At first my reaction was "NOOO!!!" And then... I settled down, read some of the comments, sifted through some pics and vids of Mangini and then said to myself, "Wait a minute... This could be interesting". But it's also left a bit of a sour feeling in my stomach. Not because of the fact that this may be true, but it sort of crystallizes the fact Portnoy is gone, DT is moving into truly uncharted waters and anything can happen that us fans haven't considered the future music of DT. I think it's due to the fact that I loved Dream Theater as they were for so many years and got accustom to expecting new things from that specific lineup. However, change is here and this headline was a brick to the face for me.
Whether Mangini is the new drummer, or it is someone else, the feeling I'm ultimately left with now as I type this sentence is "Man, I'm excited and I feel an announcement is certainly coming right around the corner any day now."
I can't wait to hear the new album and give it a few good listens before I decide if I like the new drummer, or the bands direction or not.
P.S. I have a funny feeling it's gonna be awesome.