Dream Theatre recently announced that Mike Portnoy would be reuniting with the band via Instagram. The drummer himself shared the official statement on his IG page, which stated:
“Grammy-winning, progressive music titans Dream Theater are announcing the return of drummer Mike Portnoy to the group. Portnoy will reunite with guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung – the trio formed the band at the Berklee College Of Music in 1985 – along with longtime members vocalist James LaBrie and keyboardist Jordan Rudess.”
The band then shared further details about what this new chapter with Portnoy would mean for them, as they smoothly announced that new material was very well on its way:
“Dream Theater will be going into the studio to begin working on their 16th studio album and the first with Portnoy since 2009’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings.”
Portnoy Feels ‘Overwhelmed’
Dream Theatre’s statement was followed by Portnoy’s own as well, as he shared how ‘overwhelmed’ he was with the ‘joy to be returning home.’ After that, the drummer also emphasized how much ‘history’ the band had and celebrated their long journey:
“I am overwhelmed with joy to be returning home and reuniting with my brothers. There is so much shared history between us all, so many memories, so much music to think we’re coming up on 40 years since this.”
He then, like Dream Theatre, announced that new material would be in the works and also hinted that a long-haul tour would be on the horizon. Portnoy said:
“The idea of creating new music together is so exciting, and I absolutely cannot wait to hit the road and get to play live for a whole new generation of fans that weren’t ever able to see this lineup before… There’s no place like home!”
As mentioned before, Portnoy hasn’t been with the band for over a decade [thirteen years to be exact], and in his absence, Dream Theatre released five different studio albums, one of which was critically acclaimed by the Grammys. However, the band wasn’t the only one who’d been busy, as the drummer also had been focusing on his solo career, as he’d been touring with his own band, Sons of Apollo.
You can check out Dream Theatre’s post here.