Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events (new album)

[AGAG]

This is the only statement I agree with in this whole thread.

I find the circumcision objectionable.

I disagree. I think it has a good stand.

I think the whole thing is uncovered already.

[RazielSR]

The fist MM solo with DT, in the Rome gig yesterday:

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Some songs:

Endless Sacrifice
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Fatal tragedy:
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Under a glass moon:
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Learning to live:
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[RazielSR]

As we all know, when a band member is out, some people support both sides, other people just one and is always bashing the other.

Well, in DT's world is the same, of course.

Just some posts in MP's forum and Mike likes the post:

Dear Mike,
After watching the DT show last night in Rome...I got pissed about Mangini's awful touch & sound on the old DT songs...please come out with the Mob album...we need your power!!!

Mike Portnoy likes this

"What's a drumkit without cymbals? What is music without melody? What is Dream thater without Mike Portnoy? NO SEAS PENDEJO REGRESA!!!"

Mike Portnoy likes this.

Seems the guy is not having enough side projects, he stills bashing the new DT or approving that. Sounds familiar, yep. I was really against all the stupid things he said in interviews and the behaviour he had when he left, but with this stupid and childish things, I'm starting to thing this guy is just playing a retarted game.

[AAAAAAAAAA]

Seems the guy is not having enough side projects, he stills bashing the new DT or approving that. Sounds familiar, yep. I was really against all the stupid things he said in interviews and the behaviour he had when he left, but with this stupid and childish things, I'm starting to thing this guy is just playing a retarted game.

Agreed. Not to mention the Dream Theater guys bent over backwards to be respectful towards Portnoy. In fact they acted like they were devastated when he quit, but honesty I think they were relieved.

[RazielSR]

Seems the guy is not having enough side projects, he stills bashing the new DT or approving that. Sounds familiar, yep. I was really against all the stupid things he said in interviews and the behaviour he had when he left, but with this stupid and childish things, I'm starting to thing this guy is just playing a retarted game.

Agreed. Not to mention the Dream Theater guys bent over backwards to be respectful towards Portnoy. In fact they acted like they were devastated when he quit, but honesty I think they were relieved.

True, I completely agree. That's what I think too, and a lot of people.

[icecab21]

mike has a feature where he can like the post or is it just some dumbass thing where the poster claims mike likes it?

[RazielSR]

There's a feature in the forum, where a logged user can like or dislike a post like in youtube videos for example and other forums, etc, etc. It is Mike Portnoy liking that posts.

[RazielSR]

Astonishing:

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[Mormegil]

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[RazielSR]

that parody rules


The special edition: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/dreamtheaterdeluxe/


I will buy the normal one, what a shit of special edition to have the whole instrumental cd.

what's special about that?

Arnold Layne

[pneumonia]

Do you ever listen to instrumental version? I think I had never tried. What for?

[RazielSR]

Do you ever listen to instrumental version? I think I had never tried. What for?

I never listen to instrumentals if those are the same song without vocals.
I mean, in my favourite DT songs list, there are songs like Stream of Consciousness or Hell's Kitchen (I love this song). Those instrumentals songs are the ones I like, but not the same version without vocals. For me that is just wasted space. And to release an special edition having the special cd with the whole album again without vocals is shit imo. So well, I'll buy the normal one.

[pneumonia]

yes, I meant those instrumentals that have a vocal version. Let's call them karaoke

[adrian9]

@adrian: Why, who else? It's either him or Myung, but while Myung does nothing truly outstanding, I don't have any complaints about him either, but I do about Rudess.

I think James LB has been always the weakest link on dt, specially for his live performance , only in recent years fans had been OK with him. you can hear him singing poorly on "once in a live time" cd.
everything rudess does on keyboards is insane. his speed and technique are far beyond advanced.
myung is a sleeping beast.

[Balu]

@adrian: Why, who else? It's either him or Myung, but while Myung does nothing truly outstanding, I don't have any complaints about him either, but I do about Rudess.

I think James LB has been always the weakest link on dt, specially for his live performance , only in recent years fans had been OK with him. you can hear him singing poorly on "once in a live time" cd.
everything rudess does on keyboards is insane. his speed and technique are far beyond advanced.
myung is a sleeping beast.

LaBrie is seriously underrated imo. His best performance isn't on any DT songs, but on Ayreon - The Human Equation, his voice was definitely good. Maybe the problem is with DT songs' vocal lines?

Rudess is just.. boring in DT. His solo stuff is enjoyable sometimes, LTE is pretty good too, but he is definitely the weakest link in DT.

Myung is just nothing special. Seriously, nothing.

[pneumonia]

I've just came from a gig. What a setlist!
Under a Glass Moon, Forsaken, Peruvian Skies, These Walls, On the Backs of Angels, Endless Sacrifice, Caught in a Web, The Ytse Jam, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, The Great Debate, Count of Tuscany and Learning to Live.

One song from each album and an encore from I&W
They've chosen very epic and progressive songs. Great, great!

And in a great shape! Even James

[mayhem-for-all]

I've just came from a gig. What a setlist!
Under a Glass Moon, Forsaken, Peruvian Skies, These Walls, On the Backs of Angels, Endless Sacrifice, Caught in a Web, The Ytse Jam, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, The Great Debate, Count of Tuscany and Learning to Live.

One song from each album and an encore from I&W
They've chosen very epic and progressive songs. Great, great!

And in a great shape! Even James

And I can't get enough of their live albums and especially DvDs. I hope there will be more of those ahead

[RazielSR]

First review:

With an album title that only hints at the unbridled chaos that has engulfed Dream Theater’s world over the last year, this first album without drummer Mike Portnoy is a pivotal moment in the band’s twenty six year history. With an expectant fan base, Dream Theater quite simply had to deliver a “classic” Dream Theater album. If they moved too far away from their blueprint, or stacked the album with “filler”, they would be immediately be castigated for letting Portnoy leave in the way he did and for rebuffing his attempt to rejoin the band a few weeks later. The central reason Portnoy cited for his departure was that he felt that the band had become stale and that they needed an extended break to recharge. Put simply, he felt that if the band were to survive, something needed to change in order for them to create truly special albums once again. The ultimate irony here is that by leaving, Portnoy has provided that spark, and indeed Dream Theater have returned with a fresh and frankly stunning album in A Dramatic Turn Of Events.

For all the drama of the acrimonious split and the bitterness that is understandably still evident on both sides, eventually it comes down to the music. And no matter which side of the argument your loyalties lie, it’s the music that the band will ultimately be judged on. The most startling aspect of this album is the vigour with which the band have applied themselves. The attention to detail is noticeable – both in the songwriting, the production and the mix – with all members of the band (including the normally reserved John Myung) contributing strong melodies and lyrical concepts. Keyboard player Rudess has talked of how he would write sections to fit snugly around John Petrucci’s riffs, and this careful craftsmanship has provided a fresh edge to the album’s sound that at times is spiritually reminiscent of such standout albums as Images And Words or Scenes From A Memory. Progressive metal as a genre has a sliding scale between the two poles, and the material here veers more towards the prog, which many would say was no bad thing. The growling vocals have vanished to be replaced with typically complex DT musicality and countless melodies, and critically the album is not immediately gratifying, and requires several listens in order to fully grasp exactly what the band have achieved here.

Build Me Up, Break Me Down contains some epic riffs, along with a incredibly catchy chorus, and the same can be said of Lost Not Forgotten – the finale of which has some truly blistering interplay between Rudess and Petrucci. Such a description could be viewed as being Dream-Theater-By-Numbers, but that would be missing the point. This is the sound of a band having fun, playing to their strengths and infusing their sound with an energetic new edge without at any point resorting to prog metal cliché. It’s also easy to fall into the trap of viewing the lyrical content of the album as perhaps hinting at their recent turmoil, and This Is The Life falls into that category. With lines such as “Some of us choose to live gracefully/ Some can get caught in the maze and lose their way home/ This is the life we belong to” reading almost like a revised mission statement, it remains one of the most wonderfully tranquil pieces of music the band have ever created, and guitar solo is on a par with Dave Gilmour in his pomp. The same can be said of the similarly mellow Beneath The Surface, which is another beautifully constructed song that’s propelled by a string section.

Harking back to Scenes From A Memory, Outcry contains the type of musical dexterity that drove The Dance Of Eternity but is combined with a striking vocal melody. Similarly engaging is Bridges In The Sky, even if the unexpected sound of an Aboriginal battle cry that opens the track does sound a touch like The Simpson’s Barney Gumble cracking out a hearty burp down in Moe’s Tavern. Far From Heaven is another lilting, heartfelt piano led track that provides a continued balance to the album. Perhaps the most audible contrast with previous albums (and no doubt for the DT hardcore the most widely anticipated song) is Breaking All Illusions which contains John Myung’s first foray into lyric writing for many a year. It also showcases Myung’s talent as a bass player – which many have claimed has been left in the background in the recent past – and it’s a pleasure to hear him so prominent in the mix once again.

Ultimately, this is a breathtaking album that Dream Theater fans will adore. It’s just such a crying shame that it took such cataclysmic change within the band for them to create it.

http://www.rich-wilson.com/

[Rebel]

First review:

With an album title that only hints at the unbridled chaos that has engulfed Dream Theater’s world over the last year, this first album without drummer Mike Portnoy is a pivotal moment in the band’s twenty six year history. With an expectant fan base, Dream Theater quite simply had to deliver a “classic” Dream Theater album. If they moved too far away from their blueprint, or stacked the album with “filler”, they would be immediately be castigated for letting Portnoy leave in the way he did and for rebuffing his attempt to rejoin the band a few weeks later. The central reason Portnoy cited for his departure was that he felt that the band had become stale and that they needed an extended break to recharge. Put simply, he felt that if the band were to survive, something needed to change in order for them to create truly special albums once again. The ultimate irony here is that by leaving, Portnoy has provided that spark, and indeed Dream Theater have returned with a fresh and frankly stunning album in A Dramatic Turn Of Events.

For all the drama of the acrimonious split and the bitterness that is understandably still evident on both sides, eventually it comes down to the music. And no matter which side of the argument your loyalties lie, it’s the music that the band will ultimately be judged on. The most startling aspect of this album is the vigour with which the band have applied themselves. The attention to detail is noticeable – both in the songwriting, the production and the mix – with all members of the band (including the normally reserved John Myung) contributing strong melodies and lyrical concepts. Keyboard player Rudess has talked of how he would write sections to fit snugly around John Petrucci’s riffs, and this careful craftsmanship has provided a fresh edge to the album’s sound that at times is spiritually reminiscent of such standout albums as Images And Words or Scenes From A Memory. Progressive metal as a genre has a sliding scale between the two poles, and the material here veers more towards the prog, which many would say was no bad thing. The growling vocals have vanished to be replaced with typically complex DT musicality and countless melodies, and critically the album is not immediately gratifying, and requires several listens in order to fully grasp exactly what the band have achieved here.

Build Me Up, Break Me Down contains some epic riffs, along with a incredibly catchy chorus, and the same can be said of Lost Not Forgotten – the finale of which has some truly blistering interplay between Rudess and Petrucci. Such a description could be viewed as being Dream-Theater-By-Numbers, but that would be missing the point. This is the sound of a band having fun, playing to their strengths and infusing their sound with an energetic new edge without at any point resorting to prog metal cliché. It’s also easy to fall into the trap of viewing the lyrical content of the album as perhaps hinting at their recent turmoil, and This Is The Life falls into that category. With lines such as “Some of us choose to live gracefully/ Some can get caught in the maze and lose their way home/ This is the life we belong to” reading almost like a revised mission statement, it remains one of the most wonderfully tranquil pieces of music the band have ever created, and guitar solo is on a par with Dave Gilmour in his pomp. The same can be said of the similarly mellow Beneath The Surface, which is another beautifully constructed song that’s propelled by a string section.

Harking back to Scenes From A Memory, Outcry contains the type of musical dexterity that drove The Dance Of Eternity but is combined with a striking vocal melody. Similarly engaging is Bridges In The Sky, even if the unexpected sound of an Aboriginal battle cry that opens the track does sound a touch like The Simpson’s Barney Gumble cracking out a hearty burp down in Moe’s Tavern. Far From Heaven is another lilting, heartfelt piano led track that provides a continued balance to the album. Perhaps the most audible contrast with previous albums (and no doubt for the DT hardcore the most widely anticipated song) is Breaking All Illusions which contains John Myung’s first foray into lyric writing for many a year. It also showcases Myung’s talent as a bass player – which many have claimed has been left in the background in the recent past – and it’s a pleasure to hear him so prominent in the mix once again.

Ultimately, this is a breathtaking album that Dream Theater fans will adore. It’s just such a crying shame that it took such cataclysmic change within the band for them to create it.

http://www.rich-wilson.com/

...what the fuck? Roadrunner doesn't release their promos until the Friday before release, I know this, because we've been asking Roadrunner about it for awhile. This guy must have heard it at a prerelease event or something.

EDIT: Apparently he wrote their biography, well isn't THAT fancy.

[RazielSR]

Another review:

A dramatic twist or maybe just a change of the times? Anyway in reality, this is the most discussed album ever released by the leaders of the progressive metal, Dream Theater. After a series of events that have been fully explained, first presented without their natural leader, drummer Mike Portnoy, Mike Mangini takes the heavy burden of his replacement. For those closely following the progress of the band's new job the new album is a great enigma, as Portnoy used to call the shots and many think it is a prime challenge for others to prove that they are doing fine without him . Did we really thought that musicians like Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, or the even Labrie have reason to prove their worth or their ability?

At this point is the big win of this album. The album is gaining substance and impressions, not as a result of sophisticated demonstration or sensationalism, but as a natural consequence of the quality of the work of the musicians who make up the band. "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" is an excellent album and the continued hearings do not leave room for doubt on this, as the playing and compositions contained therein break every disbelief. What do we find in the new album? Dense and robustness, many inspired ideas, and compositions which regardless of length hold their consistency as well as some small-but significant-enough differences from the recent past and recent recordings of the band.

Initially, the production seems ideal, but noone will the "growling" vocals of Portnoy, as well, only as positive can be characterized by the abandonment of sci-fi themes in the lyrics with a shift to a more human-centered issues. In addition, you will not hear in the songs Metallica, Tool, Muse signs or any other influence adhere, only Dream Theater, while the Rudess seems to have stopped the experiments with the keytar solo or iphone and has regained full range sounds that will remind many fans cheering because the statement of membership in the band. But not crazy, there is no great return of Dream Theater that many will try to sell, and never left the limelight to return, never did discount vision and their quality, just the new album aside the information puzzled a significant portion of their followers, focusing on those for which loved more.

On the other hand, this involves a large trap that may work slightly inhibitory, and the album feels like the safe choice on some levels, and many structures are embedded in older songs, not too long or unattractive, but marked as an approach not characterized them as a band ever. Possibly the fact that from the most commercially successful album of their career to be an important and substantial justification, but the course of Dream Theater has always been full of risks, surprises and records whether liked or not ultimately give them a separate identity. Remember how every few risks taken from the "Scenes From A Memory" in "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence", in "Train Of Thought" and "Octavarium". Here you will find a special surprise, a novel or a risk to the 9 songs and 77 minutes duration of the album, but you will find lots of music, ie a lot of stuff.

The "On The Back Of Angels" has been quite some time now, without anything particularly impressive, beautifully opens the disc, being partly characteristic of the style of the album, with the theme played by Petrucci to the bridge apart. The "Bring Me Up, Break Me Down" is "commercial" song of the album with an introduction reminiscent of Linkin Park (!) Bringing to mind a more heavy and prog version of "These Walls" and featuring the most catchy refrain on the album and probably will and choice of company for a possible video. The "Lost, Not Forgotten" is probably the most heavy song, pressing between "Train Of Thought" and "Scenes From A Memory", dynamic, with a straight character and the first orgies. The "This Is The Life" is the first ballad, with lyrics dealing with several personal choices that make everyone's life, while referring to the slight sound of "Sacrified Sons", with plenty of piano and emotional solos do Petrucci difference. The "Bridges In The Sky" and "Outcry" below are two 11lepta prog epics, which will find all the elements that have made the great Theater. Amazing harmonies, great instrumental parts, oriental scales, very beautiful chorus in the first and second transitions, and very concise interpretations by Labrie.

Of course, the pioneers are the Petrucci and near his Rudess, in kresenta inspiration that will bring even Liquid Tension Experiment oases in the eyes of most observational. The second ballad of the album, the "Far From Heaven" is a four-minute song with piano and voice in which the personal lyrics, written in first person, perhaps sent to Portnoy. Music is not as simplistic as Vacant, nor the logic of "Answer Lies Within" or "Wither", presenting a more prog logic and a very expressive interpretation. The "Breaking All Illusions" is the song that will stand out rather easily among fans, being provocative prog, inspiring and lasting changes, and stamped Myung, who mobilized to contribute to the alliance. Maybe some points "clicked" a little more to the logic of "Learning To Live", but ultimately to 12 minutes of standing as a prominent self-luminous composition. The album closes with the third in a series of ballad, which is a relaxed easy listening song, which the Petrucci is primarily intended for personal use, but eventually was used to close the album with a tendency to melancholy, while quite beautiful, and not sensational.

Every heard of the disk can be approached from a different side of focusing on what is offered unilaterally by each member, as Dream Theater had never superficial crisis than anyone, which is a blessing and curse them. In this logic, that Petrucci is once again gripping in many ways, the Rudess doing better overall appearance for many years, Myung shows more active than the recent past and Labrie show really concise explanations, avoiding the contortions voice. Finally, Mangini is flawless in performance, blends very well with others, highlights the instrumental parts and makes his absence to Portnoy seems as painless as possible, filling the gap dramatically, a vacuum of things we know will not meet never fully.

For if "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" would be quality I had great doubt, but that is so good I am delighted, as the exodus of Portnoy seemed to bring the band at a crossroads without a leader and hence no orientation . Leaving the Portnoy took with him the details of the nature of the band, namely the stubbornness, the genius, the opadismo and megalomania. This results in the disk than in the past to stand up without touching peaks, but no trace of low flying or weak points. Attention, however, to those who will speak on the level "Images And Words", "Awake" or "Scenes From A Memory", since such comparisons conceal a cheap marketing and irrelevance surrounding the history of this great band.

Finally, after what happened in "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" is seen as a great victory for Dream Theater, worthy of high status who have achieved all these years and their quality. They seem to balance again between progressive and metal and reinvested in lyricism. And if in the middle got nightmares, we did not stop everyone to love this great band to continue to dream ...

http://rocking.gr/reviews/album/Dream_T ... ents/3662/

[RazielSR]

A little teaser: http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamtheater

[RazielSR]

A new interview with JP:

“Breaking all illusions”


In my opinion your new album is the “Scenes from a memory” of the 00’s for DREAM THEATER, not so much because of musical similarities, but because it has the same “fresh air” feeling.

Yeah, many people have told me this. Don’t forget that when Jordan Rudess joined the band, in “Scenes…”, there where again some positive vibes and always, when there is such a big change and you face a big challenge, subconsciously you get involved in such a procedure (of facing things positively).

Of course, this time you didn’t replace your keyboard player who played on one studio album, but your leader / founding member…
Didn’t all this create big pressure to write an album so good so this change would go unnoticed?

I’m sure Jordan would give you the same answer to this! When me and the rest of the guys in the band write music, we feel really confident. Of course there is pressure every time we write an album, but this time, since the beginning, we were totally confident of the direction of the album, the sound. Everything was clear and we all had the same goal. With this unity we had, we gained even more trust in ourselves and we knew exactly what we wanted to do.

So entering the studio, what was your goal with “A dramatic turn of events”?

After all the conversations we had before entering the studio, our goal was to write the best album we could from a composing point of view, it had to be balanced, melodic and having all those elements that make us special as a band. We didn’t want to take a certain direction more than another (metal vs prog) and we had a very clear goal with this. That was the most important to us, our songs, our compositions, to be the best possible.


Do you agree that this album reminds more of 90’s DREAM THEATER than 00’s DREAM THEATER?

I would say it is a combination of the two eras. During the 90’s our sound was different, while during the next decade it certainly became more modern. Although I have to agree that the song structures reminds the way we worked on “Images and Words”, but I think our sound is different, the production is better etc.

To be honest with you, the first time I listened to the record from beginning to the end, it gave me the impression of relief, that you were relieved of some stereotypes that existed during the last years in the group…
Right, right!!!

To be more specific, you have a lot of spots where you play solos along with Jordan, something you did less and less during the last years.(I’m not sure what he means) The aggressive vocals are missing, which sometimes were &#927;&#922;, but most of them, didn’t have any point and ended up being something like shouting. I appreciate it a lot that they are missing from the new album…
Of course, you are right.

To continue, you avoided the norm to begin and end the album with a very long song, like you did in the recent years. The second song being very commercial…
You are right… It seemed like we were relying on a formula, uh;

Exactly. Do you think that Mike Portnoy’s absence gave you the opportunity to do things which you might wanted to do, but somehow you couldn’t?
(without finishing my sentence once again)
Of course! I think this would inevitably happen. Beginning from “Scenes…”, me and Mike did the production and from the moment you cooperate with someone, you have to make compromises. Everyone has his opinion, &#959; Mike has his own, a very strong opinion and knows what he wants to do very well. This time, a second person wasn’t there and I could for example close the album with a ballad. No one had any objection, everybody was cool with this idea. I think there is definitely more freedom when you work alone .It comes really naturally.

So, do you admit there was some kind of formula especially in the tracklisting of your previous albums?
Ummm… Look…Uhhhh....Of course we didn’t think that way when we were writing those albums we just did what we did. Now that you mention it you are not wrong, but that was just how we did it, it was natural. I understand though why you say this, because it seems like it was planed from the beginning…

What I didn’t miss in “A dramatic…”, is a song that reminds of another band.
Of course, many people have told me that…

You know most people who tried to copy Dream Theater failed miserably, why would you try to copy other bands in four consecutive albums? (p.s At this point, Petrucci starts cracking up) “Never enough” for example is a great song and I really love it when played live, but it is 100% MUSE… On the other hand, I was starting to get bored hearing more songs about Portnoy’s addiction, especially with “The shattered fortress”. If you have an alcohol addiction, solve it, its not necessary that it takes four albums!

(p.s having laughed very much at this point) I don’t think it is needed anymore!!!

Maybe you need to write something about smoking, because while you have a strict non smoking policy, I see right next to us Mike Mangini smoking a cigar. You have to take care of him because he also plays the drums!!!
Oh no, do you think so? Hahahahahaha!

On a more serious note now. You had a massive change with the departure of Portnoy. After this, there was a long period we didn’t hear a thing about his replacement from DREAM THEATER, until you made a checkmate move and released the videos with the auditions on the internet. I think it was a great strategic move and people wasn’t talking about Portnoy, but about his possible replacement. How did this idea occur?

Basically, when we started the auditions for our new drummer, we knew we didn’t just come out and say, «the new drummer of DREAM THEATER is…», but to find a special way to reveal it. So we thought about making a documentary and letting people find out our new member. The point is that the production of the documentary took a lot of time since it is a complicated task and we wanted the product to be the best possible.That made some impatient fans angry and they said «why don’t you come out and say who is it so we can move on»? But it couldn’t be done this way and we did not want it to. On top of that ,the whole procedure with the rumors about the new drummer was convenient to be honest, because it was a part of the game! It was really hard to keep it a secret, but we knew the fans would like the end result, and so they did.

I can confirm that. There was a big confusion among the fans. I was searching through the first video, where James says at a point something like <<this is the drummer we are looking for », to see if he was wearing the same t-shirt in other auditions too, to find that your new drummer was Mangini. Considering of course he changed clothes frequently and didn’t wear the same t-shirt all the time!!!

Hahahaha! You are completely right. &#924;any fans have told me that they were anxious to watch these videos and that they were looking for even the smallest detail which would lead them to a safe conclusion.

So lets go to the chapter called Mike Mangini. We saw him in Greece with Steve Vai about ten years before and he drove us crazy with his skills. Despite that, he wasn’t so experienced recording as a member of a band as he was almost always a session artist. Also, he is responcible to replace not only a drummer, but a leader. So how did you end up deciding that Mangini would be your new drummer?

Mike Portnoy might had a very dynamic presence, but we are always talking about a band. So for us, the leader part didn’t have any importance. We wanted a drummer. Mike Mangini has played with EXTREME, ANNIHILATOR, Steve Vai, so we knew he has the experience to cope with what we were asking from him.

Was it of any importance for you, even psychological that with Mangini in the band, when you turn back to see the drummer, you will shout “Mike” and your drummer will respond? (laughs) It would be pretty different if you shouted “Aquilles”(we are talking about Priester of ANGRA who also auditioned)…

Hahahaha! Ok, it is a big coincidence, but now that you say it, it may had its importance on a more subconscious level.

Beginning at September, you are touring America with TRIVIUM. How did you choose this band to open for you?

When their name was first mentioned, we immediately decided they are the chosen ones. They are a new band, technically capable, with very good albums and a modern band. Of course they don’t play the same kind of music as we do, but on the other hand, this make them special for the world to see. They also have a new album coming out in the next days. The guys in TRIVIUM are amazing and great players, so I look forward to tour with them.

I understand you are constantly asked about Mike Portnoy’s departure from DREAM THEATER, but I can’t not ask you about something that has been in the interest of the press for a while. You have given many interviews and answers about this subject, with James LaBrie’s being a highlight, where he mentioned that «the band now sounds much more balanced», an answer that was met with criticism by some fans. There were people who said that the only person that would kick him out of the group left, that now that Mike left he is dissing him and so on. How do you react against this flood of questions about Mike given that he is still a good friend of yours?

Look, Sakis, the answer is simple.If anyone wants to know the reasons Mike left DREAM THEATER, all he has to do is ask him. Besides that, you understand that I’ve known Mike for almost all of my life and there is no chance I would say something mean about him. He made a decision which he considered the right at the time and we continue, being happy with the current situation. This is how life is. People make changes, they adapt to different situations and I hope everyone is happy with their choises. You know me and I think you understand that in no case I could say something bad, doubtful or melodramatic about Mike. Its not in my nature. And I’m sure that James didn’t mean this in an offensive way towards Mike. Unfortunately very often some phrases are isolated in order to create some drama out of nowhere. And given how widespread internet is these days, you can’t react .In defence of James, he said that he is happy with the current situation, the new drummer, the new album and that things look more balanced now. Nothing more, nothing less.

I would say I agree with you. Its seems there are less “me” in DREAM THEATER now and that there is only one leader…

You know, I have to tell you that I don’t like hearing that in the band someone is the leader, now or in the previous years. It’s not my band, or Mike’s. It’s nobody’s band, we’re DREAM THEATER.

I’m sorry but I have to disagree with you, because I don’t like a play of words. From the moment you are responsible for the decisions of the group in the most important issues, you automatically become the leader…

Yeah, we all participate in the decision making of the band. Ok, I am the producer and I make a lot of decisions for this, so I could say yes to what you said. But there is a balance in the decision making. Of course there are decisions where someone has to take the initiatives and you can’t ask for everyone’s opinion, otherwise it would take two years only to mix the album (laughs)

Mike Mangini just came in and played on the album. Are you planning in the future to use some of his ideas?

So far our relationship is very good. I know he constantly has some ideas. Even today during soundcheck, he was trying some of them with Jordan. He is a very creative person and it will be really nice to work with him on a different level next time.

If you had to compare the two Mikes’ how would you characterize them as drummers and as members of the band?

They are two completely different persons. Mike Mangini is completely into the art of drumming, exercise, trying new things and improving on drums. Mike Portnoy is an amazing drummer, but he doesn’t get into those things, he focuses more on other stuff like movies, directing, the fans and so many other things.

You obviously wanted to show the quality of the new drummer to the fans, as you incorporated into your setlist a drum solo and it was met with many good comments.

Exactly this. We have so much music,it’s difficult to even fit the songs to our setlist and during the last years we didn’t have one so we could play one more song. But now,we thought that a drum solo would fit perfectly and would in some way introduce officialy Mike Mangini to the fans.

For the first time after MANY many years in your career though, you play the same setlist every night during this summer tour…
There are small differences, but yes.

Yeah. One night you play “Learning to live” during the encore and the next night you play “Metropolis”. So practically the same setlist.

Mike could learn all the songs and rehearse forty of them before we toured, but we didn’t want to give him so much responsibility for his first tour with us. So we decided he should learn perfectly 14 songs, which in DREAM THEATER language, is so much music. So we didn’t want to risk too much. Our first priority was to be as tight as possible as a band with our new member and be more consistent with our performance. I hope people will appreciate that.

Do you know that there is a group called CIRCUS MAXIMUS and in their album cover of “The 1st chapter” of 2005, they had exactly the same clown with the unicycle, which you –or better Hugh Syme- used on “A dramatic turn of events”?

Yeah, I’ve seen that. Hugh Syme is amazing and I love all of his work.If you see the work he has done on the whole album, I’m sure you will be excited. We can’t do nothing now. These things happen and obviously both artists used the same database where they draw ideas from. Probably a cd with stock pictures or something.

What I say, is I wish CIRCUS MAXIMUS could make an album as good as any DREAMTHEATER album, so the whole album art comparison would make sense…
Hahahaha!

Why did you name the album “A dramatic turn of events”? Is it about Mike Portnoy’s departure?

No. It looks its about this, but its related to the lyrics of the album. Everybody thinks it is about Mike leaving the band, because the first time you see it, it is kinda obvious. The lyrics are about great events in the world and the fact that these events have caused disasters or big changes in a dramatic way, like in example “Outcry” which is about the recent events on Egypt which changed the lives and fates of millions of people. All these stories fit perfectly the title, which, as soon as I thought about I loved, but on the other hand I was completely certain people would believe it would be about Mike’s departure!

So I’ll let you rest and eat something before you hit the stage…
Thank you so much for your support and I hope Greek fans will like our new album!


http://www.rockhard.gr/index.php?option ... Itemid=208

[Mormegil]

A little teaser: http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamtheater

I'm tempted to call this the greatest thing I've heard from DT since Train of Thought.

[Balu]

A new interview with JP:

Far too much asskissing going on at the end. Circus Maximus is awesome.

[robocop656]

Maybe you would like to read this? :bounce1: :bounce1: :bounce1:

http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/08/08/dr ... bum-cover/

[RazielSR]

Maybe you would like to read this? :bounce1: :bounce1: :bounce1:

http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/08/08/dr ... bum-cover/

I knew that from the very beginning cause I'm a Circus Maximus fan. If you read the interview, even JP talks about it. It is about the artist, not DT. Anyway, is a bit lame, yes.

[RazielSR]

Another snippet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4_5svB7Jpk

[Sumerian]

I cannot really understand why Dream Theater decided to continue without Portnoy, who I think you cannot replace. But its just my opinion. Maybe i'm getting old...

[Arnold Layne]

Maybe you would like to read this? :bounce1: :bounce1: :bounce1:

http://www.metalsucks.net/2011/08/08/dr ... bum-cover/

LOL!

Arnold Layne

[eternity_strato]

I cannot really understand why Dream Theater decided to continue without Portnoy, who I think you cannot replace. But its just my opinion. Maybe i'm getting old...

Shut up!