Mike Portnoy's DRUMEO Breaking Down DT's New Album: "Parasomnia" NOW

[gmillerdrake]

Yeah, I never doubted for a moment that Mike could play any of the Mangini material. Pneuma is a harder song to learn and play on drums than anything Mangini did in DT.

I'm not so sure about that. MM was and is a beast....albeit a different type of beast but he has some pretty remarkable drum parts in those five albums that MP would probably have just as hard of time replicating. Someone mentioned it earlier....but MM's limbs are like independent prehensile entities just doing crap that they shouldn't be doing. All drummers have that capability but MM is a step above most when it comes to technically sound execution on a precise level.

I agree that were he challenged to learn this tool song he'd have an easier time 'figuring the code' out than MP did due to his mathematic approach to writing

[TheCountOfNYC]

FWIW, unlike with the Tool song, Mike Portnoy will have more than five hours to learn all of the Mangini era Dream Theater songs...

[MinistroRaven]

FWIW, unlike with the Tool song, Mike Portnoy will have more than five hours to learn all of the Mangini era Dream Theater songs...

He just needs to learn those he feel comfortable to play, and those he is going to add to the setlist

[HOF]

The drums were cool, but my goodness that song is a snooze fest.

[gmillerdrake]

The drums were cool, but my goodness that song is a snooze fest.

Yeah....we haven't even touched on that yet. recycled cutting room floor material snoozefest

[HOF]

Sounds a lot like Schism, only less interesting.

[jammindude]

For Pete's sake I feel like I'm suddenly in a room with an entire group of people with NO EFFING EARS!!!

[nobloodyname]

Yeah....we haven't even touched on that yet. recycled cutting room floor material snoozefest

Why bring the thread down? It's an enormously entertaining video, regardless of what you think of the tune.

[DreamerTV]

The video was amazing, and so was Mike.
I hope that somehow, even though Mike was already a casual listener of Tool and some elements of their music have been felt here and there in DT, this experience has brought a desire to incorporate more Tool influences into the next DT album.

[HOF]

Why bring the thread down? It's an enormously entertaining video, regardless of what you think of the tune.

It was an impressive accomplishment for sure.

[Ben_Jamin]

The drums were cool, but my goodness that song is a snooze fest.

[hefdaddy42]

In a side note, nothing tops the greatest drumming video of all time....

https://youtu.be/VSoZUzMJ7DY?feature=shared

Sincerely

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

Just watched the video, it was a lot of fun thanks to Mike, always glad to watch him tackle songs and stuff. I agree that the song was kinda boring (I'm not the biggest Tool fan) but I kept watching strictly for entertainment purposes. It goes to show how likeable MP is. The video is about to break 2M views! The man has his audience and having him back to the band is going to reignite the passion in the fanbase even more!

[Puppies_On_Acid]

For Pete's sake I feel like I'm suddenly in a room with an entire group of people with NO EFFING EARS!!!

This reminds me of a time I introduced my sister to Tool....I believe it was the song Lateralus....many years ago. The first thing she said is, "Is this that stupid band Dream Theater that you like so much?" 

[jammindude]

This reminds me of a time I introduced my sister to Tool....I believe it was the song Lateralus....many years ago. The first thing she said is, "Is this that stupid band Dream Theater that you like so much?" 

I think one of the reasons why I fell in love with progressive rock in the first place is because my dad raised me on classical music. And he did not just raise me listening to classical music, he instructed me to analyze it. He urged me to pick out how many different things were layered into the piece of music. He told me to look for the patterns that we're going on sometimes underneath the surface.

So even when I started listening to rock music, I was listening to everything that was going on within the music. I sought out intricate patterns, and complex rhythms.

It shocks me to this day that almost 40 years later I still run into people who have been listening to master of puppets for decades, and never noticed that the main riff skips a beat every other bar. I've already seen the videos that show that it's not really a true 8/8, 7/8 switch off, but if you're actually counting out the beat, it does count off to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. But the amount of people that have been listening to that riff for so long, and never even noticed that never ceases to amaze me. But I blame my dad for teaching me to pay attention very carefully to what was going on in any music that I was listening to for always noticing stuff like that

[JLa]

Obviously not a perfect cover. I hear more a "Mike Portnoy plays Tool", and it's awesome. MP's feel/talent for "groove" is second to none.

[TAC]

It shocks me to this day that almost 40 years later I still run into people who have been listening to master of puppets for decades, and never noticed that the main riff skips a beat every other bar. I've already seen the videos that show that it's not really a true 8/8, 7/8 switch off, but if you're actually counting out the beat, it does count off to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. But the amount of people that have been listening to that riff for so long, and never even noticed that never ceases to amaze me.

Most people don't think of listening to music that way. Heck, there was a time where I could play Master Of Puppets on drums note for note, and I had no idea of how many beats per bar there were.

[TheCountOfNYC]

It shocks me to this day that almost 40 years later I still run into people who have been listening to master of puppets for decades, and never noticed that the main riff skips a beat every other bar. I've already seen the videos that show that it's not really a true 8/8, 7/8 switch off, but if you're actually counting out the beat, it does count off to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7

It's supposed to be three bars of 4/4 followed by one bar of 5/8, but the band plays the bar of 5/8 slightly slower, so if mapped out at a consistent tempo that bar of 5/8 becomes a bar of 21/32.

[Architeuthis]

Well done MP!  He pulled off a monumental task.  "Couldn't you have given me a Foo Fighters song"!!! 
I remember learning Schism on guitar a few years ago, and all the odd timing was the hardest part. It was a pain in the arse! I'm sure I've forgotten the whole thing by now.. lol, I have no desire to re-visit it..

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I think one of the reasons why I fell in love with progressive rock in the first place is because my dad raised me on classical music. And he did not just raise me listening to classical music, he instructed me to analyze it. He urged me to pick out how many different things were layered into the piece of music. He told me to look for the patterns that we're going on sometimes underneath the surface.

So even when I started listening to rock music, I was listening to everything that was going on within the music. I sought out intricate patterns, and complex rhythms.

It shocks me to this day that almost 40 years later I still run into people who have been listening to master of puppets for decades, and never noticed that the main riff skips a beat every other bar. I've already seen the videos that show that it's not really a true 8/8, 7/8 switch off, but if you're actually counting out the beat, it does count off to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7. But the amount of people that have been listening to that riff for so long, and never even noticed that never ceases to amaze me. But I blame my dad for teaching me to pay attention very carefully to what was going on in any music that I was listening to for always noticing stuff like that

It's supposed to be three bars of 4/4 followed by one bar of 5/8, but the band plays the bar of 5/8 slightly slower, so if mapped out at a consistent tempo that bar of 5/8 becomes a bar of 21/32.

The funny part about this is most of the weird stuff like that in Metallica's music is because of Lars' inability to keep proper time and/or count out the bars correctly. It all works in the end, though, because of James' amazing rhythm guitar.

There was a youtube channel that dissected several of those parts and explained what was actually going on. Can't remember the channel name offhand, but it was interesting stuff.

[TheCountOfNYC]

It's supposed to be three bars of 4/4 followed by one bar of 5/8, but the band plays the bar of 5/8 slightly slower, so if mapped out at a consistent tempo that bar of 5/8 becomes a bar of 21/32.

The funny part about this is most of the weird stuff like that in Metallica's music is because of Lars' inability to keep proper time and/or count out the bars correctly. It all works in the end, though, because of James' amazing rhythm guitar.

There was a youtube channel that dissected several of those parts and explained what was actually going on. Can't remember the channel name offhand, but it was interesting stuff.

I know TheArtOfGuitar did something like this with the three 80's opening thrashers (Fight Fire With Fire, Battery, and Blackened) but I'm not sure if that's the video you're referencing or not. Metallica is the only band where my fandom of them rivals my fandom of Dream Theater, so I've consumed A LOT of Metallica content through the years and have become quite familiar with the intricacies of their music.

[Adami]

It's supposed to be three bars of 4/4 followed by one bar of 5/8, but the band plays the bar of 5/8 slightly slower, so if mapped out at a consistent tempo that bar of 5/8 becomes a bar of 21/32.

The funny part about this is most of the weird stuff like that in Metallica's music is because of Lars' inability to keep proper time and/or count out the bars correctly. It all works in the end, though, because of James' amazing rhythm guitar.

There was a youtube channel that dissected several of those parts and explained what was actually going on. Can't remember the channel name offhand, but it was interesting stuff.

You're right about Lars and James, but I doubt the riff in Puppets has anything to do with Lars' inability to keep time. It's like exactly how James wrote it, and he probably (I think he's stated as much) had no idea it was an odd time and they just played instictually.

[ytserush]

Great Video. Nice to watch the process even if it was heavily edited. Would have preferred to watch an uncut version.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I'm not so sure about that. MM was and is a beast....albeit a different type of beast but he has some pretty remarkable drum parts in those five albums that MP would probably have just as hard of time replicating. Someone mentioned it earlier....but MM's limbs are like independent prehensile entities just doing crap that they shouldn't be doing. All drummers have that capability but MM is a step above most when it comes to technically sound execution on a precise level.

I agree that were he challenged to learn this tool song he'd have an easier time 'figuring the code' out than MP did due to his mathematic approach to writing

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is the biggest thing I think people do not realize. The limb independence used in the last 5 albums is something MP is not going to be able to do. This is something that requires a lot of practice and since MP - by his own admission - does not practice this isn't just a matter of shedding it for 5 weeks. MM has been practicing and teaching this stuff for decades. Pull up almost any song on View and you're going to have select places where MM is using these skills. MP has not be show casing anything like this so again, it's not like he's just going to whip it out after never practicing it for 30 years. This is a very different thing from stitching together complex time signature changes like Dance of Eternity where you need to be able to play the time sigs but the actual parts themselves are fairly basic.

MP is going to bring the songs into his own style and make it work for him but there is no chance this is going to be a replication of what MM played. Some songs are going to transition really well like Paralyzed and others just aren't (Alien, Awaken the Master, View, Pale Blue Dot). Doesn't mean they won't sound great but I have a hard time imaging a faithful rendition of certain sections. There are a lot of good MM era covers where guys are just playing something different at certain time stamps and it still works. As for the other stuff like the one handed single strokes and crazy fast fills....it's just going to be MP's own flair. As it should be.

99% of the audience is not going to notice so arguably none of this matters but this is a topic that is getting a lot of speculation on social media = is MP going to be able to play MM's parts? Even if he somehow you could learn all this stuff by drilling it for 3 months I am not sure that would be the best use of his time right now. MM has his style and MP has his. I personally have no itch to hear MP play View. I'd rather hear him do the stuff HE can do.

[gmillerdrake]

To be fair.....MP doesn't even play the MP parts from the albums faithfully. He gets close and it sounds great....but as he's said, he's a feel guy and it all works. He gives a great show at a high level but he does skip and miss a lot of what he puts down in the studio.

[TAC]

To be fair.....MP doesn't even play the MP parts from the albums faithfully. He gets close and it sounds great....but as he's said, he's a feel guy and it all works. He gives a great show at a high level but he does skip and miss a lot of what he puts down in the studio.

Yeah, but he adds stuff as well, so you get a nice live experience.

[Dream Team]

@BarstoolWarrior

MP's outstanding limb independence has been cited even on elitist drumming sites that hate prog metal, so you're underselling him a little.

[Mosh]

I think of the limb independence thing as a process more than a result. Yes there are parts that most drummers couldn't replicate, but there are also plenty of drum parts that aren't that complicated. MM's approach to playing is certainly unique, but others can get to a similar result with a different thought process.

I'll be looking forward to hearing MP interpret MM's parts. It's going to be different but I doubt there are any songs in the catalog that he just can't play. I feel like some of these comments really undersell what Portnoy is capable of as a drummer. Lets not forget that Dream Theater was seen as a benchmark for modern rock drumming for a very long time, long before MM was in the band.

[Stadler]

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is the biggest thing I think people do not realize. The limb independence used in the last 5 albums is something MP is not going to be able to do. This is something that requires a lot of practice and since MP - by his own admission - does not practice this isn't just a matter of shedding it for 5 weeks. MM has been practicing and teaching this stuff for decades. Pull up almost any song on View and you're going to have select places where MM is using these skills. MP has not be show casing anything like this so again, it's not like he's just going to whip it out after never practicing it for 30 years. This is a very different thing from stitching together complex time signature changes like Dance of Eternity where you need to be able to play the time sigs but the actual parts themselves are fairly basic.

MP is going to bring the songs into his own style and make it work for him but there is no chance this is going to be a replication of what MM played. Some songs are going to transition really well like Paralyzed and others just aren't (Alien, Awaken the Master, View, Pale Blue Dot). Doesn't mean they won't sound great but I have a hard time imaging a faithful rendition of certain sections. There are a lot of good MM era covers where guys are just playing something different at certain time stamps and it still works. As for the other stuff like the one handed single strokes and crazy fast fills....it's just going to be MP's own flair. As it should be.

99% of the audience is not going to notice so arguably none of this matters but this is a topic that is getting a lot of speculation on social media = is MP going to be able to play MM's parts? Even if he somehow you could learn all this stuff by drilling it for 3 months I am not sure that would be the best use of his time right now. MM has his style and MP has his. I personally have no itch to hear MP play View. I'd rather hear him do the stuff HE can do.

It is stunning to me - not just about Mike, but in general - how falsehoods and misunderstandings just KEEP getting perpetuated.

Mike P. said he doesn't practice IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE, doing skills and drills. He noted in that and in other interviews that he actually plays a LOT, and does a lot to learn new material and make sure he can do the gigs he's signed up for.  In my book that is, loosely, "practice".   I think we're grossly underestimating his abilities here; there is absolutely no doubt that he will bring the songs into his own style and make it work for him, and I certainly do not expect what we hear is going to be a replication of what MM played, but I think the knee-jerk negative assumption that it's simply because he CAN'T is unfounded and unproven.

I was looking for a place to write this anyway, but since you mention the social media response, I think this is as good a place as any: I recently expanded my presence (unintentionally) on Facebook, and it is STUNNING to me how much negativity there is about and around Mike Portnoy.  I don't know if it's just normal social media ignorance and rudeness (which by "normal", I mean seems to be the normal course of business on social media; what a cesspool) or if there is something more, but most of it doesn't seem all that constructive, and rather comes off as gratuitous and/or petty.  I found a lot of it unfair and unreasonable.

[DragonAttack]

^
You should have been around to read ignore much of the same dribble in regards to comments regarding Mangini.   

[T-ski]

It's pretty simple. Any time a musician plays their instrument they are, in essence, practicing.

[hunnus2000]

It's pretty simple. Any time a musician plays their instrument they are, in essence, practicing.

It's not the same. There's a difference between playing a song and practicing arpeggios or scales. How do you think JP, JR and JM got to their level of greatness?

[brakkum]

It's not the same, but it's still valid. Especially if you are learning parts that push your current skill level. I've always been the same kind of practicer; garbage at practicing scales/theoretical stuff, but good at grinding out parts and getting them into my muscle memory, and therefor increasing my other skills in turn over time.

[Stadler]

It's not the same, but it's still valid. Especially if you are learning parts that push your current skill level. I've always been the same kind of practicer; garbage at practicing scales/theoretical stuff, but good at grinding out parts and getting them into my muscle memory, and therefor increasing my other skills in turn over time.

Agreed, and let's not forget, it's not like Mike is starting from scratch here; he's a Berkely trained musician, to a certain extent. 

Jeez, any chance to cut someone down (not you, Brakkum, I mean generally). 

[brakkum]

Jeez, any chance to cut someone down (not you, Brakkum, I mean generally).

Right? It's like people think MP is some dude that just randomly got the gig