculous.

Besides, for all we know they truly did believe that. There was a period of time when it felt like JLB and MP would never talk to each other again, let alone be in a band together. I would rather the band believe in the current version of itself until things change. And things changed.

[Mr.Mister]

This is how I feel about it.

https://youtu.be/6kE4SDIgPMY?si=LYORFCxP4LTXO-IT

It's a lack of integrity and in a sense hypocrisy by stating the lineup with Mangini is the definitive version of DT and all that jargon. Then they go against their own words.

That's my problem with this situation. And what it tells me. Musicians will just say bullshit in interviews. We should not take their worlds as truth. So when a musician says one thing in an interview we shouldn't take it as fact since they can flip-flop and go against their own words.

Or: people change, people grow up, situations evolve. It's been over a decade. It'd be sad if this move would make them happy and they say "oh crap we said in an interview we wouldn't do this - so let's not". 

[Indiscipline]

Alright, I've listened to the podcasts and read the announcements. I know I will never know what (and how) actually happened and I can't be arsed to care one bit; we are told what the actors want/need us to be told and that's already a great deal of info. Better to save the mistery than surrender to the secret.

What I really cared about once I heard the news (but I had a pretty good feeling because I use to give credit to past behaviour) is everybody involved being in a good place, and Mangini seems to be, despite his usual endearing aura of constant mild anxiety.

[Trav]

I'm curious what the ratio is with people happy about this vs. upset about the move compared to like how many years of DT fanship (I made a new word) with Portnoy in the band vs. with Mangini in the band? Does any of that make sense? I've been drinking.

[Metro]

Right now I'm kinda indifferent because we haven't heard any new music yet from the new/old lineup. Ask me again in a year or so when DT16 is out.

[ReaPsTA]

I'm curious what the ratio is with people happy about this vs. upset about the move compared to like how many years of DT fanship (I made a new word) with Portnoy in the band vs. with Mangini in the band? Does any of that make sense? I've been drinking.

People seem to be more excited than not. My opinion is that the overall EV of the quality of the music is unchanged, but it's higher risk reward. With Mangini, you can be pretty sure the record will be solid. With Portnoy back, they could be charged up enough to make some great, or fall into a lot of old, bad habits.

[Jamesman42]

I'm curious what the ratio is with people happy about this vs. upset about the move compared to like how many years of DT fanship (I made a new word) with Portnoy in the band vs. with Mangini in the band? Does any of that make sense? I've been drinking.

I'm cool with it. I fell out of checking new DT for 3 albums, not because of MM, I just stopped caring about music in general. I come back to this forum this year and this shit happens. It's exciting and I will need to give their last 3 albums some more listens and see how DT16 compares. I very much have focus on this again. MP is the spice.

[Trav]

I just asked that because every time I see someone online saying they think it's a bad move, or they don't seem excited and are happy with Mangini and don't see the benefit of Portnoy coming back, they have one thing in common. They look like children! Not actual children, just that they seem too young to have spent a lot of time as a fan during the Portnoy years. I think not experiencing that will change your opinion.

[Jamesman42]

That's very fair, if they weren't around for the amazing times of MP in the band, then they don't have as much of a reference point as us old people or people who run a forum dedicated to the band Dream Theater.

[fadetoblackdude7]

One thing that I'm real curious about is to whether MP will listen to all 5 Mangini albums in full for enjoyment at some point, as opposed to just listening to random songs to learn them for a show. I would love to hear his feedback on them.

[Trav]

One thing that I'm real curious about is to whether MP will listen to all 5 Mangini albums in full for enjoyment at some point, as opposed to just listening to random songs to learn them for a show. I would love to hear his feedback on them.

I'm almost certain that he's listened to them already.

[bosk1]

One thing that I'm real curious about is to whether MP will listen to all 5 Mangini albums in full for enjoyment at some point, as opposed to just listening to random songs to learn them for a show. I would love to hear his feedback on them.

I'm almost certain that he's listened to them already.

I think that is likely as well.  And I would guess more than once, although not for pure "enjoyment" the way a fan would, but more in terms of analyzing the music to see what they did.  Pure guess on my part though.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I wonder if MP would ever want to do "definitive live versions" of the MM albums with the current lineup, like they did with WDADU (and I&W) back in the day. I'm not expecting that at all, but it would be interesting to see his takes on each of the albums. And it would be a good way of getting an MP version of each.

Another thought: now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

[Mosh]

Not only do I hope he's heard them, I hope he has a big say in which songs they play live from those albums. I feel like other than the couple times they sprinkled in unplayed songs from DT12, their Setlist choices from previous Mangini eras have been kinda bland and predictable. Idk maybe Portnoy hears something like Surrender to Reason and thinks it's great. Even songs they played live at one point and haven't come back to in awhile. As someone who didn't help write that material or got to tour on it initially, he might have a fresh impression of it.

[jammindude]

The thing is, there is more than a handful that I could EASILY imagine would have still been Dream Theater songs if he had never left.

He publicly (but guardedly...and briefly) had some criticism of ADTOE when it first came out, but most of the self titled are extremely strong songs and the majority of fan criticism of that album centers more around the production than the actual songs themselves. I'd be willing to wager MP would play almost anything from that album.

[nobloodyname]

Way late to this party, but after hearing and reading what Mike Mangini has said, it is my opinion that the other four members of Dream Theater made a decision to let Mangini go and bring back Mike Portnoy. No idea whether that is exactly what went down, but that's what it sound like, to me. No real big deal. Mangini was classy, as he always is.

Finally, a lawyer without the word salad.
And one that has an actual opinion.
Imagine that. 

Yup.

God some of these posts have been beyond tedious. Imagine having to live your life as a lawyer

[wolfking]

This is how I feel about it.

https://youtu.be/6kE4SDIgPMY?si=LYORFCxP4LTXO-IT

It's a lack of integrity and in a sense hypocrisy by stating the lineup with Mangini is the definitive version of DT and all that jargon. Then they go against their own words.

That's my problem with this situation. And what it tells me. Musicians will just say bullshit in interviews. We should not take their worlds as truth. So when a musician says one thing in an interview we shouldn't take it as fact since they can flip-flop and go against their own words.

People also do things like marriage where they vow to spend the rest of their lives with someone then a percentage of those people end up getting divorced.

Life goes on.

[MirrorMask]

It's always easy to say that the line-up is the last because that's a potential problem for the future.

Musicians underestimate their willingness to let their livehood, their way of life, the only thing they know how to do go.

I am a firm believer of the (hypothetical) fact that, in a situation where the reunion with MP is not pursued and instead it's John Myung that walks up to Petrucci saying that he's done, that the band would have carried on with a new bassist rather than split up then and there.

There's always a reason to go on doing the thing you love and the thing you've been professionally doing all your life.

[KevShmev]

I wonder if MP would ever want to do "definitive live versions" of the MM albums with the current lineup, like they did with WDADU (and I&W) back in the day. I'm not expecting that at all, but it would be interesting to see his takes on each of the albums. And it would be a good way of getting an MP version of each.

Another thought: now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

Eh, why do we need an MP version of each?  It was not his era and he had nothing to do with any of those albums or songs, so his version of any of them is unnecessary.

[JiM-Xtreme]

Another thought: now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

I would just like to say how much I love this idea. The thought of high quality studio recordings of Particle E. Motion possibly with additional backing keys (I know this one wasn't on the original EP), Another Won and Two Far is incredibly exciting to me, even as an idea.

They can skip A Vision though 

[Another_Won]

I wonder if MP would ever want to do "definitive live versions" of the MM albums with the current lineup, like they did with WDADU (and I&W) back in the day. I'm not expecting that at all, but it would be interesting to see his takes on each of the albums. And it would be a good way of getting an MP version of each.

Another thought: now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

Yes, a studio version with a more updated sound.  Another Won did kill live.

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

I wonder if MP would ever want to do "definitive live versions" of the MM albums with the current lineup

I doubt anyone would be interested, besides he didn't return to pay tribute to the past..

[devieira73]

I wonder if MP would ever want to do "definitive live versions" of the MM albums with the current lineup, like they did with WDADU (and I&W) back in the day. I'm not expecting that at all, but it would be interesting to see his takes on each of the albums. And it would be a good way of getting an MP version of each.

Another thought: now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

Yes, a studio version with a more updated sound.  Another Won did kill live.

I'm totally up for that, for the 6 Majesty songs recorded with Chris Collins. Who knows JP and JM can be moved by the reunion and the anniversary? Anyway, I think it's very unlikely.
About the reunion...
I'm not naive to think that there aren't business aspects in DT that leds to certain decisions, but you can really FEEL the amount of love and joy both personally and musically between Jordan and Mike in this video already posted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwnenfLkdqs&t=1542s (from 25:30 on). I'm sure even there's that even more between Mike and JP. How in the world this couldn't led to a DT reunion? Only if Mike would still be in bad terms with James. Once not...

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I know that some people have zero or even negative interest in re-recordings of old songs, but I think it would be all kinds of awesome if they released a new version of a Majesty song and a new version of a WDADU song as bonus tracks on the next album. Maybe pick the two easiest to sing.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Way late to this party, but after hearing and reading what Mike Mangini has said, it is my opinion that the other four members of Dream Theater made a decision to let Mangini go and bring back Mike Portnoy. No idea whether that is exactly what went down, but that's what it sound like, to me. No real big deal. Mangini was classy, as he always is.

Finally, a lawyer without the word salad.
And one that has an actual opinion.
Imagine that. 

Yup.

God some of these posts have been beyond tedious. Imagine having to live your life as a lawyer

I'm an auditor so maybe I have an unusual willingness to appreciate convoluted and unnecessary documentation, but I've really enjoyed the detailed breakdowns and discussions in here. In a situation where fans don't have much insight, it helps to reduce the possibilities to their essence and then to pick the one that fits the few facts we do have. It's not that I need to know, but encapsulating a huge array of possibilities (and feelings) into a couple simpler stories is a useful exercise - especially since we will never get all the details.

I can't imagine coming to this forum voluntarily if you find long, over-complicated circumambulation around a point that doesn't matter all that much anyways distasteful. 

[JLa]

I don't really know why, but when MP left the band all those years ago, it hit me hard. DT's music had been a part of my life for some 15 years at that point. I have never met the guys in person, but I still felt some kind of connection to them. They were this group of old friends putting out great music every other year. They would always be there, if that makes any sense? It probably doesn't, at least not to anyone but me. And all of a sudden this whole stable image just shattered. If even DT can break up...

It's been so long now, so I'm not as thrilled about MP's return as I was saddened by him leaving. MM seems a great guy and a superb drummer, I have nothing against him. Not at all. But still, the last ten years of music hasn't really clicked with me as much as the older material.

So, I am slightly optimistic the next album will be a banger. And if it doesn't, at least peace in my little universe has been restored with MP behind the kit.

Thanks, MM.

Welcome back, MP.

[hefdaddy42]

My suspicion is that MP's re-entry to DT was very much like how Jordan came into the band.  JP & MP asked him, "hey, if the keyboard spot in DT were open, would you be willing to join?" to which he answered yes, so they opened the spot.

This time, I think they got the answer from MP they wanted, so they opened his spot.

IMO

now that the OG Majesty guys are back together, how about a 40th Anniversary Majesty EP? Make it a bonus disc for DT16, or a separate release, but I'd love a fresh studio recording of those old demos with James and Jordan. Another Won killed live.

No offense, but that is literally the worst DT-related idea I've ever heard.

[crystalstars17]

I just asked that because every time I see someone online saying they think it's a bad move, or they don't seem excited and are happy with Mangini and don't see the benefit of Portnoy coming back, they have one thing in common. They look like children! Not actual children, just that they seem too young to have spent a lot of time as a fan during the Portnoy years. I think not experiencing that will change your opinion.

Not always so! I'm sure many are just newer fans like myself (2016) and it doesn't mean they were born after 1990. We're just coming from a different perspective, and neither POV is right or wrong. Can we please cut the snobbery towards newer fans?

Some of us from this subset of fans are just a little worried about him coming in like a wrecking ball and taking over the band we have come to know and love. Some of us don't want SC 24/7. The idea that the ADTOE/TA/DoT/AVFTTOTW era is now gone forever probably keeps some of us awake at night as much as did the news longer-term fans got in 2010.

[Trav]

SC 24/7?? You're also talking about the group that created SFAM and SDOIT. Unless you think those aren't good.