MP's Shattered Fortress Tour

[Art]

I also expected a lot more from a band with MP and Russell Allen.

I expected a lot more from a band with MP and Billy Sheehan.

I expected a lot more from a band with MP and Steve Morse.

I really like TWD. FC is not my cup of tea...

[MinistroRaven]

For those of you wanting to relive the moment, or for those who simply couldn't make it, here's the complete second night of Mike Portnoy's 50th Birthday Bash celebration during Cruise to the Edge 2017. It encompasses material of Liquid Tension Experiment and the world premiere of his project “The Shattered Fortress”, a full progressive-metal tour-de-force including members of Haken, Spock's Beard and Pain of Salvation, performing live for the first time the “12 Step Suite”. Filmed in ultra-high definition (aka 4K), you must change the resolution settings to see it in full glory (And that will depend on your Internet bandwidth). Hope you all enjoy this magnificent event as it unfolded in front of our eyes!

https://youtu.be/2hxtUs3qS70

Credit to Joel Barrios

[Evermind]

With this description, I was pretty sure I would click on the link and find the rickroll video there, but apparently it's legit. Thank you!

[Elite]

For those of you wanting to relive the moment, or for those who simply couldn't make it, here's the complete second night of Mike Portnoy's 50th Birthday Bash celebration during Cruise to the Edge 2017. It encompasses material of Liquid Tension Experiment and the world premiere of his project “The Shattered Fortress”, a full progressive-metal tour-de-force including members of Haken, Spock's Beard and Pain of Salvation, performing live for the first time the “12 Step Suite”. Filmed in ultra-high definition (aka 4K), you must change the resolution settings to see it in full glory (And that will depend on your Internet bandwidth). Hope you all enjoy this magnificent event as it unfolded in front of our eyes!

https://youtu.be/2hxtUs3qS70

Credit to Joel Barrios

OMG, The entire thing on Youtube!!

[cramx3]

This Joel Barrios got a lot of footage from ProgPower last year, I've watched a bunch of his videos before.

[ariich]

This is great! I mean, the sound isn't THAT great as the wind is buggering the volume, but it's not distorting the pitch and so it's actually alright to listen to and seems to give a pretty accurate recording (although the downside is that pictching errors on vocals and leads are actually more noticeable ).

I dig the vocal performances on the whole, except for Daniel not knowing the words and Ross struggling with the crazy bit in the middle of TGP

[Fritzinger]

Having watched the whole Suite, I think they did an amazing job. In between touring, writing and everything, how did the guys from Haken PRACTICE all that stuff? I would need years And when did they all get together to rehearse? MAN

Eric Gilette IS a beast, indeed. I would have loved Richard and Charlie to have more solo parts though.

I feel like Daniel had some lyrics problems. Did he have a laptop standing in front of him? If he had problems with half of TDS, I don't want to imagine the whole suite with Daniel. Sorry to say that, although I love Daniels vocals.

Ted Leonard did a very good job as well, although he had some problems with the high notes. Nice to hear him in a more metal context, although TROAE is not the heaviest song of the five.

In general, I realized how hard JLBs vocals actually are! None of those GREAT vocalists could pull it off easily or even perfectly. But maybe that's because they don't have the routine in singing those songs.

[Elite]

Having watched the whole Suite, I think they did an amazing job. In between touring, writing and everything, how did the guys from Haken PRACTICE all that stuff? I would need years And when did they all get together to rehearse? MAN

Honestly, apart from the songs being very fast and thus tiring on both hands, none of the rhythm parts for the entire twelve step suite is especially difficult. The guitar solos are on a whole other level (most notably the solos in The Glass Prison and the ending to This Dying Soul), but I think most of the solos were played by Eric Gillette. I can imagine some of the Haken guys practising the stuff together. Even still, if you're a musician at the level they're playing at, you don't really need to get together as much to play the stuff right if everybody would practise their own parts perfectly at home.

I feel like Daniel had some lyrics problems. Did he have a laptop standing in front of him? If he had problems with half of TDS, I don't want to imagine the whole suite with Daniel. Sorry to say that, although I love Daniels vocals.

Yeah, he was reading stuff from a laptop. You can see him turn it on when he walks on. Ted does the same.

In general, I realized how hard JLBs vocals actually are! None of those GREAT vocalists could pull it off easily or even perfectly. But maybe that's because they don't have the routine in singing those songs.

JLB gets way too much slack as a vocalist. I can see why people wouldn't like the tone of his voice, but he is undeniably a great singer.

[Metro]

So speaking of a Mike Portnoy Prog Metal supergroup...

https://www.facebook.com/mikeportnoyofficial/posts/1598772116807091

Hmmmm....what have we here??
I'm in LA recording an album with something new...
Sorry, this is all you're gonna get outta me on this for a while...More will be revealed at a later date...stay tuned!
#ProgMetalSupergroup
Coming soon...

[Nick]

With Los Angeles as the only clue as to who may be involved I'm going to take a swing and say Nick Van Dyk will be a guitarist and lead songwriter.

[Setlist Scotty]

Paging Brian! Looks like you got your wish!!!
 
 

With Los Angeles as the only clue as to who may be involved I'm going to take a swing and say Nick Van Dyk will be a guitarist and lead songwriter.

Fingers crossed Derek Sherinian will be on keys. And altho it's a bit of a stretch, I'd love to see MP finally do an original project with Paul Gilbert, altho I think I read somewhere that he moved (I think he used to be based in the LA area). The only thing I'm hoping will not be included in this band/project is cookie monster vocals, altho I'm sure that wish will not come true. I wonder if MP would include Eric Gillette or not, given how similar he is in style to JP.

[KevShmev]

It'd be cool to see a project with a bunch of guys he has never worked with before, but I suspect this will be another case of "musical chairs," where he mixes and matches guys he has worked with before and calls it something different. 

[Metro]

https://twitter.com/DerekSherinian/status/837141893251133440

Definitely the same studio. Sherinian is in.

EDIT: Derek has taken down his tweet

[JayOctavarium]

Portnoy
Sherinian..

Who else?

I can totally see Gillette in it.

And then bass and vox?

Hmmm

[jakepriest]

Portnoy
Sherinian..

Who else?

I can totally see Gillette in it.

So basically DT.

[JayOctavarium]

We need an Asian and a Canadian!

[jakepriest]

Devin Townsend on vocals?

[SwedishGoose]

Portnoy
Sherinian..

Who else?

I can totally see Gillette in it.

And then bass and vox?

Hmmm

You just need bass.... Gilette can handle the vocals

[JayOctavarium]

Portnoy
Sherinian..

Who else?

I can totally see Gillette in it.

And then bass and vox?

Hmmm

You just need bass.... Gilette can handle the vocals

I don't dislike his vocals, but I wanna see someone with a little more.. umph. Maybe not growls, but more umph.

[Adami]

I just hope he doesn't go for something inoffensive.

Like "Well....this will definitely make 45% of my fans excited, good enough for me!" and just going as safe and predictable as possible.

Do something weird, do something crazy.

[Mosh]

I will be surprised if someone from Haken or Eric Gillette isn't involved. The timing for this seems too close for that not to be somehow related.

This is pretty interesting though. Is this going to be his first all out prog metal project since leaving DT? I don't really count PSMS as they were doing all covers.

[Adami]

I hope it's MP, DS, plus Paul Gilbert, Neal Morse and either Billy Sheehan or Dave LaRue.

He can call it "The Portnoyest Portnoy has ever Portnoyed"

[ariich]

I hope it's MP, DS, plus Paul Gilbert, Neal Morse and either Billy Sheehan or Dave LaRue.

He can call it "The Portnoyest Portnoy has ever Portnoyed"

Or perhaps "Portnoy Max".

[Adami]

I hope it's MP, DS, plus Paul Gilbert, Neal Morse and either Billy Sheehan or Dave LaRue.

He can call it "The Portnoyest Portnoy has ever Portnoyed"

Or perhaps "Portnoy Max".

No.

[Nihil-Morari]

Wasn't Devin Townsend preparing for a project where he would be playing bass and doing vocals? 

[jakepriest]

Wasn't Devin Townsend preparing for a project where he would be playing bass and doing vocals? 

IIRC he implied that he would like to do a project where he would play bass and "maybe" sing in his Gearwhore Bass video, but it didn't really come off as something that has been decided.
Tbh I don't really see Devin working with other composers. Wasn't Transcendence the first album where he actually let the band have some imput?

[Nachtmerrie]

And he (Devin)is on tour in Europe right now..

Haken and NMB will also start their European tour in 3 weeks so they need to be pretty quick...


Interesting project. Let's hope it meets expectations which will be pretty high as with everything guys like MP are doing.
A tour would be appreciated.

[MinistroRaven]

DS deleted his tweet

[Stadler]

https://twitter.com/DerekSherinian/status/837141893251133440

Definitely the same studio. Sherinian is in.

EDIT: Derek has taken down his tweet

What did it say?

[mikeyd23]

Hmm, this could be interesting. Hopefully we find out more soon!

[Samsara]

Looks like you got your wish!!!
 
 

With Los Angeles as the only clue as to who may be involved I'm going to take a swing and say Nick Van Dyk will be a guitarist and lead songwriter.

Fingers crossed Derek Sherinian will be on keys. And altho it's a bit of a stretch, I'd love to see MP finally do an original project with Paul Gilbert, altho I think I read somewhere that he moved (I think he used to be based in the LA area). The only thing I'm hoping will not be included in this band/project is cookie monster vocals, altho I'm sure that wish will not come true. I wonder if MP would include Eric Gillette or not, given how similar he is in style to JP.

I had a feeling something was in the works. Very cool. Hoping it's truly cool. Happy that Derek is involved. I swear I saw something else on FB yesterday about someone going to LA for a metal project, that was in the vein of something like this, but I can't find it, and can't remember! 

[Skeever]

Anyone But Neal 2017

[bosk1]

Looks like you got your wish!!!
 
 

With Los Angeles as the only clue as to who may be involved I'm going to take a swing and say Nick Van Dyk will be a guitarist and lead songwriter.

Fingers crossed Derek Sherinian will be on keys. And altho it's a bit of a stretch, I'd love to see MP finally do an original project with Paul Gilbert, altho I think I read somewhere that he moved (I think he used to be based in the LA area). The only thing I'm hoping will not be included in this band/project is cookie monster vocals, altho I'm sure that wish will not come true. I wonder if MP would include Eric Gillette or not, given how similar he is in style to JP.

I had a feeling something was in the works. Very cool. Hoping it's truly cool. Happy that Derek is involved. I swear I saw something else on FB yesterday about someone going to LA for a metal project, that was in the vein of something like this, but I can't find it, and can't remember! 

I guess that rules out Jim then, because you would remember that!

Anyone But Neal 2017

[Samsara]

Nah, it wasn't Jim who posted that. I just spent the last few minutes trying to find it, and couldn't. Maybe I was confusing it with something else.

And no, if it was Jim, I'd absolutely remember (and he wouldn't post it on FB anyway).

I knew it was only a matter of time before MP did something like this. Glad it is happening.

[Art]

Anyone But Neal 2017

This.