I wonder when Mike actually made his choice, when he informed the band, and when he made it public? Since they weren't planning on entering the studio til early next year, I kind of wish Mike would have waited to make this decision if the timeline of events I questioned happened quickly. I respect his choice, but I just want to know how rash of a decision it really is. It seems like he made his mind up a while ago, and by formallizing his departure he is allowing the rest of the band to find a new drummer and proceed as planned, which is what I would like to think he did.
I'm trying to work out the timeline myself. Not long enough he was claiming to be going full steam ahead for a bit of Jan 2011 studio time. But apparently this is something that's been eating away for about a year?
So... conflict of personality for a year or so, he becomes a little bit disenchanted over that time but doesn't consider leaving, then he goes on the Transatlantic tour followed by the A7X tour and thinks "I'm with the wrong people?"
That said, I'm very impressed with the rest of 'em for going "Right, well either you do the album with us in Jan 11 or you leave." I figured they were a lot more passive than that. I do think this is the right decision. For Mike and for the band. Especially for the band.
They won't struggle. They're professional musicians. Starting from scratch, now
that's tough, but they managed that alright in 1989 and again in 1992 with about 1/10 of the internal cohesion. Drummer leaving? Not nearly as tricky, no matter how crucial he was. Not saying it'll be easy - it won't - but if anyone can cope with their drummer leaving, it'll be a band of four world-class, top notch, ultra-experienced musicians with a fanbase of thousands whose albums are still continuing to chart higher and higher after 25 years. This is the bit where Dream Theater prove their mettle. Heck, this is the bit where they've got something to prove again, and something to strive for. DT11's not just an album, now. It's
the album. And I reckon they could knock it out of the park again. I've got every faith in them.