After twenty-five years of hard hitting, oddly timed and technically proficient drumming, US masters of Prog Dream Theater have lost their drummer, founder, and dear friend, Mike Portnoy. Speaking on a personal point, and opening his heart just a little, Dave Roberts reports...

I was on my way to class with a few class friends when I heard the news. Checking my Twitter account, I was greeted with the news that, at that point, topped off what already couldn’t have been a worse week. "This is a sad, sad day....I'm afraid I have some bad news.... MP/DT Sept 1985 - Sept 2010." My first initial thought? ‘Dream Theater have split up. No way.’ In confusion, I started to scan all other channels – Facebook, the official Dream Theater website, and of course, Mike Portnoy’s official website. And then, reading the comments posted, it had hit me. Portnoy had left
. Which was just as bad. The first thing I did? Called one of my closest friends to tell him. And he too, disbelieved at first. He also sounded just as devastated as I was, and indeed still am.

Now, for those of you thinking ‘what a wimp’, let me explain this; I’m not just someone who writes about music. I am a musician. And Dream Theater have been my primary influence for well over seven years now. All the guys in that band are my favourite of everything – favourite guitarist, favourite bassist, favourite drummer and favourite keyboardist, and of course my favourite band overall. So when the news was released, it hit me hard – mainly because of the song that actually introduced me to Dream Theater, "A Change of Seasons", was written by the man himself.

In reading his press release (which you can find here:
http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/m2585154.aspx) it became clear that this didn’t seem like a very easy decision to make. It was printed, in plain black and white, that he didn’t want to leave the band at all, but merely take a break for a year or so. Which wouldn’t have been such a bad idea – with the exception of one thing.

Right now, Dream Theater is riding on the currents of the last world tour with Iron Maiden, boosting their popularity on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter tremendously, not to mention that their last album hit number 6 in the US Billboard 200. To stop the band for a year would be, frankly, band suicide. And whilst it would be a good idea to let others work on their solo projects for a while, and let Portnoy finish off the rest of the tour with A7X (which I still think has something to do with it), it would be false economy to do that at this very instance.

Whilst it made sense what he said in his press release and his interview with Eddie Trunk on his radio show, (the transcript of the interview can be found here:
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145872) I couldn’t help but think a few things. For starters, his idea that their write, record, tour cycle was "a pattern that needed to be broken." To me, this is very disheartening. Whilst I know that variety is the spice of life, is it really that tough? Spending your time being paid to tour the world and play music. Maybe I’m a little different, but for me if I could do that for the next twenty-odd years, I’d be pretty happy.

Secondly, he goes on to mention in that interview, that in the film clip for "Wither" we could see his, and the band's, separation and seemingly growing apart. "I was already feeling some separation from the guys in Dream Theater." He further states that he was having feelings of separation and droning at the time that video clip was being shot. But, and maybe I’m nit picking, but toward the end of the video clip he and all the members seem to look happy about what they are doing. Smiling and rocking out together. Maybe I’m reading too far into this, but somehow I don’t think so.

I mean, really. Come on. These ‘feelings’ Mike was having was because he felt he needed a break from the Dream Theater machine – but was more than happy to play with A7X, HAIL! and Transatlantic whilst he wasn’t playing with Dream Theater. It sounds a little bit suspicious to me. It all seems to come back to the feeling of monotony – which I do understand quite well – but by the same token, it couldn’t be so bad.

However, the most worrying thing about this whole ordeal is the division it has created in two completely separate communities. The Dream Theater community – with one half supporting his decision and the other trashing it (with some fans I can imagine burning their DT/MP memorabilia), and the other being the Avenged Sevenfold community, with the same happening. What’s worse, however, is that these two communities have felt the need to vent. On each other. So bad did the sledging get, that at one point Mike even had to step in with this: "I am BEGGING the gun slinging between DT & A7X fans here to STOP!" – and that was before the event took place. After his announcement, the fans of both sides have taken to each other like pit bull terriers, sledging each others bands, and combining name-calling with musical jargon to create super insults.

It has now snowballed into an all out war, with some caught in the crossfire – the fence sitters who can see both sides of the argument and cannot decide whose side to take. I am one of those people. I can see Mike’s point, but by the same token it wouldn’t have killed him to do another year with DT, another tour and then piss off and do his own thing. Ride the wave that you guys are currently on, because if my musical spidey-sense is correct, as it has been for the past few waves of popular music styles, progressive music will be the next big thing in the industry. At which time it would be nice to see Dream Theater get the recognition they deserve for their dedication to it for the past twenty-five years.

Which leads me to the next point: who will replace Mike? It’s been 25 years of his drumming that has helped shaped the band into what they have become today. But not only that, he produced albums, DVDs, wrote lyrics, supported the fans with appearances and bootlegs, and, most importantly, did all the set lists for every single gig they ever played. To find someone with that dedication to his work, his art, and his friends, will be nigh-impossible for the band. So whilst they may find another drummer (and they are in the process of doing that as we speak, as I found out through John Petrucci’s Twitter), will they ever be able to find another Mike Portnoy? My guess is, like the rest of the Dream Theater community, a resounding no.

However, there is a little light at the end of the dark tunnel – or a silver lining on this black cloud if you want to take a Dream Theater approach – and that lies in one little quote from Mike: "It would be a tragedy if I never got to be on stage with Dream Theater again…". It’s the one quote that I have wholeheartedly agreed with in that entire interview. It would be such a shame to have a band - which contains the four biggest musical geniuses of our time - go down the gurgler due to one member leaving. I’m not saying it will, but without Mike it will never be the same again. And songs he has written for the band such as "Never Enough" have never rung truer to this reporter’s ears.

The fanbase of Dream Theater stretches for miles and miles, and is one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world, and for this reason I know their music will not die out or be forgotten in a hurry. Mike’s legacy and influence on the band will not be forgotten, and I certainly will not be boycotting any shows because he isn’t there any longer. That said, it will never be the same again without him, but I wish him luck in his travels.

So that’s the view of this reviewer on this matter. A matter I hold quite dear to my heart, a matter which will undoubtedly have a large impact upon my music career for years to come, and a matter which has divided communities and fans alike. I’m glad I was able to see Dream Theater the two times they came out to Australia, when they were Dream Theater, when the fans were fans and not sledging at each other, and when these ‘problems’ were far from anyone’s mind.

Most of all, I’m just glad I was able to discover them, and take from their music what I have, before they changed their line up. I got to experience the Dream Theater that started in 1985, as Majesty, at a small rehearsal room in Berklee College of music, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and grew into something that meant more to a lot of people than anything else in the world. They gave people something to aim for and something to hold on to through their music – I know they did for me.

 I’ll always remember,

Those were the best of times,

I’ll cherish them forever,

The best of times

-Mike Portnoy

(The Best of Times, 2009)