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BreakingBenjamin
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Posts: 283
Location: Central NJ
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Confury  
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 1099
Location: Lincoln, NE
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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:53 am Post subject: |
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Sooooo. I like the new album. I use the ratings on WMP, and my favs (all being 5 stars) are:
On The Backs of Angels
Build Me Up, Break Me Down
Lost Not Forgotten
Bridges in the Sky
Outcry
Breaking All Illusions
My 4 stars are:
This is the Life
Beneath the Surface
And I have Far from Heaven as 3 stars (not really that the song is the worst on the album, just that I don't like DT's super-soft side).
EDIT: Also, the album comes out tomorrow <_<_> |
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RustyWaffle
Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 796
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:56 am Post subject: A Dramatic Turn Of Events |
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I got the deluxe edition preorder, so they sent me a download link for a digital copy a day early (today) and I'm about halfway through listening to it right now. It's really a great album. I was originally disappointed about the loss of Portnoy being that he was one of the founding members and basically a staple in the band (like Neil Peart leaving Rush), but after I found out they replaced him with Mike Mangini (Could fucking smoke Portnoy [don't start a flame war]), I knew it was a change for the better. Anyway, it's no Images and Words, but it's definitely a great album from what I've heard. I'll probably have to put it up above Black Clouds and Systematic Chaos (None of Portnoy's rapping) and up with Octavarium (My favorite album besides Images and Words and Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence.) If you're a Dream Theater fan, a prog fan, or just a music enthusiast, I'm sure you should give this album a try, because they put a lot of work into it and it truly is a great album.
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arte
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 848
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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listened to the album twice now. pretty solid, standout tracks:
On the Backs of Angels
Lost Not Forgotten
Outcry
Breaking All Illusions
the last one especially, definitely the album's best track. the ballads are all pretty nice, especially Far from Heaven.
Build Me Up, Break Me Down is a god damn embarrassing song though. probably going to go down as the second worst DT song for me. |
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FL4RE
Joined: 15 Jul 2008
Posts: 4178
Location: Liverpool yano
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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I listened to the album...very good album. Not quite on par with old DT but nonetheless an excellent production.
Probably my favourite song is Bridges in the Sky...some awesome guitarwork from Petrucci on that.
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POKE-JJ
Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 1931
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
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| Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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| arte wrote: |
Build Me Up, Break Me Down is a god damn embarrassing song though. probably going to go down as the second worst DT song for me. |
Agreed. Almost as bad as The Count of Tuscany.
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Nubnut
Joined: 07 Jun 2008
Posts: 2078
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:12 am Post subject: |
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| POKE-JJ wrote: | | arte wrote: |
Build Me Up, Break Me Down is a god damn embarrassing song though. probably going to go down as the second worst DT song for me. |
Agreed. Almost as bad as The Count of Tuscany. |
Oh come on now, Count of Tuscany (the instrumental version) was one of the best songs melodically that DT had done in a long time. Now lyrically... Ya it's their worst song of all time.
I haven't given the album a proper listen yet (I usually just sit down and close my eyes and listen to an album all the way through, but I haven't had time for that) but after my first listen this seems like the best DT album since Six Degrees, which granted isn't saying much.
Also, I find it both funny and interesting that the song structures for all of the songs seem to be tributes to I&W. For example: On the Backs of Angels = Pull Me Under, Lost But Not Forgotten = Under A Glass Moon etc. etc. You can read more about it here. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150771825130184
(P.S. it's worth noting that the guy who wrote that is a professional musician who's done multiple covers of DT songs, and is a die hard DT fan to put it lightly)
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arte
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 848
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| Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:45 am Post subject: |
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| POKE-JJ wrote: | | arte wrote: |
Build Me Up, Break Me Down is a god damn embarrassing song though. probably going to go down as the second worst DT song for me. |
Agreed. Almost as bad as The Count of Tuscany. |
TCoT's lyrics are shit but everything else about the song is near flawless; definitely the best song on black clouds. |
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Parama
Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 5870
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| Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:02 am Post subject: |
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Blaaaah probably not getting the album for a few more days.
I WANT MY DREAM THEATER >:-(
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blingdomepiece 
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 4358
Location: Ottawa ON Canada
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Parama
Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 5870
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:28 am Post subject: |
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I don't have facebook.
Text please.
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Nubnut
Joined: 07 Jun 2008
Posts: 2078
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:49 am Post subject: |
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Already ninja'd you there gom. =P
Personally, I agree with it and we've been going on about this at the Portnoy forums for a while now. But I have to reiterate. It was a bad move for Portnoy to comment on something like that, it's not as if Blabbermouth already hasn't had enough fodder against the man now he has to go and hand them some more.
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1st place on 8 GH:WoR songs on Expert+ drums! (well, at least for a couple days).
XBL Gamertag: Gavesit
Add me if you wanna play RB 3, GH:WoR, GTA IV, Halo Reach, Left 4 Dead etc. etc.
"THERE IS A DREAM I AM LIVING
THERE IS A LIFE I AM DREAMING OF" |
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blingdomepiece
Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 4358
Location: Ottawa ON Canada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| Nubnut wrote: | Already ninja'd you there gom. =P
Personally, I agree with it and we've been going on about this at the Portnoy forums for a while now. But I have to reiterate. It was a bad move for Portnoy to comment on something like that, it's not as if Blabbermouth already hasn't had enough fodder against the man now he has to go and hand them some more. |
Haha, so you did. Sorry! 
I agree that Portnoy probably didn't help things by weighing in, but it is his forum so maybe he felt he had to.
To atone, here is the FB text for anyone who needs it.
| Quote: | Dream Theater’s highly anticipated new album is a week shy of hitting the shelves, and already the glowing reviews are pouring in from journalists, DJs, music bloggers, authors from around the world. “A Dramatic Turn of Events” is their first release featuring new drummer Mike Mangini, and one with the huge task of proving to the fans that the band is alive and well after Mike Portnoy’s departure.
I have heard the album, and will say I thought it was very good overall! Considering I admittedly did not like Black Clouds & Silver Linings all that much, and how weird it is to think of a Dream Theater without Portnoy (Just because I love the man’s drumming, and thought it to be a big part of why I love this band. I’m very aware of how competent everyone in the band is), this new album was a relief for me, and I’m enjoying it a lot! Having said that, this post is not about me reviewing the album, at least not in the traditional way reviews are expected to be presented in. I am here to talk to you about the similarities between “A Dramatic Turn of Events’ and Dream Theater’s own 1992 release, “Images and Words”, a matter that hasn’t been touched by any review I’ve read so far.
Okay, maybe “similarities” isn’t quite enough to describe the relationship between the 2 albums I’m about to present to you, but let that be the word for now.
As some of you know, I am the guitarist/producer/mixer/editor of the “VRA! Split-Screen Covers”, an online collaborative project, where we record cover performances and post them on Youtube. So far we have covered 5 Dream Theater songs. Between this project, covering a few of John Petrucci’s solos, playing DT’s music with my own band for fun at times, and generally being a DT fan for over 12 years, I think it’s safe to say that I know my Dream Theater well by now. Btw, I’m also the guitarist in "Bad Salad” (we’re about to hit the studio to record our debut - http://www.facebook.com/BadSalad ), an architect, an amazing boyfriend and awesome soccer player, and generally a nice modest guy. … So before anyone wants to be funny about it, no, I don’t just hang around “DTing” all day.
Our latest Split-Screen Cover was of “On the Backs of Angels”, the only single off “A Dramatic Turn of Events” that was officially put out early in its entirety. Roadrunner Records released the song on their Youtube channel on June 28th, and we had our cover up by July 10th.
While I was learning how to play the song and memorizing the arrangements I noticed similarities between it and “Pull me Under”, but didn’t get too crazy over it since the time was short and I had so much to do to get the collab up (guitar playing is actually the least of my worries when I’m producing a collab like this).
When I finally heard the rest of the album, and got over the initial excitement of how awesome it was, I began spotting more similarities… “Wow, this sounds like that part on Under a Glass Moon”, “This verse develops just like that verse in Learning to Live”… The more I heard it the more “Images and Words” nuggets I found. This wasn’t just a coincidence, I was finding references to almost every song of “Images and Words” on the new album, so I decided to A/B the albums and make notes. I came to the wonderfully shocking conclusion that the entire album (or almost, I'm positive on at least 6 songs) was written based off of the charts of Images & Words songs. I know this might come across as an absurd accusation to many of you, but I wouldn’t be coming out in public with this information if I hadn’t done my homework, and if I wasn’t confident this approach to writing the new album was a conscious/intentional decision, maybe even humorous, by the band.
When I say the songs were written-off-the-charts I mean arrangement-wise, their structures, sometimes even orchestrations and nuances that make the parts what they are, and their roles within the songs. This doesn't mean they will sound alike at all, because within a given guideline for arrangement you could write virtually an infinite amount of different songs, and mainstream/pop has been doing so for decades to back me up on this statement.
Some of these songs are so equal in terms of arrangements that I’m surprised more people didn’t catch on to this nugget yet. Others just follow a rougher guideline (or so it seems to me at this point). Here are the matches I was able to make:
On the Backs of Angels – Pull me Under
Lost Not Forgotten – Under a Glass Moon
This is the Life – Another Day
Far from Heaven / Breaking All Illusions – Wait for Sleep / Learning to Live
Outcry – Metropolis Part 1
Bridges in the Sky – **Take the Time**
Build Me Up, Break Me Down – **Surrounded**
**Now, these last 2 matches, “Bridges in the Sky” and “Build me Up, Break me Down” were the 2 I found that followed a rougher guideline. If it weren’t for the precise pairing of the other songs on the album I might not even associate these with “Take the Time” and “Surrounded”. As it is I had to interpret how they would interpret the charts for these songs, if that makes any sense, and maybe even understand their roles on the album. For example, Surrounded was a very keyboard-driven song, and “Build Me Up, Break me Down” is too, just in a more modern way. Anyway, these 2 definitely require some more researching to allow me to come to plausible conclusions, for now I'm just suspecting the matches.
All other songs though are VERY easy to A/B (I've done them all), and you might have some fun in doing so yourself. I will go through a couple of them below however, just so you know what I mean.
BTW, “Beneath the Surface” was a song John Petrucci wrote at home on his own and presented to the band AFTER the album was done. They mentioned this on an interview, that he thought this song would fit very nicely to cool down the album at the end, so the band agreed and worked on it. This is why there are 9 songs instead of just 8.
When you compare the songs you’ll notice sometimes it’s a bit hard to spot where one section ends and another one begins if you are expecting them to be of the same length. Don’t think of it this way. In general, the sections are longer on “A Dramatic Turn of Events”. It’s as if DT redid Images and Words with an “over the top” mindset. The solos are longer, and the unisons/harmonies are longer and crazier. Keep that in mind and you’ll stay on track while comparing the pairs.
THIS IS THE LIFE – ANOTHER DAY:
* Intro clean/acoustic guitar 2x
* Full band + thematic guitar solo 1x
* *Cool down*
* Verse 1: Piano + vocals
* Verse 1: Piano + vocals + guitar volume swells
* Chorus: drums slowly build up
* Thematic solo again, “quieter” (played by the Sax on “Another Day”, cleaner guitar + keys on “This is the Life”)
* Verse 2: (harmonically/melodically similar to verse 1, but over a groove throughout)
* Chorus
* Bridge (climb)
* Guitar solo (not exactly the “Theme”, but derived from it)
* Chorus (this time played at its “strongest”)
* Instrumental ending on the theme (once again with the guitar in place of Saxophone)
LOST NOT FORGOTTEN – UNDER A GLASS MOON:
**piano intro presenting the theme** (this is only present on “Lost not Forgotten” and actually attempts to throw you off. I personally believe this “chopin” moment was added after the song was done) - Edit #1 (09/15/11): [This "attempts to throw you off" was originally meant as a joke (can I attempt a few "funnies" on my own fb? thank you!). By "IT" I meant the "part" as an animated clever being, not as DT members trying to sneak it in maliciously to fool everybody. I had to edit in this bit because people are using this portion of my text to disqualify an otherwise objective analysis]
* Guitar + key plays the theme (guitar: Root + Octave, slides up and down the neck)
* Drums join in: Double Bass patterns (doubled by the bass guitar) + 4/4 snare feel
* Drums/Bass continue the pattern, guitars are harmonizing over the theme
* Guitar joins drums and bass on the “Pattern” they were doing (+unison riff to lead to the next part)
* Weird-ass guitar/key unison (diminished, full-tone type vibe) / drums & bass speed it up (double feel)
* Verse 1 Riff (4/4) *no vocals yet*
* Verse 1 Riff (4/4) + keys (serving the pad role) + Vocals
* Verse… (getting hotter to lead into the chorus)
* Chorus: Double-bass drums + /8 snare feel + intricate unison riffing in between chorus lines (fast bit at the end)
* Verse 1 riffing again (no vox)
* Verse 2 riff: guitar cools down, Bass guitar is supporting the rhythm more predominantly
* Bridge: Bass still holding it together, guitar doing higher single dotted 4th notes (keys supporting these notes)
* Chorus: (same style)… with the in-between vocal lines riffing and the “quickie” finishing it off
* break: Keys playing the whole weird break lines + guitar and bass just accenting a few notes (lots of pauses)
* Guitar joins keys on the lead lines, bass still holds the accents
* Guitar plays a power-chord type variation of this theme + bass: keys are now pad-style
* (band pauses just before the guitar solo)
* Guitar solo, over 3 different accompaniment/progressions/moods
* Instrumental bit “in-between solos”
* Keyboard solo (“airy/dreamy” ascending chords)
* Weird Full-Band Unison/Break (the type you need to count through until you memorize)
* Chorus (with slight vocal variations on the 2nd part) - no more in-between riffing like on the previous choruses
* “quickie” riff once again
* Main epic theme from the intro (Root + Octave guitar) + that double bass drum pattern with the bass guitar
* Closing riff
This should be enough to illustrate what I’m talking about. Hope you have some fun figuring this stuff out for yourself while listening to the other songs on the album. Here’s one more interesting fact to everything I just pointed out: John Myung wrote 1 lyrics for Images and Words, and it was “Learning to Live”, and he only wrote lyrics for “Breaking All Illusions” on the new album.
I have no idea why Dream Theater did this. Maybe because it was the album that “made them” in a time where it was a do or die for their careers, so it’s an inspiring model. Maybe because this represents a new beginning for them with Mike Mangini, as it was when James Labrie joined the band back then. Maybe to celebrate 20 years of the album that defined the Dream Theater sound? Maybe they just thought it would be a fun challenge to write unique songs over pre-established charts, much like a few fans did (myself included) when they held the Stream of Consciousness song-writing contest back in 2002-2003. Either way, I applaud them for having the balls to do it and for the overall quality the end result turned out to have. I know how hard it is to write a song based off of a pre-established arrangement and have it sound concise, genuine and inspired. The tendency is to have a fucked up Frankenstein instead of music, so props to DT for pulling it off.
I opted to make this as a note on my own facebook profile because I don’t want to spoil it for those who would rather make these discoveries on their own. If you do post my words anywhere outside of here please include a [SPOILER] tag to alert people of the content.
Take care and rock on!
- Thiago Campos |
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Expert Pro Keys: 50/63 GS, most recent The Killing Moon
Expert Pro Drums: 53/83 GS, most recent Free Bird / Oh My God / Oye Mi Amor
Expert Pro Bass: 6/83 GS, most recent Everybody Wants to Rule the World
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Parama
Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 5870
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Dammit MP.
| Quote: | According to Courthouse News Service, ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates in April claiming that they "wrongfully excluded" him from the group and are "wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with [their] recording of an album without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]." In addition, the drummer's complaint, which was filed on April 27, alleges that the defendants — John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), James LaBrie (vocals), along with associated companies Ytse Jam, Inc. and Infinity Tours, Inc. — "are wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with the promotion of live performances by the individual defendants, without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]."
In an August 2011 interview with the Greek edition of Rock Hard magazine, Portnoy stated about his departure from DREAM THEATER, "I didn't make the decision to leave DREAM THEATER before [hooking up with] AVENGED SEVENFOLD [as their touring drummer], but I knew that something had to change in the DREAM THEATER camp. It's unfortunate that it was me that had to change, because I never wanted to leave the band — it was never my intention; I never wanted the split. I just merely thought that the band really could use a break, because I think the romance was really dying — backstage and between [the members] personally. 25 years without a break is a very, very, very long time and sometimes these relationships need a break from each other to rekindle the flame. So that's all I suggested. And even before I [went on the road] with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, I remember touring with [the progressive rock project] TRANSATLANTIC at the beginning of 2010 and already knowing that something was wrong in the DREAM THEATER world and that I really needed a break from the guys and the whole DREAM THEATER machine. I knew something was brewing and I knew that I was unhappy, and as has been well documented elsewhere, I merely just wanted a break. But unfortunately, those guys [the rest of DREAM THEATER] didn't see it that way and didn't respect my request for time off. It's unfortunate [that it turned out that way]."
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, announced his departure from 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.
DREAM THEATER's new album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", was released on September 13 via Roadrunner Records. |
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TehBanStick
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 2709
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Parama wrote: | Dammit MP.
| Quote: | According to Courthouse News Service, ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates in April claiming that they "wrongfully excluded" him from the group and are "wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with [their] recording of an album without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]." In addition, the drummer's complaint, which was filed on April 27, alleges that the defendants — John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), James LaBrie (vocals), along with associated companies Ytse Jam, Inc. and Infinity Tours, Inc. — "are wrongfully using the name of the band in connection with the promotion of live performances by the individual defendants, without the participation or consent of [Portnoy]."
In an August 2011 interview with the Greek edition of Rock Hard magazine, Portnoy stated about his departure from DREAM THEATER, "I didn't make the decision to leave DREAM THEATER before [hooking up with] AVENGED SEVENFOLD [as their touring drummer], but I knew that something had to change in the DREAM THEATER camp. It's unfortunate that it was me that had to change, because I never wanted to leave the band — it was never my intention; I never wanted the split. I just merely thought that the band really could use a break, because I think the romance was really dying — backstage and between [the members] personally. 25 years without a break is a very, very, very long time and sometimes these relationships need a break from each other to rekindle the flame. So that's all I suggested. And even before I [went on the road] with AVENGED SEVENFOLD, I remember touring with [the progressive rock project] TRANSATLANTIC at the beginning of 2010 and already knowing that something was wrong in the DREAM THEATER world and that I really needed a break from the guys and the whole DREAM THEATER machine. I knew something was brewing and I knew that I was unhappy, and as has been well documented elsewhere, I merely just wanted a break. But unfortunately, those guys [the rest of DREAM THEATER] didn't see it that way and didn't respect my request for time off. It's unfortunate [that it turned out that way]."
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, announced his departure from 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.
DREAM THEATER's new album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", was released on September 13 via Roadrunner Records. |
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Blabbermouth is full of shit.
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