Interesting note by JLB saying this is the "final incarnation of DT "
He hopes, lol! Seriously though, I’m pretty sure he said this about the Mangini line up too so I wouldn’t put too much stock in it. I’m sure they all hope it goes well though.
It’s been a while since I’ve been here but had to come back for this huge news, it still feels a bit unreal. I did tell you all though that Mangini should be concerned about the LTE reunion! I always said that, if they did another LTE album and it was a fun experience, he’d be back in DT. It took a bit longer than I thought though and I had begun to doubt it.
I’m in the cautiously optimistic camp. I was devastated on the day Mike announced he was leaving all of those years ago as I didn’t know what DT without him looked like. I discovered, when hearing ADTOE that it didn’t look all that different except a return to a more melodic, progressive sound which I enjoyed. In the years that followed DT continued to release high quality albums but, to me, it’s felt a little like they plateaued. The albums have all been decent but not achieved greatness in my eyes, others may disagree of course, it’s all subjective but these are just my thoughts.
I thought JP’s solo record was the best he’s sounded in a while and there was an undeniable chemistry and nostalgic feeling hearing him and Portnoy play together again. I thought LTE3 would make a big splash and build a groundswell of demand for Portnoy’s return but instead it seemed to come and go with barely any interest. As well as it having next to no impact on the music world, I also thought LTE3 sounded a bit tired and uninspired. That’s the reason for my cautious optimism rather than huge excitement. Portnoy, Rudess and Petrucci teaming back up didn’t result in magic for me, if anything it was less interesting than Mangini DT. Similarly the Transatlantic reunion didn’t result in magic for me either. I was ridiculously excited for both of those so it’s a case of twice bitten, third time shy!
I think it makes sense for all concerned for Portnoy to return as long as it doesn’t cause problems in the band. Dream Theater will get a boost from his return (although LTE3 makes me wonder if it’s as big a deal as we think it is) so it makes sense for them plus I think he has a bit more of an idea how to promote the band and capitalise on their fanbase. It makes sense for Mike as DT are his first love and because none of his new bands have remotely taken off. I always believed he would bite their hands off if they asked him to come back. Not just because his other bands hadn’t been successful but because he loves this band, whatever he tried to claim in the intervening years.
The sentimental side of me is pleased to see him back and I also generally like bands having their original members or at least classic members as long as they’ve still got it. It will now be interesting to see if he comes back in the same role in terms of band dynamics. Is JP ready to hand back a lot of control? Maybe he’d welcome MP taking a lot of those jobs back, who knows? Maybe MP himself doesn’t want the same workload he used to have so will not want to take all that back on (I suspect he won’t be able to help himself though!). Can JLB and MP co-exist? Portnoy has threatened to sack him before when he felt that he was hurting the band live. As a long time defender of JLB, even I have come to feel that we are at that point again and MP has now had the unique opportunity to have witnessed that from the audience. Will he give JLB a kick up the backside as he has in the past to get the best out of him? Will JLB, at this stage in his career, take that criticism from him? Or are they just happy to ride the gravy train for a couple of more albums and tours and not rock the boat. It will be fascinating to see how it all plays out.
Overall I’m more excited for a new Dream Theater album from this lineup than another album from the Mangini lineup. I’m just not as excited as I would’ve been 5 years ago before the disappointing LTE and TA albums.