The return of Mike Portnoy, co-founder, drummer, songwriter, producer and all-around creative dynamo of Dream Theater, the world's biggest and arguably best progressive-metal band, has been a long time coming - 14 years, to be precise. Guitarist John Petrucci, a fellow original member, previews the Grammy-winning US/Canadian group's 40th-anniversary tour, which includes a date at London's O2 Arena, and looks further ahead to a brand-new studio album.
In a parallel life where you work as a bookmaker, what odds would you have given on Mike Portnoy returning to Dream Theater in their 40th-anniversary year?
Ha ha. That's a great question. Not too long ago I would have given very long odds on that. But life is funny that way. Time passes, things change and events unfold. Mike played on my solo record and he toured with me, and I could sense the fans suspecting something might happen. But I must stress that we really were not in that head-space yet. It just happened so quickly and felt right.
For long-term fans invested in the band's history, it was great to see Mike and singer James LaBrie finally bury the hatchet.
Absolutely, and for me too. There are no reasons why brothers should not be able to resolve any trauma that they've been through. At that point [when they reconnected] Mike's coming back still was not being discussed, and in the ethos of the universe it felt really, really positive to no longer have that sort of negativity in our lives any more.
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Esta historia es de la edición November 2024 de Classic Rock.
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Dream Theater
With friends (and bandmates) reunited for the band's 40th anniversary, it'll be a special night for fans at Wembley Arena.
Royal Republic
Livewire, turbo-harmonised, disco-rocking Swedes get ready for upgraded UK and Europe dates.
GOTTA KEEP MOVIN'
In 1968 the MC5's Kick Out The Jams album was a grenade thrown into the music scene. In the decades since, Wayne Kramer acted as guardian of the band's legacy until he died earlier this year, after making one final album.
THE KILLING FLOOR
Now revered as a linchpin moment in the history of the blues, Howlin' Wolf's London sessions in 1970, with a superstar cast that included some of England's rock royalty, came out of a chance encounter several months earlier at a gig in San Francisco.
ROGUE TRADER
Recording almost everything on his latest album himself and putting it out on his own label, Tuk Smith followed the adage that if you want something doing properly, do it yourself.
BILL WYMAN
WW2 evacuee, RAF airman, Rolling Stone, hit solo artist, bandleader, author, restaurateur, archaeologist, cricketer... Even just his time in The Greatest Rock'N'Roll Band In The World is storied, but there's been much, much more to his life than that.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY
For some people, travelling life's road is easy. For lifelong worrier Myles Kennedy it's anything but. But with his brand new solo album The Art Of Letting Go he's learning just what that title says.
ALL ABOUT BEING LOUD
In an exclusive extract from his Fast Eddie biography Make My Day, long-time Motörhead associate Kris Needs looks back at the making of their game-changing Overkill album and the subsequent killing-it UK tour.
Nikki Sixx
The Mötley Crüe bassist on making new music, replacing Mick Mars, work-life balance, learning when to say no...
Bobbie Dazzle
Meet the West Midlands singer bringing back upbeat music, fun and fashion of the 70s.
