Heavy Metal Soap Opera (The Mike Portnoy vs. Dream Theater Saga)

[drmosh]

(PLEASE DON'T CURBSTOMP ME) this is how i felt when chris pennie left dillinger escape plan for coheed and cambria.

remember how much better they are live now though, and their new drummer is insane.

I think MP leaving DT is a breath of fresh air. If his heart isn't into it, what's the point? They can find an unknown, amazing drummer and release a new album and all will be forgotten.

 

[shotgunn]

Dude you just totally brightened my day, for a second...

To quote the wise Bart Simpson...

"I never this could be possible, but this sucks AND blows at the same time."

CRAP!!!! AND TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! THIS IS A CRAPPY B-DAY!!!!

shotgunn

in other news, black is white, up is down, God is Satan, and Cannibal corpse released an album of smooth Jazz.

 

[shotgunn]

Labrie has done a fine job taking care of himself. You must consider that his instrument is IN is body. One that simply will not last forever. The other 4 guys can tune up/replace their instruments, not a vocalist. Their will always be a decline in performance. James' voice has aged quite nicely IMO.

shotgunn

Dont get me wrong, i really like Labrie's singing, and actually I have all his solo albums, It´s just that... sometimes he can be waaay off. In the 3 shows i saw them, i didnt see Myung, Portnoy, Rudess or Petrucci miss a single note... But on one of the shows Labrie's voice was horrible.

 

[Winspear]

Haven't read the whole thread..

What I'm most surprised by is the fact that this doesn't shock or upset me much...Very surprised.
I can kinda see exactly where he is coming from and it's made me realise that I've felt for a while now that DT are more than burning out.
It will be interesting to see what comes from this - hopefully they will change direction as I'm not so into where they've been going recently.

 

[Disco Volante]

Man I stop reading the JP & SS forums for 1 day and MP leaves DT. Unbelievable.

 

[drmosh]

Man I stop reading the JP & SS forums for 1 day and MP leaves DT. Unbelievable.

AHA! It's your fault!

 

[Esp Griffyn]

This is a bit of a lol for me, I have pretty much stopped caring about DT after charting their decline album by album for years now, which began after Images and Words but happened much faster and steeper after Ruddess joined. Portnoy leaving is a bit of a blow, but after how poor the last few albums have been I don't blame him for thinking DT had become a bit of a tired, blown out, saggy and limp parody of it's former self. I really don't think joining a pop metal act and putting some guyliner and a fake name on is the way forward creatively for him though.

I applaud the remaining DT members for standing up to Portnoy (lord knows they have not been able to in the past) because despite his drumming prowess, I think they could be a much better band if they get a drummer who A) cares, B) does not push them into that dire metal direction and C) does not constantly pitch in ridiculous lyrics in a terrible singing voice.

 

[K-Roll]

Guess we get to find out if Petrucci can really turn into a bear or not.

you meant beer right?

 

[Mordacain]

Damn...definitely not my first choice for replacements in DT *cough* LaBrie *cough* but maybe they can get someone that doesn't feel compelled to say "eat my ass and balls" into the mic at every show.

Just to be clear, I love Portnoy's style and he's right up there with Danny Carey & Bill Bruford in my book, but I liked Liquid Tension Experiment Portnoy more than DT Portnoy here lately.

Here's hoping that MP was who was directing Dream Theater's attempts at being heavier that now that silliness will stop and they can make some more meaningful stuff than BC&SL again. *hoping for a good spiritual successor to Metropolis Pt2*

 

[ShadyDavey]

If the rest of the band did indeed turn around and refuse to even let him take a break then quite frankly, they're moronic and I can't blame him in the slightest.

The whole "are they better off without him/can they (or shoud they) replace him/DT's loss is A7x's gain" argument is pretty much irrelevant to me.....they've released their best material in my view and I think that FWIW he's making the right move.

SURELY this can't be financially motivated on their part?

 

[CFB]

FUCK I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW

Motherfuck, I don't believe it
Mike, come back

 

[Rashputin]

F"#¤"# !!! Mother"#¤"#¤"!!! crap!

This was not good news. I pray to the gods of metal that he returns and that DT continues to make their awesome music. I love DT. Mike is a HUGE part of what makes DT DT.

 

[AlucardXIX]

So let me get this straight...Mike Portnoy accidentally Dream Theater? Is this bad?

 

[Mordacain]

So let me get this straight...Mike Portnoy accidentally Dream Theater? Is this bad?

I confused...need missing verb to undersand statement

 

[AlucardXIX]

I did not verb. I just need to know if this is bad?

 

[Mordacain]

What I meant was your question "Mike Portnoy accidentally Dream Theater?" does not make sense without a verb.

 

[nolow]

Some good suggestions are being thrown around for a replacement drummer, Danny Carey is a good fit, but Gojira's Mario Duplantier would be fuckin' ace.

 

[DDDorian]

^^It's a stupid meme, don't give it much thought.

I wonder if any of the other dudes in the band would be more accommodating if any of their own side projects ever paid as well as Avenged Sevenfold does. I mean, it's all well and good for Portnoy to want to take a break as he can still pay the bills, but what about the other guys? It's not like Myung can go tour with Lady Gaga or whatever.

Then again, I say that as someone who doesn't like the band and thinks their later albums in particular sound extremely workmanlike, so it'd do them all a world of good to work on other shit for a while. Maybe Labrie can go get hormone supplements or something.

 

[nolow]

btw I'm heartbroken... but I'm actually excited to see the direction the band will take. MP's drumming was fundamental in the sound of Dream Theater in my opinion, it would be interesting to see their next output.

 

[Mordacain]

btw I'm heartbroken... but I'm actually excited to see the direction the band will take. MP's drumming was fundamental in the sound of Dream Theater in my opinion, it would be interesting to see their next output.

I am pretty big Dream Theater fan and while I've found stuff to love in all of their albums, there is a general fan consensus that MP was the driving force in pushing DT in heavier directions. I love the man's drums but not his lyrical or vocal contributions at all. Even the musical themes we can attribute to MP have not been my thing and IMO don't mesh well in a primarily progressive-(insert subgenre here) band, particularly DT.