In a recent chat with Classic Rock, John Petrucci reassured fans about the alleged feud between Mike Portnoy and James LaBrie.
When the interviewer said long-time fans of the band were happy to see Mike and LaBrie make peace, the guitarist shared, “Absolutely, and for me too. There are no reasons why brothers should not be able to resolve any trauma that they’ve been through.”
Petrucci continued, “At that point [when they reconnected] Mike’s coming back still was not being discussed, and in the ethos of the universe it felt really, really positive to no longer have that sort of negativity in our lives any more.”
In 2021, LaBrie revealed that he hadn’t talked to Portnoy in over ten years. The drummer left suddenly in September 2010 while on tour with Avenged Sevenfold. He was replaced by Mike Mangini.
LaBrie shared his thoughts about his relationship with Portnoy in an interview with Radio Forrest, saying, “I haven’t spoken to Mike, to be quite honest, since he left the band. So I think that pretty much says it all.”
Later in September 2022, LaBrie noted that it feels ‘great’ to be on good terms again with Portnoy. “There comes a point in everyone’s lives that you have to really consider what it is that you’re… that monkey on your back, and you have to come to terms with it, you have to confront it, and you have to transcend negativity,” the vocalist told Ibagenscast.
He added, “So if you’re carrying around something that just eats away at you, what good is it? And I think for Mike and I to come to terms with all that garbage that went on for years and years, I think it just got to the point that, ‘Let’s put this behind us. Let’s move on to a more positive place and be the better for it.’ And I think that’s basically what it came down to.”
“Mike and I, we stay in touch once in a while by texting, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ and all this stuff, and it’s cool,” LaBrie continued. “And the fact that he’s going out with John [Petrucci] on [John’s] solo tour [this fall], they’re gonna have a lot of fun. Yeah, the fans are pretty excited about it.”
Portnoy reunited with Dream Theater in October 2023. The band finished their new album, ‘Parasomnia’ with the drummer. The first single ‘Night Terror’ arrived on October 10. The full record will be released on February 7, 2025.