Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy sat down with Mariskal Rock and explained his role back in the band. It seems that leaving the band in 2010 was the right decision.
“As far as any regrets, I don’t have any regrets,” he revealed. “I think even leaving Dream Theater back in 2010, I don’t regret that because I think if I had unhappily stayed at the time, I might’ve spent the rest of my life regretting not taking a chance. So it’s always better to regret the things you have done than the things you haven’t done. That was always my philosophy. I even wrote that in the lyrics for [the Dream Theater song] ‘Repentance.’”
“But that being said, I don’t have any regrets because they’re all part of the story and they’re all part of what got me to where I am today,” Portnoy added. “And luckily for Dream Theater fans, it’s come full circle and it has a very happy ending in the end anyway.”
Dream Theater just finished recording their sixteenth album, which will be their first since Mike Portnoy came back to the band.
“Well, of course, I always missed Dream Theater and the music and the guys and the fans,” the drummer said in another interview when asked if he missed playing with the band.” Not all Dream Theater fans went on the ride with me with all of my other bands. So, every time I would tour with Sons Of Apollo or Winery Dogs or Shattered Fortress or Neal Morse Band, I would see some Dream Theater fans, but there’s a big portion of the fanbase that wasn’t with me for all those years.”
“So yeah, I missed them and I missed the guys and I missed the music. We were always a family first and foremost,” he added.
Portnoy helped start Dream Theater in 1985 with John Petrucci and John Myung. He played on 10 of their albums from 1989’s ‘When Dream And Day Unite’ to 2009’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’ before leaving in 2010. After Portnoy left, Mike Mangini joined the band in late 2010. He won the spot over six other top drummers in a high-profile audition.
This April, Dream Theater announced their ’40th Anniversary Tour 2024 – 2025′ for Europe. The tour is called ‘An Evening With Dream Theater’ and will be their first since Portnoy rejoined. The European tour includes 23 cities and starts on October 20, running until November 24.