It's been 20 days since The Announcement, and - although we're basically in the dark about the whole deal - the deflagration's dust is settling, Emotions loosen their grip on the rudder they've borrowed from Reason, balls got a bit colder; it seems to me the perfect time to ask myself what MP's return really means to me, hoping to obtain a sincere and sensible answer.
The answer was, predictably enough, "a whole lot of things", each and every one of them thoroughly discussed in this thread, therefore my query became finding out which aspect of Portnoy's return meant the most to me. Running down the list, one particular aspect sprang to mind, one missing / not much discussed / I didn't catch in the fandom discourse, but one dearest to my heart.
The Return tells the world "we are finally at peace with each other", no more trouble brewing Beneath the Surface. Call me a sappy romantic, but I tend to consider people I admire and love since I began shaving as kind of mates; they gave me incredible times and emotions, have been part of my life longer than any human being, and I care for mates.
When the break-up occurred, what really crippled my feelings was realising a couple of brothers I loved from afar had come to a bitter end. We're not talking about your basic bandmates relationship here, we're talking "the solo I composed to honour my brother's father passing is more heartfelt than the solo I composed for mine" stuff.
I may be a sappy romantic, but no rotating setlist, cover album, surprise show, live antic, fan service, bootleg renaissance gets remotely close to the joy I'm feeling knowing people I deeply care for are back happy together - no matter if only for hypothetical mere financial reasons - and that's what I really want to celebrate.
A spirit is needed when you want it to carry on.