Mike Portnoy has opened up about reuniting with Dream Theater after 13 years away from the band. The drummer detailed the steps that followed in his return to the veteran progressive metal act, including “reconnecting with [singer] James LaBrie.”
As previously reported, Dream Theater announced in October that founding member Portnoy is back in the band following his departure in 2010. He replaces Mike Mangini, who had been the band's drummer since Portnoy's departure.
Drumeo recently shared a clip of Portnoy performing Dream Theater's “Pull Me Under” for the first time in 13 years, and now the online drumming platform has revealed his full interview and performance session with the legendary stickman (watch below).
In the interview, Portnoy explained how the reunion took place, saying, “I think it really started to gain some traction during the COVID lockdown because I couldn't tour and Dream Theater couldn't tour, so [guitarist] John [Petrucci] He decided he wanted to make a solo album and asked me to play on it. A few months later, I made a [Liquid Tension Experiment] album with John and [keyboardist] Jordan [Rudess], so that brought the three of us together again. And then the next year I ended up doing John's solo tour and our wives' bands opened for us… so it seemed like everything was starting to fall into place on a personal level and then also on a musical level.”
He continued, “I think the final piece was reconnecting with James LaBrie, because James and I hadn't spoken in over a decade. I went to see a Dream Theater play in New York around 2022 and that was the first time I saw James in over a decade… within five seconds of seeing each other, it was hugs, kisses… and it was like All the drama and nonsense that happened during all those years of separation would just fade away immediately.”
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