DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[TAC]

If they're going to do it now feels like the best time. The longer you wait, the more contrived it would be.

It'd be contrived now.

[HOF]

Metropolis part III would be about the laziest thing they could do.

[ReaPsTA]

Metropolis part III would be about the laziest thing they could do.

This is my biggest issue. I don't want things to go back to the way they were, and making Metropolis III would be exactly that.

[Mosh]

I was honestly shocked to see Portnoy humor the Metropolis III thing as much as he did. These guys should know better and I would be kinda disappointed if that is how they decided to use this new reunion period. I don’t expect it at all though.

One thing that I do wonder about is whether DT would ever make another concept album. I remember leading up to The Astonishing, JP had expressed some interest in another concept album and it felt like the right time for Dream Theater to make one. It kinda dawned on me recently that up until Similitude of a Dream, Portnoy hadn’t really done the whole double rock opera thing before. I wonder if he has any interest in doing that with DT, but also wonder if JP is ever going to be down for that again. The Astonishing was a huge undertaking for something that got a mixed reception at best.

Didn’t MP once tease that they were planning to do a concept album following BCSL? I wonder if there was ever anything beyond that initial idea, like a story concept or premise of some sort.

Either way I doubt they’re going to go for a bold statement as their first album back together. I expect something more in the ADTOE/Brave New World vein of playing it somewhat safe and giving people what they expect from the classic DT lineup and then potentially getting weird for the next album.

[ReaPsTA]

Either way I doubt they’re going to go for a bold statement as their first album back together. I expect something more in the ADTOE/Brave New World vein of playing it somewhat safe and giving people what they expect from the classic DT lineup and then potentially getting weird for the next album.

This would also be a bad timeline. Make something crazy. The last album was good, but it was so... on brand. Don't bring back MP just to do the same thing with a different drummer.

[Ben_Jamin]

I thought it was hilarious that the first question was about Met. Pt. 3 concept. MP took those questions with stride, especially how much those fan questions were pretty much MP fanboy questions.

I would've asked how he will now incorporate his drumming into the last 13 years of DT, playing the staples such as BAI.

[MirrorMask]

Metropolis part III would be about the laziest thing they could do.

This is my biggest issue. I don't want things to go back to the way they were, and making Metropolis III would be exactly that.

Metropolis part 2 isn't even a song. It's an album.

I mean, it's not like they did The Glass Prison about AA, and it became a smashing success, and so they made The Glass Prison part 2 (This Dying Soul) always about the AA. And eventually down the line they do The Glass Prison part 3 (The Root of All Evil), again about the AA.

Metropolis part 1 got the "part 1" tag just for the lulz, they're on record about that. The lyrics are random cool imaginery.
Metropolis part 2 was intended to be a 20 minutes epic; they constructed a concept album around that and they were, ehm, "heavily inspired" by the movie Dead Again for the storyline.

Metropolis part 3 has no musical (there's a song and an album, it's not like the AA saga) and lyrical (vague poetic stuff + concept album about reincarnation) sense. The Unforgiven III by Metallica made more sense than a possible Metropolis part 3.

[heirtoruin]

This is my biggest issue. I don't want things to go back to the way they were, and making Metropolis III would be exactly that.

An MP3 [lol] would be far too cheesy. It is disheartening to even hear a fan at a Q&A ask such a question.

Just write great music that blows everyone away. Set the stage to remove any expectations the way most of us who began listening in the early 90s felt when hearing IAW and Awake for the first time. We had no idea what was coming.

What will the new album be like?

"A bunch of killer songs. We're not saying any more than that. Like when Congress passes a bill, you'll know what's in it after we finish it, and you get a copy!"

[jammindude]

Metropolis part III would be about the laziest thing they could do.

This is my biggest issue. I don't want things to go back to the way they were, and making Metropolis III would be exactly that.

Metropolis part 2 isn't even a song. It's an album.

I mean, it's not like they did The Glass Prison about AA, and it became a smashing success, and so they made The Glass Prison part 2 (This Dying Soul) always about the AA. And eventually down the line they do The Glass Prison part 3 (The Root of All Evil), again about the AA.

Metropolis part 1 got the "part 1" tag just for the lulz, they're on record about that. The lyrics are random cool imaginery.
Metropolis part 2 was intended to be a 20 minutes epic; they constructed a concept album around that and they were, ehm, "heavily inspired" by the movie Dead Again for the storyline.

Metropolis part 3 has no musical (there's a song and an album, it's not like the AA saga) and lyrical (vague poetic stuff + concept album about reincarnation) sense. The Unforgiven III by Metallica made more sense than a possible Metropolis part 3.

Well, to be fair, once MP came up with the idea for TGP to be about AA, he knew right away he was going to do *something* for all 12 steps. So it was conceived originally as something that was going to span multiple albums. (Although I think by the end he was starting to feel as if he had painted himself into a corner and just wanted to get it over with…but someone can correct me if I’m wrong)

[Mosh]

I thought it was hilarious that the first question was about Met. Pt. 3 concept. MP took those questions with stride, especially how much those fan questions were pretty much MP fanboy questions.

I would've asked how he will now incorporate his drumming into the last 13 years of DT, playing the staples such as BAI.

He probably would not have answered that. He didn’t even commit to playing Mangini era songs unless the band pushed for it.

[ReaPsTA]

I thought it was hilarious that the first question was about Met. Pt. 3 concept. MP took those questions with stride, especially how much those fan questions were pretty much MP fanboy questions.

I would've asked how he will now incorporate his drumming into the last 13 years of DT, playing the staples such as BAI.

He probably would not have answered that. He didn’t even commit to playing Mangini era songs unless the band pushed for it.

Yeah. Unless the rest of the band is really attached to those songs, you'll get like a token MM song or two this tour because it would be too obviously weird, then I wouldn't count on them ever appearing again. Got the sense from the video that MP would look at it as playing in some sort of cover band, not Dream Theater, and I don't get the impression enough of the fanbase really cares (and that the ones who would be fine never hearing an MM song again are much louder).

Hope I'm wrong. But the vibes all point one way. Bad sign.

EDIT: Like someone else mentioned before, after the direct album supporting tours, they barely appeared anyway. Now there's even less impetus to include them.

[TAC]

It's the part that comes after "with that being said" that scares me.

https://youtu.be/0R1QBRGEOjM?si=uuJM13D8zRZpnX37&t=262

[ReaPsTA]

It's the part that comes after "with that being said" that scares me.

https://youtu.be/0R1QBRGEOjM?si=uuJM13D8zRZpnX37&t=262

He wants to write the setlists.

Butts have not been showing up in the seats during the tours. A change needs to happen.

MP's going to be writing the setlists. He's obviously not interested in playing the MM era songs.

Sucks.

[gborland]

They should do Seven Degrees of Inner Turbulence, or Nonavarium.

[crystalstars17]

They should do Seven Degrees of Inner Turbulence, or Nonavarium.

It's the part that comes after "with that being said" that scares me.

https://youtu.be/0R1QBRGEOjM?si=uuJM13D8zRZpnX37&t=262

He wants to write the setlists.

Butts have not been showing up in the seats during the tours. A change needs to happen.

MP's going to be writing the setlists. He's obviously not interested in playing the MM era songs.

Sucks.

Is that so? Well...

At that point we can just, you know, stop buying tickets.

[gzarruk]

They should do Seven Degrees of Inner Turbulence, or Nonavarium.

Falling Out of Infinity.

[wolfking]

He did say though whatever they want also.  He obviously just wants to revisit his stuff and you can't blame him for that but taking what he said on face value, nothing is off the table.

[ReaPsTA]

At that point we can just, you know, stop buying tickets.

I haven't gotten tickets to the second tours where it's just a greatest hits act. I will continue to not do so if that's what they want to do.

[KevShmev]

Calling Scenes from a Memory "Metropolis Part 2" felt pretty contrived itself, but Scenes was so awesome that almost no one cared.  Trying to drag it out and do a Part 3 would likely be taking contrived to the next level.  The fact that a fan even asked that is kinda lame.

[bosk1]

Calling Scenes from a Memory "Metropolis Part 2" felt pretty contrived itself, but Scenes was so awesome that almost no one cared.  Trying to drag it out and do a Part 3 would likely be taking contrived to the next level.  The fact that a fan even asked that is kinda lame.

All of that.  Nailed it.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

If in concert the band is just going to drop all of the music of the last 13 years - I don't THINK they are going to do this but who knows - then to me that will be a good indication of what they think the fans want now. I think the band is proud of what they wrote over the last 5 albums. I can't imagine anyone who has followed the band all this time denying that there are some pretty damn good songs that came out of ADTOE through View. I don't see how you just pretend all that music didn't happen unless you think the fans do not care to hear you play it any longer. If they were to go down this route, I would personally interpret that as directly connected to the decision to go back to MP at this time.

I also do not think the setlists will be given to MP to exercise sole discretion over. It'll be a group decision I think.

[RaiseTheKnife]

Musically speaking, I'm not sure what could be added in a Metropolis Part 3 that was not already well-covered in the prior parts.  The arrangement of part 1 and playing around with riffs are already thoroughly explored in part 2.

Story-wise, a third part would undo the theme of duality established by the first two parts.  SFOM being a 2 Act Play, and that the Miracle and the Sleeper are twins living diametrically opposite lives.  It seems to me that Metropolis 1 and 2 were designed as a set (one ends with hope, the other with tragedy, again, diametric opposites).  Adding a Metropolis Part 3 would dilute this theme.

I'd prefer DT focus on new song ideas rather than trying to cling to former concepts that don't need any improvement or further development.

[heirtoruin]

If in concert the band is just going to drop all of the music of the last 13 years - I don't THINK they are going to do this but who knows - then to me that will be a good indication of what they think the fans want now.

Imagine JR saying he didn't want to play anything before SFAM.

[Setlist Scotty]

It's the part that comes after "with that being said" that scares me.

https://youtu.be/0R1QBRGEOjM?si=uuJM13D8zRZpnX37&t=262

He wants to write the setlists.

Butts have not been showing up in the seats during the tours. A change needs to happen.

MP's going to be writing the setlists. He's obviously not interested in playing the MM era songs.

Sucks.

I can imagine JP making a stipulation along the lines of "OK, you can write the setlists again, and we'll swap songs in and out of the setlist, but you need to agree to including at least one or two Mangini-era songs in each setlist." I can't imagine JP (or the other guys) being willing to forget about the last 13 years and 1/3 of their catalog - to do so would in essence be saying that none of what we did without MP is worth anything at all, and I'm pretty certain they don't feel that way.
 
 

If in concert the band is just going to drop all of the music of the last 13 years - I don't THINK they are going to do this but who knows - then to me that will be a good indication of what they think the fans want now. I think the band is proud of what they wrote over the last 5 albums. I can't imagine anyone who has followed the band all this time denying that there are some pretty damn good songs that came out of ADTOE through View. I don't see how you just pretend all that music didn't happen unless you think the fans do not care to hear you play it any longer. If they were to go down this route, I would personally interpret that as directly connected to the decision to go back to MP at this time.

Agreed. This is not a situation like with Queensryche where at least half of the stuff from the Tater-ryche years was complete drivel so the TLT version of the band has completely ignored it. I think the majority of fans enjoyed most of what DT did while MP was away. I wouldn't be surprised if even some "MP warriors" secretly liked some of the MM-era material. So that should be enough reason to include at least some tracks from those albums in the setlist.

And speaking of QR, if there's one thing that I hope DT learns from them, it's not to try coming up with some hackneyed sequel to a cherished concept album. Best leave it alone.

[wolfking]

If in concert the band is just going to drop all of the music of the last 13 years - I don't THINK they are going to do this but who knows - then to me that will be a good indication of what they think the fans want now.

Imagine JR saying he didn't want to play anything before SFAM.

Welcome to the forum.

Fair point, but quite a different situation that one.

Personally, if they stopped playing music from the Mangini albums, I wouldn't be adverse to it.

I'm possibly thinking, how about with the new album, a lot is focused on James and his lower register where they can play at least half or more of it live and then the rest of the set would be old stuff.  That seems quite plausible.  Would help James too if the new material was easy to replicate live for him.

[Mosh]

I’m willing to bet money that rotating setlists aren’t coming back. I think an A/B set in the vein of ADTOE would be possible. In fact imo that level of rotation is the compromise, and in retrospect it’s possible the fact that we even got that much was because they were trying to not stray too far from what fans had become accustomed to. In other words, there is no real desire among the band to have rotating setlists. I can see Portnoy getting more of a say in building the setlists, but there are probably going to be more stipulations than just giving him free reign like before.

[fadetoblackdude7]

I’m willing to bet money that rotating setlists aren’t coming back. I think an A/B set in the vein of ADTOE would be possible. In fact imo that level of rotation is the compromise, and in retrospect it’s possible the fact that we even got that much was because they were trying to not stray too far from what fans had become accustomed to. In other words, there is no real desire among the band to have rotating setlists. I can see Portnoy getting more of a say in building the setlists, but there are probably going to be more stipulations than just giving him free reign like before.

Yeah I’d say this is most likely, especially since their shows have become much more of a production after MP left, and video/lighting need to be pre-synced with the music.

[Setlist Scotty]

I’m willing to bet money that rotating setlists aren’t coming back. I think an A/B set in the vein of ADTOE would be possible. In fact imo that level of rotation is the compromise, and in retrospect it’s possible the fact that we even got that much was because they were trying to not stray too far from what fans had become accustomed to. In other words, there is no real desire among the band to have rotating setlists. I can see Portnoy getting more of a say in building the setlists, but there are probably going to be more stipulations than just giving him free reign like before.

Yeah I’d say this is most likely, especially since their shows have become much more of a production after MP left, and video/lighting need to be pre-synced with the music.

But that may be one of the very things that gets dialed back: the production. The reality is that touring has become much more costly post-Covid and it seems that the audiences might be shrinking to a certain degree. To compensate for dialing back the production and still get more people to come to the show, they would have to give fans more of a reason to see the show or perhaps multiple shows. Having rotating setlists would do just that.

Would they be completely different setlists like what Metallica's doing with their No Repeat Weekends? No. But I could see them following a similar pattern to what we saw on the Chaos in Motion and BCaSL tours where there were several songs from the current album that were pretty much guaranteed in every set along with a couple older tracks, and the other half of the show was fluid. It would be more extensive and less predictable than doing the A/B setlists from the Dramatic tour, but not as difficult for the band and crew as the Evening With tours from 2002-2006.

[ReaPsTA]

Calling Scenes from a Memory "Metropolis Part 2" felt pretty contrived itself, but Scenes was so awesome that almost no one cared.  Trying to drag it out and do a Part 3 would likely be taking contrived to the next level.  The fact that a fan even asked that is kinda lame.

With Metropolis Part II, you could say "Well, even if it was a joke, we did call it part I, so we kinda have to follow-up on it. And, if we make this a concept album, we can sprinkle some Metropolis references in here, but it can mostly be its own thing. And Metropolis's metaphorical lyrics give us just enough to spin a story out of to be genuinely related, but not so much that it's a constraint." It was kind of genuinely organic.

I have no idea what Metropolis Part II left on the table where you'd say "we need a third album to explore this further." How are you going to top the "Victoria watches and thoughtfully smiles" section of Home for reprising and building on the meaning and music of the first one?

If DT made Metropolis III and it was actually good, I would be suitably impressed. But there's just such more fertile creative ground.

[HOF]

Metropolis Pt. III: Into the Multiverse

[ReaPsTA]

Metropolis Pt. III: Into the Multiverse

This post was specifically designed to hurt me

[crystalstars17]

I’m willing to bet money that rotating setlists aren’t coming back. I think an A/B set in the vein of ADTOE would be possible. In fact imo that level of rotation is the compromise, and in retrospect it’s possible the fact that we even got that much was because they were trying to not stray too far from what fans had become accustomed to. In other words, there is no real desire among the band to have rotating setlists. I can see Portnoy getting more of a say in building the setlists, but there are probably going to be more stipulations than just giving him free reign like before.

Yeah I’d say this is most likely, especially since their shows have become much more of a production after MP left, and video/lighting need to be pre-synced with the music.

But that may be one of the very things that gets dialed back: the production. The reality is that touring has become much more costly post-Covid and it seems that the audiences might be shrinking to a certain degree. To compensate for dialing back the production and still get more people to come to the show, they would have to give fans more of a reason to see the show or perhaps multiple shows. Having rotating setlists would do just that.

Of all the atrocities out there using "post-Covid" as an excuse to exist, this would be among the worst.

If shrinking audiences really do have to do with the post-Covid economy, then changing songs in a setlist isn't going to miraculously bring people to multiple shows who weren't even attending one show due to the economy.

It would be better to have one really optimal setlist that is well planned and ticks all the boxes if the goal is to bring people back to one show who were not attending at all.

A well-packaged product goes a long way toward generating business.

[ReaPsTA]

But that may be one of the very things that gets dialed back: the production.

The upshot to this would be the end of the live click track.

I never minded it *that* much when seeing it live, but the reality is there's a certain energy level you can't get to with it.

If it already isn't, it will be remember as one of the biggest (if not the biggest) unforced errors of the Mangini era

[Mladen]

My guess is that all of the guys will be voting on which song they would like to perform, and then Mike will figure out the running order. And there will be some songs from Mangini era, because four out of five guys will want to play them.

[Zydar]

I'm curious - are they any songs left from the MP era that has never been played live before? Or was that box checked when they started doing Space Dye Vest?