DREAM THEATER
It’s back to the future as prodigal son Mike Portnoy returns to the prog metal giants – and brings with him a little of their old magic.
Words: Paul Travers
Edited by Dave Everley prog.reviews@futurenet.com
Illustration: Mark Leary
Poor old Mike Mangini. The supremely gifted drummer provided the engine in the Dream Theater chassis for 13 years, powering through a string of never less-than-interesting albums and one Grammy award. Yet, all it took was the announcement in 2023 that founding drummer Mike Portnoy was returning to the fold for the band’s fanbase to lose their collective mind and Mangini found himself bundled hastily out the door. For his part, he’s said all the right things, his departure free of public rancour. It seems that even he knows some bands have a definitive line-up that every fan wants to see and for Dream Theater this is it.