So... we're over 6 months from the announcement of MP returning..
The new album is being completed, and their upcoming tour has a start date. I see people all kinds of excited over MP's return, with some fans coming back. As one who never left, I find it interesting. MP was one of my all time favorite musicians, and he really made me feel special as a DT fan.
Yet...I thought I'd be more excited.
I think the main reason is that my love for DT never really dropped, so I guess I don't have far to go in my rising fan levels. The bump for me isn't nearly as big as the bump for someone that bailed when he left, or since.
I can understand why people left and the criticisms.. to me they are largely..
1. MP was a huge draw, keeping DT relevant through social media and engagement, and DT seemed to not keep that up in his absence.
2. MP's perceived influence on the music. I mean, he told you about each albums construction in his Drumming video commentaries. We've never gotten anything like that, though I did like the View behind the scenes thing.MP seemed that he was pulling the curtain back while without him, DT felt more..private.
3. Drumming does matter. Some people couldn't really get into MM's style..and that's legit. I believe it.
4. MP said how he wanted to make each show special with rotating setlists, impromptu jams, etc.. These went away and some people didn't agree with DT's live offerings without him.
On the flip side, for me personally..
1. The music didn't suffer to my ears. Each album was really interesting and quite different than the other.
2. I felt that View was one of their all time best albums, so why not keep going with that lineup.
3. They didn't rotate setlists, but from tour to tour, the setlist were very well put together and fairly career encompassing.
4. I loved Mike Mangini. Yeah, that sounds stupid, but our favorite bands are our favorite bands because there's some sense that you might feel like you personally "like" the guys.
Just some rambling I guess..