Well, from hearing The Enemy Inside, it's pretty safe to say that when the drums are mixed loudly enough, Mangini won't be sounding like MP. Not that I wanted or expected him to, but now, the difference is crystal clear. Overall, I would say I preferred Portnoy's sound, the way his toms sound and stuff, was very melodic, and the way he used them was very organic and free-flowing.
With MM, based on TEI and ADTOE, his drumming is very sharp and precise. I guess it makes sense, with him being called the "most technical drummer". And some of those crazy fast fills could be heard on TEI, which is awesome. So here's hoping we'll hear more.
But the difference now is clear. To be honest, when he auditioned, the way he pulled of Dance of Eternity, I felt like he had much more of a classic DT sound, so I thought, "Well, he's just going to do what Portnoy did, and we won't hear a difference." But now, the difference in their styles is pretty obvious.
*sub-thought* does MP have any legal say as to the future of LTE? I would love to see the project revived with Marco instead of Portnoy.
I'd like to see it revived with Portnoy, just so that all the people who want Portnoy back in DT can at least get a little bit of a fix, with having Portnoy collaborate with Petrucci ad Rudess again.