Mike Portnoy’s first return appearance with Dream Theater happened in October 2024 at London’s O2 Arena. It was an evening that captured the palpable excitement of his reunion with the band he co-founded, infused with a natural sentimentality at seeing him behind that expansive drum kit once again.
“It really was just a blur,” he tells Louder. “It was an emotional whirlwind for everybody in that room, on our side of the stage or the side of the stage you were on. To be honest, every show that followed maintained that kind of emotion in the air, and that will continue throughout 2025.”
“I anticipate every show will have that real emotional environment in the air. You have the old-school fans who never thought they’d see this line-up together again, and you have a new generation of fans who were too young to have ever seen this line-up. There’s just a feeling and a spirit in the air. I looked out into the audience at the O2 and all the shows that followed and saw grown men crying. So many people filmed that first show it was all on YouTube being dissected with a fine-tooth comb,” Portnoy added.
He further explains that while the operational approach has evolved, the heart of their musical collaboration remains intact: “The dynamic in terms of the actual music writing hasn’t changed at all. I was never a control freak when it came to the music. The way we write and work together was always so collaborative. It was something that we always shared. So, when we got back to being in the studio and immediately started writing together, it just felt exactly like it had.”
In a further nod to the evolution of relationships within the band, Mike Portnoy reflects on his changed perspective regarding James LaBrie’s contributions.
“It’s no secret that I was always James’ biggest critic when I was in the band the first time around,” admits Portnoy candidly. “I have a very, very different take on it now. I went from being his biggest critic to being his biggest cheerleader.”
“I want him to succeed. I want him to get out there and kill it, more than anybody in the band or the audience at this point. He’s just gotten stronger and stronger at every show. The relationship that’s mended between us now means a lot, and I guess it’s because it was the relationship that was harmed the most during my hiatus. For us to have healed and come back together in such a loving spirit means so much to me.”
Despite the inevitable comparisons of the band’s recent album, Parasomnia, to their earlier work, Mike Portnoy remains candid about the potential for criticism from longtime fans. He acknowledged that while some might view the nostalgic touches as an attempt to recapture past glories, the creative process was anything but contrived.
“I have a feeling there will be a lot of the uber-critical Dream Theater fans that are going to think we were trying to capitalize on the nostalgic sound or style of those past albums,” he laments. “But those albums were written by these five people. And these five people, you put them together in a room, there’s going to be a sound and style.
“Any time we came across a riff or something that felt like classic Dream Theater, rather than fight it, we embraced it. We’re going to have an established sound and style, and we weren’t trying to capitalize on the nostalgia, but we weren’t going to fight it either. We were going to let it be; and if there were these moments that naturally, organically fell out of us, we went with it.
“It’s our 16th album, released in the band’s 40th year of existence. Look at bands that are on their 16th album – how many of them have made really energized albums like this? It’s hard to find. I’m not trying to pat ourselves on the back, but I’m saying we were inspired, and it’s probably hard for some bands to be inspired in that way.”
Looking forward, the band is set to embark on a world tour that promises to celebrate their 40th anniversary in multiple phases. Fans may even get the chance to experience Parasomnia in its entirety live – “This world tour is going to go through many phases. We’re still in the 40th-anniversary phase.”
“This album was written to be performed in its entirety in the way that Scenes From A Memory was. So, probably towards the back end of 2025, we’ll be able to do a proper Parasomnia tour, when we play it from start to finish. There’s a lot of gas left in the tank in the year ahead before we even contemplate what’s next.”
1 Comment
Once back in the band, of course he did. Doesn’t change the fact, like everyone that gets older, can’t hit the notes anymore.