DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[twosuitsluke]

With today's news being the hot topic, I've added the DTF Deepcut.fm Listening Party Thread over here.

If anyone wants to come jam some tunes and join the chat, then come on down...

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=58688.0

[jammindude]

That's what I was hoping as well, but with the most metal guy of the five back in the band, I'm not so sure they're gonna be relatively mellow. For sure after d/t and View I think a more melodic approach was needed, and that we don't need the third album in a row of a huge wall of metal riffs and heavy sections with the occasional more melodic section here and there.

I hope for something more diverse like Dramatic - concise songs, more than a long song, a piano piece, an acoustic piece.... some variety, these musicians can do anything, why limit yourself to just one style for an album? there are ways to make an album coherent and consistent even if the songs are not the same kind of songs. It's been a while since I heard View and if you play me 30 random seconds off Sleeping Giant, Awaken the Master or Answering the Call I probably wouldn't be able to remember which song is which.

I think the new album being a concept album with the continuation of The Count of Tuscany story (the last song on the last album with Portnoy) is the natural way to go. 

LET ME INTRODUCE

MAH SISTAH

 

[zappafrank2112]

Dream Theater is a business, but the guys aren't Jon Schaffer when it comes to firing band mates, are they?

No, I don't think any of them stormed the Capitol.

[MirrorMask]

Dream Theater is a business, but the guys aren't Jon Schaffer when it comes to firing band mates, are they?

No, I don't think any of them stormed the Capitol.

 

[TAC]

A lot of assumptions about the circumstances surrounding Mike Mangini.  I wouldn't bet on anyone's particular hunches being true, since we really don't know.  It may have been a one-way decision where the guys in DT decided to move on and bring Mike Portnoy back in. 
But for all we know, it may have been the complete opposite, and may have been something initiated by Mangini where he decided to step away for whatever reason (wanted to go back to teaching, got another opportunity, decided that the itch to be in a full-fledged writing and touring band had now been sufficiently scratched and he was now ready to do something else, or what have you).  It could have been a mutual decision.  It could be any number of things.  We just don't know.  The only thing we do know is that everyone involved kept these secret locked down until the agreed time for it to be released.  And what I can glean from that is that any comments from anyone in the last few months about DT's plans would have been calculated to avoid even a hint of MP returning, so I don't really trust trying to read anything else into anything that may have been said fairly recently.  The band didn't want this to leak, and Mangini being the consummate professional he is wouldn't have jeopardized that by making comments that could fuel any sort of speculation about him leaving, even if he knew full well what was going on and even if, hypothetically, it was 100% his decision.

My understanding is that this was the band's decision, not his.
And that's not to paint the band as villains.

Along similar lines, it doesn't surprise me that Sheehan didn't know either.  Again, they kept this information very tightly buttoned up and did not want it to leak.  The ONLY way to do that is to keep strict limits on who knows what.  Telling anyone outside of the agreed-upon circle means loosening the control over a potential leak, and that would include musicians in other bands outside of the six involved, no matter how close they might be to any individual band member.  I don't know Billy, so I'm not suggesting Billy might do this, but it isn't hard to imagine a situation where, for example, Mike tells Billy last night and swears him to secrecy, but Billy is laying there alone later that night in his bunk on the tour bus, and says, "well, the press release is only a few hours away now, and most people are asleep.  Surely there's no harm in telling [closest best friend in the world], and swearing him/her to secrecy."  And that person has a similar reaction and tells his/her best friend, while swearing him/her to secrecy, and so on.  They kept a lid on this and did a good job.  It does not surprise me one bit that Billy didn't know ahead of time even though they are touring together. 

I'm not saying Billy would have or should have known ahead of time. I'm just surprised that since they're together, and have worked quite closely since MP left DT, that he didn't at least pull him aside and give him a 10 minute heads up, so that Billy's not reading it on the internet when the guy is literally sitting right next to him.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

i am listening to honor thy father in honor of my father, michael portnoy

[gzarruk]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

[jasc15]

Had to log on to say WOW as well!

Call me crazy, but this feels right.  As much as I really liked most of the output with Mangini, and really liked the last two albums, it feels like the excitement around the band had gone away.  Similar to 2010, this is the adrenaline shot the band needs to get the fanbase worked up again, IMO.

Exactly.

It’s working because I’ve been more excited about this band in the last 30 mins than I have for the last few years.

This right here.

Aye.  For some reason I've had a growing affection for MP over the past few years, which was probably a projection of my own regret of his departure from the band.  Imagine my joy after this news, that my fabricated MP is back home!

I'll allow myself to be excited for a while and hope for a great reunion album and tour, since I haven't purchased a new album or seen them live in ~16 years.

[DreamerTV]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

[IgnotusPerIgnotium]

I would love to see something more varied. Sometimes super heavy, sometimes super mellow. Not a concept album…but possibly a “themed” album.

Me too, the chemistry will be there it's just what MP can bring to reignite the different directions they can go. Also not only music has the potential to be better but let's not forget the vocal harmonies, which too me, was a huge loss from his departure either in a live situation or in the studio.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

he didn't claim he lied, he just said it didn't age well

[bosk1]

My understanding is that this was the band's decision, not his.

OK, but you don't know that.  You are assuming that.  That's all.  Bottom line is, we just don't know any of the details at all.  "It was the band's decision" does not really mean anything.  Let's say, hypothetically, that MM decided he had to leave because a loved one has a long term serious health condition and he wants to be around them for that.  100% his decision to leave in that scenario, and to respect his privacy, the band isn't going to give the reasons.  It's still the band's decision to bring Mike Portnoy back in, and a press release isn't going to do much to shed light on what happened.  So, again, I'm just saying we shouldn't assume.

And that's not to paint the band as villains.

Fair enough.  I don't think you meant it that way either.  But that's one of any number of directions the discussion could go if we allow assumptions to be taken as fact when we simply don't know any of the details. 

I'm not saying Billy would have or should have known ahead of time. I'm just surprised that since they're together, and have worked quite closely since MP left DT, that he didn't at least pull him aside and give him a 10 minute heads up, so that Billy's not reading it on the internet when the guy is literally sitting right next to him.

Yeah, I get that.  I would think it would go down that way too.  And maybe that's what he planned, but then the morning got hectic and things didn't go according to plan.  Who knows?  Maybe Billy was off doing an unscheduled morning run, or an interview Mike didn't know about, and they didn't connect when planned, and the morning got away.  Things happen.  Even here, I had been coordinating with someone about the logistics of the info being released, and a monkey wrench got thrown into the works shortly before, and I didn't get to communicate with someone I needed to communicate with, and that caused it to go down a bit differently than planned.  Just the way it goes.

[jammindude]

The one person I wonder about in this whole flurry is James.

It’s no secret that there was no love lost between JLB and MP when the split happened. And I’m very well aware that they’ve buried the hatchet since then.  But it’s a lot easier to bury the hatchet with an ex-coworker that you aren’t currently working with. Now that Mike is BACK in the band, what will their working relationship be like?  How is James going to react to Mike saying “Sing it like….” after being free of it for so long? 

Also, I’m not as critical as a few people are of JLBs vocals recently, but I also recognize that he needs to make some adjustments in his harmonies in order to sound better. But how is Mike going to handle it? Mike has never been shy about calling out James when he’s having issues.  So has Mike already decided that he’s just going to leave James alone to do his thing? And if he doesn’t, will the old resentments between them start to rekindle?

IMO…James will do just fine if he adjusts the harmonies, practices them, and nails them somewhat consistently.  But some part of me just screams that he can’t possibly be as honky dory with this situation as his press release would have us believe.

[gborland]

MP: Sing in tune dammit!
JLB: No.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

do you guys think there will now be a storm corrosion 2 with MP behind the drums?

[deggs37]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

I believe he was 100% honest at that time. Pure speculation but I would imagine if Dream Sonic sold better we may not be hearing this news today.

That combined with the renewed excitement of LTE3 and JP solo album/tour. Plus the mending of the JLB relationship with MP. Dream Sonic must have been the final push.

[DTwwbwMP]

Really strange the announcement came while MP is on tour with TWD imo. Couldn't have waited a week more? It's got to be awkward, no?

[bosk1]

no

[Lonk]

Well, fock!

Welcome back dude!

[DTwwbwMP]

Oh, OK. Thanks for clearing that up!

[TAC]

Really strange the announcement came while MP is on tour with TWD imo. Couldn't have waited a week more? It's got to be awkward, no?

It's possible Mangini has an announcement to make, or another related party kind of forced their timing.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I realized that I've only been a fan of the band since 2005, which means Mangini has been Dream Theater's drummer almost the entire time I've been a fan. It's wild how quickly the time passed and how long his tenure was. For some reason, I always felt like he had just gotten the gig.

[cramx3]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

I believe he was 100% honest at that time. Pure speculation but I would imagine if Dream Sonic sold better we may not be hearing this news today.

It does make you wonder. Like, did DT lose money doing that tour? A lot of bands struggle on the roads these days to break even and those shows did not sell well.   I really hope NONE of that speculation is part of the reason that this is happening, however, the timing of it all, it's just hard to not consider the financial aspects of this change.

[gzarruk]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

he didn't claim he lied, he just said it didn't age well

Thank you

[Lethean]

It's nice they were able to work things out.....but for the love of god keep him away from the microphone.

I don't expect them to do this, but I hope I'm wrong.  Let him do some live backing vocals, but please no more on the albums.

[Skeever]

The one person I wonder about in this whole flurry is James.

It’s no secret that there was no love lost between JLB and MP when the split happened. And I’m very well aware that they’ve buried the hatchet since then.  But it’s a lot easier to bury the hatchet with an ex-coworker that you aren’t currently working with. Now that Mike is BACK in the band, what will their working relationship be like?  How is James going to react to Mike saying “Sing it like….” after being free of it for so long? 

Also, I’m not as critical as a few people are of JLBs vocals recently, but I also recognize that he needs to make some adjustments in his harmonies in order to sound better. But how is Mike going to handle it? Mike has never been shy about calling out James when he’s having issues.  So has Mike already decided that he’s just going to leave James alone to do his thing? And if he doesn’t, will the old resentments between them start to rekindle?

IMO…James will do just fine if he adjusts the harmonies, practices them, and nails them somewhat consistently.  But some part of me just screams that he can’t possibly be as honky dory with this situation as his press release would have us believe.

MP was at that Philly show and James was ROUGH that night.
I guess it depends what capacity MP is "back" as. Is he "drummer" or is his co-producer/creative director/spokesman, etc...
It's hard to imagine MP being in a more reserved role with DT going forward given how active he was in the past.

[pg1067]

Weird to think MM already played his last show with DT and no one knew.  Although I have to wonder if the band knew or had a feeling or anything back in July.  He even shared his drum set on the last song he played with the band.

So, I literally saw the last show with Mangini....That makes that show an even more memorable show now....

The setlist.fm entry for that show has already been updated to say, "Note: Last concert with drummer Mike Mangini."

[deggs37]

When host Eddie Trunk pointed out to Petrucci that the guitarist's reunion with Portnoy, including their run of tour dates in support of "Terminal Velocity", had resulted in DREAM THEATER fans speculating about Portnoy's possible return to the band, John said: "I've been very vocal about this and outspoken and very careful about this to be clear with my intentions and Mike and I and our reuniting. The stuff that we are doing together with my solo stuff, with LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with Mike touring with me, this is its own thing, and DREAM THEATER is its own thing, and the history that we now have with Mike Mangini in the band for 12 years, it's important for me to make sure that people don't misunderstand this. Because it's not good for anybody; that kind of weirdness or controversy, as we all know, it's just toxic. So I've been saying… Maybe I'm selfish but I feel so lucky that I get to do this with Mike [Portnoy] and play live with him, play this instrumental music, record, and being in DREAM THEATER with Mangini, it's like I've kind of been spoiled. I get two of the greatest drummers in the world to be able to play with. And I think it's important for people to know that and to have that clarity — I really do."

This didn't age well lol.

What tells you he wasn’t 100% honest at that time?

I believe he was 100% honest at that time. Pure speculation but I would imagine if Dream Sonic sold better we may not be hearing this news today.

It does make you wonder. Like, did DT lose money doing that tour? A lot of bands struggle on the roads these days to break even and those shows did not sell well.   I really hope NONE of that speculation is part of the reason that this is happening, however, the timing of it all, it's just hard to not consider the financial aspects of this change.

I'm thinking it was the final push along with all the rekindling with MP over the last few years. At the end of the day DT is a business and that had to have scared them a bit.

[TAC]

The one person I wonder about in this whole flurry is James.

It’s no secret that there was no love lost between JLB and MP when the split happened. And I’m very well aware that they’ve buried the hatchet since then.  But it’s a lot easier to bury the hatchet with an ex-coworker that you aren’t currently working with. Now that Mike is BACK in the band, what will their working relationship be like?  How is James going to react to Mike saying “Sing it like….” after being free of it for so long? 

Also, I’m not as critical as a few people are of JLBs vocals recently, but I also recognize that he needs to make some adjustments in his harmonies in order to sound better. But how is Mike going to handle it? Mike has never been shy about calling out James when he’s having issues.  So has Mike already decided that he’s just going to leave James alone to do his thing? And if he doesn’t, will the old resentments between them start to rekindle?

IMO…James will do just fine if he adjusts the harmonies, practices them, and nails them somewhat consistently.  But some part of me just screams that he can’t possibly be as honky dory with this situation as his press release would have us believe.

MP was at that Philly show and James was ROUGH that night.
I guess it depends what capacity MP is "back" as. Is he "drummer" or is his co-producer/creative director/spokesman, etc...
It's hard to imagine MP being in a more reserved role with DT going forward given how active he was in the past.

I feel like the JLB/MP dynamic is a dangerous one to court while trying to do a long tour. They may be all happy and shit now, but when the rubber literally meets the road, we'll see. If it goes bad, does anyone see James walking after the next album/tour cycle? I don't think a second album is guaranteed.

[YtseJam]

Such great news! The band flat-lined and I even lost interest in going to live events. Wish they had done it sooner. No disrespect to Mangini but DT has never been the same. Hopefully they can still pull off something great during the makeup sex phase!

[DTwwbwMP]

I bet there was definitely some "give and take" between the band dynamic and MP returning. Something like, "okay Mike, you can do your setlist thing again but no more calling the shots while recording". Something like that.

[Orbert]

I'm at work, and this thread was already five pages an hour after the announcement, so I figured I'd check in later, but later it was up to 10 pages, now 12, but WTF, I'll just check in to say that I'm apparently completely out of touch with DT news.  People are talking about how JLB and MP have kissed and made up (only figuratively, as far as we know) and I hadn't heard anything about that, either.

[ProgMasterMind92]

MIKE

FUCKIN

PORTNOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAD HAS COME HOME FROM THE STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Trav86]

MIKE

FUCKIN

PORTNOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAD HAS COME HOME FROM THE STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best comment. 

[MirrorMask]

I bet there was definitely some "give and take" between the band dynamic and MP returning. Something like, "okay Mike, you can do your setlist thing again but no more calling the shots while recording". Something like that.

As I said before, I can't and I won't believe that once the two parties started to seriously entertain the idea of reuniting, they didn't think it through and made sure the return made sense for everyone. I can't imagine the first day of tour rehearsals, MP coming in with a bunch of different setlists and JP saying "no lol we're doing fixed setlists now".