DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[Zydar]

I have yet to have heard anything from any Wilson-related project that didn't immediately put me to sleep.  Or induce vomiting.  Or induce vomiting while asleep.

[nobloodyname]

Maybe some should let off some steam before posting, they are mixing personnal taste and objective criticism.

Well this is funny in the context of the rest of your post

[MirrorMask]

One thing I was thinking about the reunion - yeah, looking back now it feels obvious. MP played again with JP and JR, MP patched things up with James... but the surprise probably comes from the fact that there was no big deciding factor, no evident friction in DT camp to make fans "feel" it was time for a change.

When Judas Priest and Iron Maiden reunited with their classic singer, they were both coming from albums with very poor reception, and in the case of Maiden, Blaze was heavily criticized for his singing performance. An album bombs and the singer does not deliver live, and Bruce is back. Quite obvious.

There was no "yeah, things are bad" moment for DT, and specifically for Mangini. Ok, the Dreamsonic tour was not well attended. Ok, people had their own legit opinion on the quality of the last two albums. But there was no trainwreck going on, there was no situation where the majority of the fanbase could say "yeah, there's a big problem and this problem lies with Mike Mangini".

It was basically the same situation, and reason, why Jordan came aboard. Derek was not let go because he was bad, Jordan was just considered better. In this case, the band didn't want Mike Mangini to go because of issues with him. They just wanted Mike Portnoy back.

[Peter Mc]

I seriously doubt we will get a full performance ever of The Astonishing, but I honestly had the impression that Mangini was a little bored with it, and was just being a pro and a good teammate.  Portnoy may like drumming that stuff better than Mangini did lol.

Mangini sounded bored and uninspired on the album.

I saw them do that album live and the drumming is insane on it.  A million miles away from bored and uninspired.  I really didn’t appreciate how intricate and incredible the drumming was until I watched him play it.

[Cruithne]

I must be the only person here who likes MP's vocals. Unless we're talking about whatever growly thing he did on SC or whenever that was. I don't care for that. But I do enjoy his backing vocals in DT, and if they wanted to give him a lead where he actually sings I'd be fine with that too.

Where MP sits back and actually behaves like a backing vocalist I think he's fine. Perfectly decent singer.

There's historically been two problems though.

The first is MP sings like he's in Def Leppard when it comes to the end of phrases. Little-to-no vibrato and some combination of curtailing or dropping off instead of going into the nice wide vibrato LaBrie utilises, which is much more appropriate for the kind of music DT delivers.

The second is a bit of frontman-itis where instead of filling out the sound and adding in the notes that'd otherwise be missing MP'd sometimes sound like he was trying to sing over LaBrie. That extended as far as MP singing lead by himself on TTT live... Whatever struggles LaBrie might be having in recent years the fact is that at his best all 5 of them were masters of their craft, so MP's pleasant, but not at all world class, light-baritone getting featured (live and in studio) wasn't something I appreciated.

[Animal]

Just joining the long list of members who haven't posted in a while but can't resist the urge to log in and say a thing or two..

When checked this section of forum yesterday and saw the thread name and noticed it had over 20 pages, I just assumed someone had bumped an old April day thread. I simply did not fathom it was possible for any thread to generate this many posts in just one day or so. But this clearly indicates it was the right move, at least as far as business is concerned.

As for MP's singing, my take is the more he sings, the better.

[Architeuthis]

I've always liked MP's vocals. He's very musical and is good with harmonies, and sounded great in the NMB too.
That's one thing that I missed after he left DT.  I'm sure JP will be glad for this..

[The Curious Orange]

I guess at this stage of their career they are in the "diminishing returns" phase - every tour seems to need some sort of gimmick - playing Images and Words in it's entirety, Playing Scenes From A Memory in it's entirety, etc - to convince the more casual fan to come and see them again. AVFTTOTW is a stunning album, but I'm not surprised the Dreamsonic tour was a bit of a damp squib, they've played this setlist already.
As far as pure drumming goes, MM is a monster drummer and at this point I'd much rather see him stay in the band than have MP return. But I do feel DT have missed the "fan interaction" that MP brought, and I'd be happy if we saw longer, rotating setlists return, the click track go and more live releases.
Although I do hope this doesn't mean the return of the dreaded drum solo...

I await the new album with baited breath...

[nobloodyname]

As for MP's singing, my take is the more he sings, the better.

I agree. I've always enjoyed his voice. And I think it will really help James live, too.

[Awaken]

I seriously doubt we will get a full performance ever of The Astonishing, but I honestly had the impression that Mangini was a little bored with it, and was just being a pro and a good teammate.  Portnoy may like drumming that stuff better than Mangini did lol.

Mangini sounded bored and uninspired on the album.

I saw them do that album live and the drumming is insane on it.  A million miles away from bored and uninspired.  I really didn’t appreciate how intricate and incredible the drumming was until I watched him play it.

Totally agree with this take - The Astonishing was really eye opening live (insert generic 'eye closing' joke here, I put it on a tee for you  ), wish we had an official release for this presentation.

[MirrorMask]

Speaking of concept albums, did I dream that someone, sometime said that had MP stayed in the band, after Black Clouds they would have considered the idea of a concept album? let's look waaaaaaay in advance, after a "classic, DT is back" album it's not unreasonable that for the second album after his comeback MP would suggest a concept, assuming the other guys are not scarred by the mixed reception of The Astonishing and refuse to do another concept album again.

[wolfking]

I have yet to have heard anything from any Wilson-related project that didn't immediately put me to sleep.  Or induce vomiting.  Or induce vomiting while asleep.

Knock that off.  I know you only post here once every few years, apparently, but as a reminder, while constructive criticism and respectfully discussing what you don't like are absolutely allowed (and encouraged), bashing the band is not.

 

Nah.....just kidding, bash the fuck outta him boss. 

[Kyo]

Speaking of concept albums, did I dream that someone, sometime said that had MP stayed in the band, after Black Clouds they would have considered the idea of a concept album? let's look waaaaaaay in advance, after a "classic, DT is back" album it's not unreasonable that for the second album after his comeback MP would suggest a concept, assuming the other guys are not scarred by the mixed reception of The Astonishing and refuse to do another concept album again.

This is from my interview with Mike back in the day:

Portnoy: Well, I wasn't planning on leaving. [laughs] I thought there will be further tours to work with. [laughs] You know, actually it was always my intention all along for the next tour. Actually, to be honest, before I left the band, me and John Petrucci were already discussing that the next record was gonna be a concept album. And I already had the setlist written for the next tour. It was gonna be "An Evening With", and the first set would be the full concept album, the second set would have been the "12 Steps Suite". I already had the setlist planned, but obviously, you know, best laid plans… You never know what's gonna happen. But that was always my intention if things didn't end up happening the way they happened, so… Obviously, everything changed.

[Dr. SeaWolf]

Still processing this news. It still hasn’t sunk in yet. Unbelievable!

[wolfking]

I'm happy with the news.  I loved DT12 and DOT but not so much the others.  Mangini was great but something was missing.

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Speaking of concept albums, did I dream that someone, sometime said that had MP stayed in the band, after Black Clouds they would have considered the idea of a concept album? let's look waaaaaaay in advance, after a "classic, DT is back" album it's not unreasonable that for the second album after his comeback MP would suggest a concept, assuming the other guys are not scarred by the mixed reception of The Astonishing and refuse to do another concept album again.

This is from my interview with Mike back in the day:

Portnoy: Well, I wasn't planning on leaving. [laughs] I thought there will be further tours to work with. [laughs] You know, actually it was always my intention all along for the next tour. Actually, to be honest, before I left the band, me and John Petrucci were already discussing that the next record was gonna be a concept album. And I already had the setlist written for the next tour. It was gonna be "An Evening With", and the first set would be the full concept album, the second set would have been the "12 Steps Suite". I already had the setlist planned, but obviously, you know, best laid plans… You never know what's gonna happen. But that was always my intention if things didn't end up happening the way they happened, so… Obviously, everything changed.

Oh, I remembered that right! Do you have a link to that interview?

[Dr. SeaWolf]

I'm happy with the news.  I loved DT12 and DOT but not so much the others.  Mangini was great but something was missing.

This is how I feel. They lost something when MP left. The albums with Mangini were excellent musically and “sound” like DT but lack a sort of magic the albums with MP had, which caused me to kinda lose interest in the band over time. I’ve been following MP’s career way more closely over the years than DT’s. I’m hopeful this changes that, I’d love to see my love for the band rekindled.

[wolfking]

I'm happy with the news.  I loved DT12 and DOT but not so much the others.  Mangini was great but something was missing.

This is how I feel. They lost something when MP left. The albums with Mangini were excellent musically and “sound” like DT but lack a sort of magic the albums with MP had, which caused me to kinda lose interest in the band over time. I’ve been following MP’s career way more closely over the years than DT’s. I’m hopeful this changes that, I’d love to see my love for the band rekindled.

Mike's drumming was only a very small part of what he was to DT.

[Zydar]

I'm happy with the news.  I loved DT12 and DOT but not so much the others.  Mangini was great but something was missing.

This is how I feel. They lost something when MP left. The albums with Mangini were excellent musically and “sound” like DT but lack a sort of magic the albums with MP had, which caused me to kinda lose interest in the band over time. I’ve been following MP’s career way more closely over the years than DT’s. I’m hopeful this changes that, I’d love to see my love for the band rekindled.

I agree with both you guys. Maybe it's the nostalgic/romantic in me, but I'm glad MP is back in the band he helped start. I never really warmed up to MM or the albums they did with him. That's not a slight against him at all, he seems a great guy and obviously a phenomenal drummer. I lost interest in the band after a few albums, but now they've suddenly got my attention again.

[Podaar]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

[Trav86]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

 

[Dr. SeaWolf]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

I’m hoping he brings more Flying Colors and Neal Morse Band than SoA or Adrenaline Mob.

[Podaar]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

I’m hoping he brings more Flying Colors and Neal Morse Band than SoA or Adrenaline Mob.

*sigh* I hope so too, for your sake.

I'm going back over the the general discussion side.

[wolfking]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

I'd probably be okay with that. 

[emtee]

I have a weird take on touring before hitting the studio.

If they tour first, playing all their previous material, there may be sort of a 'muscle memory' factor that is inevitable. Whether or not this would impact their studio approach or not, and to what degree, is unknown. I think they might get into a headspace where they utilize call-backs and nuggets from previous material. And while this might appeal to some, or even many, I would love for them to enter the studio without having toured first.

I am going to tamp down my expectations however I think their goal is going to be to try to create something very special. My guess is a concept album but who knows.

[red barchetta]

Mangini did a great job and I don't like to see him going.  What was the reason? Can't say anything bad about him because he is an amazing drummer.  He showed me the most extraordinary drum solo that I had ever seen and from time to time, I have to wonder if he is human.  So it must be difficult for him to go because it's obvious in my opinion that they asked him to leave.

I saw Petrucci with Portnoy touring a year ago and the chemistry between these guys is natural and they simply love each other.  Their wives play in the same band along Myung's wife.  If conflict there was with anyone, it has been solved.

I think the input of Portnoy in the writing process will benefit to the band and I am looking forward with joy to the next album and tour.

I'm not sure that with Portnoy in, there would have been The Astonishing and endure for many that strange and soooo long thing.

[Lonk]

I am going to tamp down my expectations however I think their goal is going to be to try to create something very special. My guess is a concept album but who knows.

Yeah, my guess is that they know people will pick apart the new album whether is good or not, just because of the circumstances. Whatever they do, I just hope they write whatever ideas come to mind without limits. And then if some songs need to be cut from the final product so be it.

[Kyo]

Oh, I remembered that right! Do you have a link to that interview?

https://dreamtheater.club/blog/2012/09/19/mike-portnoy-the-two-most-creatively-fulfillling-years/

[axeman90210]

I have a weird take on touring before hitting the studio.

If they tour first, playing all their previous material, there may be sort of a 'muscle memory' factor that is inevitable. Whether or not this would impact their studio approach or not, and to what degree, is unknown. I think they might get into a headspace where they utilize call-backs and nuggets from previous material. And while this might appeal to some, or even many, I would love for them to enter the studio without having toured first.

I am going to tamp down my expectations however I think their goal is going to be to try to create something very special. My guess is a concept album but who knows.

I'm fine with them hitting the studio first, I just think it's silly to sit on the momentum from this announcement until nearly a year from now by the time they're able to release DT16. You could leave December/January/February for writing and recording the new album, let Mike go off and do the Flying Colors gig on CttE in early March, and then after he's back from that start band rehearsals for a tour that starts by early April. Do a "Welcome Home" tour spring into early summer. Then some time off as they ramp up interviews and such for the promo cycle for the new album. New album drops and we get a tour behind it in the fall.

[crystalstars17]

What can I say? Except that like many in this thread, the email hit me in the middle of my workday and my first thought was Wait, it IS October, right?! I literally thought it was April fools. I also couldn't wait to pass it along to my husband, whom I knew would be overjoyed.

So after almost 48 hours of processing - and the necessary time it took to catch up on this gargantuan thread amidst the responsibilities of real life before the obligatory chiming in on such a huge bit of news - it seems surreal, like I've walked into an alternate reality.

POV:

Compared with the majority here, I am a fairly recent fan. The Astonishing was brand new when I discovered DT. Yet my first exposure to their music was Score. More specifically, Octavarium from Score. I remember standing suspended in zero gravity while Jordan Rudess played the intro, instantly transported to some distant tranquil place among the outermost stars (it's where my username comes from, where does the music lead me..? out among the crystal stars... but I digress). I've been a fan since that moment, no looking back.

Now back to the present: I have mixed feelings regarding the news. I am both happy and sad. It's a new beginning, but also the end of an era - the era in which I became a fan. Conversation with my husband has gone something like him saying "What are you afraid of?" and then to him seeing a very apt analogy: "I get it, it's like those Star Wars fans who are either all about the original trilogy, or the prequels". That's exactly it. I am essentially a "prequels" DT fan, as it were. My fandom was born in the Mangini era. "But, it's ALL good!", he went on to say, to which I mightily agreed.

So why the mixed feelings, what am I afraid of?

I guess I'm worried about power struggles within the band. I worry that the era of the recent years, with its beautiful writing (I absolutely love AVFTTOTW) would be over. That the wings of the JR/JP writing era would be clipped. That they will never play the songs from the recent albums live ever again. 😓

I guess I hate change... 😪

But I see the positives, too. So forgive the early morning incoherent ramblings of a burnt-out fan who has had recently too much stress, too much work, and way too little sleep.

I watched Score last night, and told myself, "It's all gonna be alright...".

[Dr. SeaWolf]

I’m a fairly old-school fan (I got into them with IAW and SFAM circa 2000) so it’s interesting to hear the perspective of a new fan. Thanks!

[crystalstars17]

I’m a fairly old-school fan (I got into them with IAW and SFAM circa 2000) so it’s interesting to hear the perspective of a new fan. Thanks!

You are most welcome.

[NoFred]

I'm happy with the news.  I loved DT12 and DOT but not so much the others.  Mangini was great but something was missing.

This is how I feel. They lost something when MP left. The albums with Mangini were excellent musically and “sound” like DT but lack a sort of magic the albums with MP had, which caused me to kinda lose interest in the band over time. I’ve been following MP’s career way more closely over the years than DT’s. I’m hopeful this changes that, I’d love to see my love for the band rekindled.

Mike's drumming was only a very small part of what he was to DT.

This is by far the most exciting aspect of having him back. And for me it’s the opposite of a nostalgia reaction, it’s the most forward looking and interested I’ve been in a long time for them.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

hopefully the new album, with MP's return, sees them embracing some new styles of music, specifically ones i gravitate towards nowadays.

I'd love for the new album to sound and have the soul of a Steely Dan record, but with lyrics written with clear genius, such as Warren Zevon, or Father John Misty, all while embracing more pop elements of modern pop greats like Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX, etc. But above all I'd love for it to have the brutal emotional impact of a Sufjan Stevens record.

Yeah, I guess you could say I am HYPED, but probably bound to be disappointed.

[gzarruk]

I just hope people keep their expectations in check or else there's a good chance this new DT won't live up to expectations.  It's been a long time between drinks and people and things change over time.

As if! 

My expectation is we get BC&SL 2, with a dollop of SOA, and a sprinkling of Adrenaline Mob.

Oh dear Lord!


I actually wouldn't mind a new concept album at all, like in that interview Kyo posted. TA was a completely different beast, so I don't think the band needs to worry too much about fan reception if they make "just" a concept album in the vein of SFAM.