Mike Mangini is human.
From his FB page:
Fan: Great show in Cincinnati..noticed you came in early on a build in Ravinskill..it's reassuring to me as a drummer to know even the BEST can't be flawless all the time.
MM:I did. JP and I were laughing onstage... I was daydreaming and looking at all the lights and ... not kidding, was thinking, "All these NFL and NHL cities have these insane crowds. How cool?" and then I forgot where I was and bamm... John giggled, so did I, and I'm glad you caught it. I don't know why, but I'll remember that more than the 676,443 hits that were dead on the click. I don't remember them.
Also, interesting tidbit by MM on how he composed his drum parts for The Astonishing:
MM: I also want you to know, if you don't already, that my prep for the Astonishing was done on my 4-Piece E-Pro kit... yes, I did not learn ONE song as to play it. has the 4 hihats and 2 rides for my key signature matching playing. All I did was jam grooves. I made notes for 5 songs on paper, but I improvised this whole album having no clue what the words or vocals would be. Still... when the guys span their instruments from hight to low, I span the kit from high to low (pitch wise.) I suppose you want to know the songs I made notation notes on so I could coordinate my body: Walking Shadow + Last Farewell, Path that Divides, New Beginning and Moment of Betrayal. Just know my DT kit is very hard on the shoulders and upper legs. So what