Drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) was interviewed by Chile’s Radio Futuro prior to THE WINERY DOGS‘ July 30 concert in Santiago.
Asked what his relationship with his former bandmates in DREAM THEATER is like today and what he thought of the band’s last studo album, Portnoy replied: “If you wanna talk about DREAM THEATER for the 25 years I was there, then sure, but I’m not gonna talk about DREAM THEATER now, ’cause people get too uptight about it, so… If you wanna talk about the other 25 years, sure, but [laughs] I’m not gonna talk about them and what they do now without me; I’m here to talk about what I’m doing.”
Mike was also asked whether he would one day be willing to reunite with DREAM THEATER and rejoin the band as their drummer. “Sure,” he replied. “I would do it in a heartbeat. They are the ones that have closed the door on it. I’ve only needed a break, and I’ve had that break. So I’m ready, willing and able. But I honestly don’t think they ever will; they’ve closed their door on it and I think they’re too headstrong in having to prove themselves without me. So I wouldn’t count on it. But my door is always open.”
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 27 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
Portnoy played on AVENGED SEVENFOLD‘s latest album, “Nightmare”, following the death of that band’s drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, and toured with them for the entire second half of 2010.
Portnoy announced his departure from ADRENALINE MOB in June due to “scheduling conflicts.” A replacement drummer has not yet been announced.
Roadrunner Records has issued that The third in Dream Theater‘s series of videos documenting the making of their self-titled album, which will be available everywhere September 24, is out now, and you can watch it below! This is maybe the most informative of the three clips, as guitarist John Petrucci (who also produced the record) describes some of the songs in detail – wait till you hear what’s in store for you!
According to Roadrunner Records, DREAM THEATER‘s self-titled album, their 12th overall and fourth for Roadrunner, will be released September 24. The clip below is the second in a series documenting the making of the record; in it, guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess (along with engineer Richard Chycki) discuss their creative process and the fact that the band holes up in the studio for months at a time to write and record. Petrucci and vocalist James LaBrie also discuss how the lyrics come together. Watch now!
On July 13th, Tom Grosset broke the Guinness World Record with 1,208 single strokes in 60 seconds making him the world’s fastest drummer. The previous record was 1,203 single strokes set by DREAM THEATER drummer, Mike Mangini in 2003. Tom set this official record at Summer NAMM at the Music City Center in Nashville, TN.
According to Roadrunner Records, DREAM THEATER’s self-titled album – the band’s 12th studio release overall, and fourth with Roadrunner Records – will be released September 24, and now you can check out the cover art and see the track listing below!
Says guitarist John Petrucci about Dream Theater, “I see every new album as an opportunity to start over. To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We’ve fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We’re incredibly excited about Dream Theater and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
The nine-track disc was recorded at Cove City Studio in Glen Cove, Long Island, with guitarist Petrucci producing and Richard Chycki engineering and mixing. It’s the band’s second album with drummer Mike Mangini, and the first one on which he was a part of the writing process from day one.
In January, Petrucci said of Mangini’s work, “When people hear the drumming on this album, they’re gonna be pretty freaked out. On the last album, he did a great job, but he wasn’t there for the writing process and he was interpreting drum parts that I had programmed. Even though he used his creativity, of course, to change them up and do his thing, I feel like now he’s just Mike Mangini unleashed. It’s all him. It’s all his creativity, all his decisions and ideas and man, the guy’s an animal.”
The track listing for Dream Theater is as follows:
1. False Awakening Suite
i. Sleep Paralysis
ii. Night Terrors
iii. Lucid Dream
2. The Enemy Inside
3. The Looking Glass
4. Enigma Machine
5. The Bigger Picture
6. Behind the Veil
7. Surrender to Reason
8. Along for the Ride
9. Illumination Theory
i. Paradoxe de la Lumière Noire
ii. Live, Die, Kill
iii. The Embracing Circle
iv. The Pursuit of Truth
v. Surrender, Trust & Passion Dream Theater will be available in a wide range of distinctive versions, including standard and special edition CDs, 180 gram double LP, and a limited edition boxed set. Pre-orders are scheduled to launch in July at the Roadrunner Webstore. Dream Theater will be on tour in Europe in January and February 2014, and in North America in March 2014.
Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have completed mixing their new, self-titled album for a September 24 release via Roadrunner Records. The band’s guitarist, John Petrucci, writes on Facebook: “[I] can’t wait to share the new music with everyone!”
“Dream Theater” was recorded at Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York, with founding guitarist John Petrucci producing and studio luminary Richard Chycki (AEROSMITH, RUSH) engineering and mixing. The album marks a brilliant new chapter for the always adventurous band, their first to have been written and recorded with drummer Mike Mangini wholly integrated into the creative process from the start.
“I see every new album as an opportunity to start over,” says Petrucci. “To either build or improve upon a direction that has been evolving over time or to completely break new ground. This is the first self-titled album of our career and there is nothing I can think of that makes a statement of musical and creative identity stronger than that. We’ve fully explored all of the elements that make us unique, from the epic and intense to the atmospheric and cinematic. We’re incredibly excited about ‘Dream Theater’ and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
“Dream Theater” will be available in a wide range of distinctive versions, including standard and special-edition CDs, 180-gram vinyl double LP, and a limited-edition box set. Pre-orders are scheduled to get underway sometime in July at the Roadrunner Records webstore.
Asked whether having drummer Mike Mangini involved in the songwriting process this time around has made a difference in the new CD’s overall sound, keyboardist Jordan Rudess recently said: “It really has. This is the first album where Mike Mangini [who joined the band in Ocober 2010] has been there and really part of the writing process. He’s such a sweet guy and he has so much energy, and it’s just great to have that energy involved when we’re writing the music, ’cause he’ll come up with stuff that’s really cool. We’ll be composing along our merry way and stop to maybe look at the next part, and he offers this other perspective which we never had in the same way that we have it with him, which is that he has a super math brain — a rhythmic math brain; he’s really an expert in that field, more so than myself or [guitarist] John Petrucci or anybody in the band — so he can say, ‘Guys, if you play 10 measures at 7, and if you play triplets five times, and you do this and that, it’s all gonna equal out in 21 measures. Go ahead and try it.’ And at first, we’re , like, ‘What?’ But he kind of sees that; he sees that map.”
In a recent interview with Roadrunner Records, Petrucci stated about the making of DREAM THEATER‘s new CD: “First of all, it’s been going great with [Mangini], and as much as we’ve been a band together for about 15 years, we haven’t really experienced that process together. We’ve been in the studio for a few weeks now, and he’s been amazing. Chemistry is great, the writing process and the whole vibe is great, and his role is to let his personality shine as a drummer, creatively and to have his input and his musical personality really come through. And I gotta tell you, it’s happening. When people hear the drumming on this album, they’re gonna be pretty freaked out. On the last album, he did a great job, but he wasn’t there for the writing process and he was interpreting drum parts that I had programmed. Even though he used his creativity, of course, to change them up and do his thing, I feel like now he’s just Mike Mangini unleashed. It’s all him. It’s all his creativity, all his decisions and ideas and man, the guy’s an animal.”
“Live At Luna Park”, DREAM THEATER‘s live concert, which was previously scheduled for release in May via Eagle Rock Entertainment, will now drop in North America on November 5 as a Blu-ray, 2DVD, 2DVD + 3CD, Blu-ray + 3CD, deluxe edition with 40-page book, Blu-ray + 2DVD + 3CD, and digital video via iTunes.
“Live At Luna Park” was filmed over two nights in South America — home to one of DREAM THEATER‘s most ardent fanbases. The DVD was filmed August 19 and August 20, 2012 at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina after a 15-month world tour, hitting 35 countries.
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