We have no idea what Mike is going through (DT related or not), BUT, for the sake of this thread, I'll respond. When I think of Dream Theater, I think of 3 things:
1) Musical genius
2) Technical prowess
3) Michael Howard Portnoy
As much as I was so extremely hurt and pissed off at MP for leaving, and while I do feel doing an album NOT under Mike's control will be good for the band, I'd welcome him back RIGHT NOW with arms extended!
No matter who they have chosen to replace him, they are not, nor cannot be MIKE's equal. IMO, he is the greatest drummer I have ever seen and although he's made a few bad "choices" (leaving, dumb tweets and posts), he's still da man in my book!
I agree completely. However, Mike was, by his own admission, burnt out on Dream Theater, and I really do not believe that someone who feels like they are out of ideas and therefore has nothing meaningful to contribute creatively should be the one calling the shots. In retrospect, there were three options for Mike and DT: 1) Mike could just lay back on the next album and let all the other guys write the music and lyrics while still remaining part of the band, 2) DT could take a break, or 3) Mike could take a leave of absence from DT. Personally, I would have preferred the first option most of all because it would keep Mike in the band while still allowing the other guys free reign to spread their creative wings, but it seems like MP couldn't have that. He needed all or nothing, and now he's out of the band. I totally understand why the rest of the band would want to go right back into the studio, with or without him. The last album was #6 on Billboard; why on earth would they want to give up that kind of momentum just because one guy out of five is feeling burnt out?
Just to be clear, I feel for Mike Portnoy, I really do, and I am
not blaming him for anything. If he wasn't happy with DT, then he has
every right to go find whatever it takes to make himself happy. But there are four other careers on the line here, and they can't be expected to just sit around while Mike does some soul searching, especially when some of those members feel that they still have something worthwhile to contribute to future Dream Theater projects. Ultimately, I think this will be best for both parties. Mike gets his break and has time to reignite his creativity, and the other guys get the chance to play around a bit musically under less constraint then before. If the next album is good, and Mike does return afterwords, then I hope that he respects the new balance of power in the band and doesn't try to just take over again. He is a great band leader, no question, but I do very strongly feel that there is no reason why the others (mostly LaBrie, Myung and Rudess) can't have an important part in key band decisions as well.