Grammy nominated band Dream Theater,
one of rock’s most musically fearless and adventurous bands, has
re-signed with Roadrunner Records. The group first signed with
Roadrunner Records in January 2007 and has so far released three
critically acclaimed albums with the label. The label first issued
Dream Theater’s ninth studio album Systematic Chaos in 2007 and went on
to release Black Clouds & Silver Linings in 2009 as well as their most
recent album, A Dramatic Turn of Events in September 2011. The band
will soon begin recording a new album as part of the new agreement with
Roadrunner Records.
In 2012 and while with Roadrunner Records, the band received their
first-ever Grammy nomination for “On The Backs Of Angels” in the Best
Hard Rock/Metal Performance category. The song was the first single
from their eleventh studio album A Dramatic Turn Of Events, which had
14 Top 10 debuts around the world including the U.S. where it entered at
#8 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart. 2009′s Black Clouds & Silver
Linings also charted strongly, debuting at #6 on the Billboard Top 200
album chart, the highest charting record of the band’s career. They have
also won several awards while at Roadrunner Records including
Rollingstone.com’s readers’ poll for “Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of
All Time” (2012), several awards from the leading Japanese rock magazine
BURRN! (2012) and the “Spirit Of Prog” achievement award at the 2009
Classic Rock Awards. Overall, the legendary progressive metal masters
have sold in excess of 10 million records and DVDs worldwide. A
powerhouse live act, they’ve headlined and sold out shows all over the
globe.
The band commented, “We are all very excited to be re-signing with
Roadrunner Records! Over the past 5 years from the release of Systematic
Chaos to our latest A Dramatic Turn of Events, we’ve developed strong
creative and professional bonds with everyone at Roadrunner as well as
many great friendships along the way.”
The band adds: “Roadrunner’s dedication and commitment to Dream Theater
has been evident to all of us from the very beginning, and is consistent
in all departments and on all levels, right on through to the top.
Roadrunner is a record label that is not only great at what they do but
who truly understand what Dream Theater is all about as well as the
amazing people who support us all around the world whom we proudly call
our fans. They are a record company we relate to as an organization
firmly rooted in its ideals and mission, while always pushing the
envelope in an effort to keep things moving ever forward. We’ve reached
many career defining milestones while at Roadrunner and are all
incredibly pumped in anticipation of our continued future together!”
Dream Theater formed in 1985 under the name Majesty. The lineup has
evolved to become John Petrucci (guitar, founding member), John Myung
(bass, founding member), James LaBrie (vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards
and continuum) and drummer Mike Mangini.
Dream Theater recently wrapped up a massive worldwide headline tour in
support of A Dramatic Turn of Events and is heading back into the studio
to record their next album. The next chapter in Dream Theater’s storied
career begins in 2013.
Following the EDEN’S CURSE two shows with Dream Theater in the UK last year, three members of Dream Theater, namely James LaBrie, John Petrucci and Mike Mangini have spoken in audio interviews about the band in glowing terms and can be streamed below.
LaBrie, who sang on EDEN’S CURSE last studio record “Trinity“, personally invited the Multinational Melodic Metal outfit to open for them in the United Kingdom and the band grabbed the opportunities with both hands and received great reactions from Dream Theater’s fan base.
EDEN’S CURSE are currently in the studio writing album number four, the first to feature new vocalistMarco Sandron (Pathosray/Fairyland), and are relishing the opportunity to hit the UK stages again next year to promote their new record.
EDEN’S Curse recently signed a worlwide management deal with Germany’s Rock N Growl Management and released a snippet of the demo version of “Losing My Faith“, a brand new song from EDEN’S CURSE
All-star band contains members of Dream Theater, Deep Purple and Alpha Rev
While the band name Flying Colors might be unfamiliar to you, the members of this rock supergroup have individually sold millions of records and strong fan base around the world. Flying Colors‘ self-titled debut album is released today through Music Theories/Mascot Label Group/MRI.
The members of Flying Colors are drummer Michael Portnoy (Dream Theater,) guitarist Steve Morse (Deep Purple,) vocalist Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev,) Neal Morse (keyboards,) and Dave LaRue (bass.) Flying Colors marks Portnoy’s first project since he departed Dream Theater.
The seeds of Flying Colors‘ formation were sown in 2008, when executive producer Bill Evans brought the idea to each of the musicians as well as to producer Peter Collins. Intrigued by the idea of working together, the four musicians wrote and recorded this album in just nine days.
Portnoy says “This album has bits and pieces of what you’d expect from each of us.
The sum of all it’s parts led to brand new, uncharted territory for everyone involved.”
Dave LaRue says “It was quite an experience. The band moved at a fast pace, ideas flying around the room at all times. Sections of tunes were arranged, then rearranged. Ideas were tried every which way until we made them work, or in some cases, discarded them altogether. Just keeping track of everything was a challenge! It’s been an inspiring challenge melding folk, prog, pop and metal all into one big recording.”
Flying Colors Track Listing
1. Blue Ocean
2. Shoulda Coulda Woulda
3. Kayla
4. The Storm
5. Forever in a Daze
6. Love Is What I’m Waiting For
7. Everything Changes
8. Better Than Walking Away
9. All Falls Down
10. Fool in My Heart
11. Infinite Fire
REVIEW AND PICTURES MY ARTO LEHTINEN AND MARKO SYRJALA
The masters of progressive metal Dream Theater are known for having fallen in love with Finland as evidenced by their visits to the northernmost country on every tour since 1995. In 1995 the band played here for the first time in a small club with Fates Warning supporting. Some time has passed by since those days and many things have changed. The band has released a bunch of albums, the latest one DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS came out in the fall of 2011, and Dream Theater is now playing in arenas. There are also some changes in the line-up as the core and founder Mike Portnoy is no longer in the band. As it is widely known Mr. Portnoy left the band in late 2010 to pursue other interests and he’s now replaced by new drummer Mike Mangnini.
Mike Mangini is an American drummer, and the current drummer for the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Mangini joined band in 2011 after the departure of founding drummer Mike Portnoy. Later on that same year the band released its latest opus DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS. Mangini’s earlier playing credits include Annihilator, Extreme and Steve Vai among others. He’s also well known for his work as a session musician and lecturing for years at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Mangini has also written two books titled Rhythm Knowledge about his unique drumming techniques, a practice method for deconstructing and simplifying complex poly-rhythms and time signatures. Dream Theater opened their 2012 European leg of “Dramatic Tour of Events” from Helsinki in mid January. It was at this tour stop that we had a pleasure to sit down with Mr. Mangini and discuss the current state of Dream Theater and some older stuff as well. Read on!
In this festivals 2nd year running & the quality line-up of High Voltage Festival and with so many glowing references from friends, I just had to fly over from Ireland this year to go along and see exactly what all the fuss was about!
DREAM THEATER’s new album, A Dramatic Turn Of Events, can currently be streamed in it’s entirety at this location.
A Dramatic Turn Of Events is due out on September 13th via Roadrunner Records. Photos of the deluxe collector’s edition can be viewed below:
The box set includes:
- A Dramatic Turn Of Events album
- instrumentals of the entire album
- DVD of The Spirit Carries On – a 60 minute movie documenting Dream Theater’s drummer auditions
- double-LP set of A Dramatic Turn Of Events (180-gram vinyl in gatefold jacket)
- Dream Theater branded custom turntable slipmat
- litho print of album cover
- 50 lucky winners will find a Dream Theater “Ticket For Life” (randomly inserted)
- All content housed in a custom box
- Receive a digital download of the album the day BEFORE release
Tracklisting:
CD1:
‘On The Backs Of Angels’
‘Build Me Up, Break Me Down’
‘Lost Not Forgotten’
‘This Is The Life’
‘Bridges In The Sky’
‘Outcry’
‘Far From Heaven’
‘Breaking All Illusions’
‘Beneath The Surface’
CD2:
‘On The Backs Of Angels’ (Instrumental)
‘Build Me Up, Break Me Down’ (Instrumental)
‘Lost Not Forgotten’ (Instrumental)
‘This Is The Life’ (Instrumental)
‘Bridges In The Sky’ (Instrumental)
‘Outcry’ (Instrumental)
‘Far From Heaven’ (Instrumental)
‘Breaking All Illusions’ (Instrumental)
‘Beneath The Surface’ (Instrumental)
Last night the band issued the following message: “We’ve always said we have the best fans in the world – they never fail us! This includes our dear friends in Japan who’ve been through so much this year. Today, we heard from our label that our new album, A Dramatic Turn Of Events, went in – on the day of release – at #1 on the Total Album Sales Chart! That’s the chart for both the domestic and international artists. We are massively proud! Thanks to all the believers! And Japan, stay strong!”
New DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini, who replaces Mike Portnoy, has issued the following update via Facebook regarding his upcoming live debut with the band on July 4th in Rome, Italy:
“Rehearsing with the guys was unbelievably amazing. It was really physically and mentally rewarding. The whole crew is the most professional group ever. I’m really getting into tweaking the parts to make a mix of the recorded parts and some moves of my own that I think are just plain fun. Hearing those guys right in my ear canals is one smile after another! Here we come…”
In a recent interview with BW&BK, frontman James LaBrie commented on Mangini putting his own spin on the band’s Portnoy-played material. LaBrie admits it’s still a question mark, but chances that the fans will be disappointed are slim to none.
“Aside from the auditions, where we did three songs, I haven’t heard him do any of the old stuff,” LaBrie reveals. “He knows there are certain sections of various songs when he has to stick to the mold, and he knows when he can be himself. Mike Mangini is very intuitive and incredibly musical, and he’s made it clear that he’s going to be putting some of himself into the old songs, but when the sections or the pieces really call for him to stay on the MP train, he’ll do so. That’s admirable and that’s professional.”
The following story by Andrew Lentz has been reprinted with permission from DRUMmagazine.com.
MIKE MANGINI
After enduring a six-month-long gag order, Mike Mangini has finally come clean about the DREAM THEATER audition process and the hoops he jumped through to land the coveted drum chair. With Mangini going up against the world’s most ridiculously dexterous drummers, the competition was fierce to say the least. We reached the world’s fastest drummer and former STEVE VAI sideman last Friday, at his home in Boston, only hours after Dream Theater revealed Mangini as their new drummer. He graciously squeezed in our extended conversation while celebrating the good news with his family – so here is the very first long-form interview Mangini granted following the band’s announcement.
DRUM!: What did you have that Thomas Lang (JOHN WETTON, ROBERT FRIPP, GLENN HUGHES), Marco Minneman (KREATOR, NECROPHAGIST, EPHEL DUATH, JOE SATRIANI), Virgil Donati (PLANET X, SEVEN THE HARDWAY), Derek Roddy (HATE ETERNAL, NILE, TODAY IS THE DAY), Aquiles Priester (ANGRA, PAUL DI’ANNO) and Pete Wildoer (DARKANE) didn’t?
Mangini: “I may have been chosen for the way that I hit those drums with respect to meshing the pre-existing drum parts with embellishments of them at times when I wanted to orchestrate something I was hearing one of the other bandmembers playing. I don’t know of any other reason it could be because every one of those drummers can do something uniquely ’the best.’ By the way, I think of this as wanting to be in a marriage, not a ’gig’ in the normal sense of that term. With regard to my sound, I took time to examine what I sound like from outside of myself on the drum set via a video camera. Based on what I didn’t like that I did and what I could now do as the result of a repaired right knee, I’ve been working on to strike with more power than it appears I am and how to not rush figures like I used to. Those things must have added up into what works for Dream Theater. I was a step ahead of everything I was asked to do. Everything. I got all those tests straight off after writing them on a piece of scrap paper – bang! – and I played every note in every song (to the best of my knowledge) along with also knowing every note everybody was playing. In addition to jamming and getting all the tests very naturally, one difference between everyone and me may have been the fact that I played Portnoy’s parts with the infusion of the others’ parts. I played the beats Mike recorded, but I also added a triplet here and there if Rudess or Petrucci played a triplet. The core of it all is that I love what Dream Theater recorded. I still want to play the song as it is recorded. It is like preserving Mike’s legacy and I take that very seriously.”
It has been just revealed in Part 3 of DREAM THEATER’s web series, The Spirit Carries On – which chronicles the audition process behind the band’s search for drummer Mike Portnoy’s replacement – that drummer Mike Mangini (STEVE VAI, EXTREME, ANNIHILATOR) is the band’s new drummer!
Says Dream Theater James LaBrie – “This is one of the most important decisions in our career and sorry to have to make you wait and I’m sure it’s been extremely stressful. Nonetheless, we have some news for you and we would like to welcome you to the family.”
Check out the video below:
Mike Leonard has been directing the web series, The Spirit Carries On and he says there is going to be a DVD release of the series available with the band’s new album.
The drummers in contention were Aquiles Priester (ANGRA, PAUL DI’ANNO), Peter Wildoer (DARKANE), Virgil Donati (PLANET X, SEVEN THE HARDWAY), Derek Roddy (HATE ETERNAL, NILE, TODAY IS THE DAY), Thomas Lang (JOHN WETTON, ROBERT FRIPP, GLENN HUGHES), Marco Minnemann (KREATOR, NECROPHAGIST, EPHEL DUATH, JOE SATRIANI) and Mangini.
Dream Theater live:
July
4 – Rome, Italy – Ippodromo Capanelle
5 – Verona, Italy- Villafranca Castle
6 – Winterthur, Switzerland – Eishalle Deutweg
8 – Metz, France – Sonishpere
9 – Loreley, Germany – Night Of The Prog Festival
10 – Weert, Netherlands – Bospop Festival
12 – Moscow, Russia – Crocus City Hall
13 – Kiev, Ukraine – Sports Palace
17 – Porto, Portugal – Coliseum Of Porto
19 – Tel Aviv, Israel – Exhibition Grounds
22 – Doncaster, UK – Doncaster Dome
23 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wolverhampton Civic
24 – Victoria Park, London, UK – High Voltage Festival
27 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
28 – Katowice, Poland – Spode
29 – Mala Skala, Czech Republic – Enatska Noc Festival
According to Eddie Trunk — co-host of the VH1 Classic television program “That Metal Show” who has a long-running radio show, “Friday Night Rocks”, on New York’s Q104.3 FM — Mike Mangini, the 47-year-old session artist who has played for ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE and STEVE VAI, is strongly rumored to have joined DREAM THEATER as the replacement for the recently departed Mike Portnoy.
Mangini is notorious for his technical prowess and holds three out of four World’s Fastest Drummer titles. These include the Fastest Matched grip at 1,247 strokes in 60 seconds; Fastest Hands, which he earned by executing 1,203 single-stroke notes in 60 seconds without drumsticks mallets etc.; Fastest Traditional Grip which he earned by executing 1,126 strokes in 60 seconds; and Fastest Single Stroke Foot record, playing 13,222 hits in 15 minutes and 5,222 hits in five minutes.
Mangini has written two books about his drumming techniques. These books, titled “Rhythm Knowledge”, are a practice method for deconstructing and simplifying complex polyrhythms and time signatures.
Mangini joined ANNIHILATOR in 1991 and appeared on the band’s “Set The World On Fire” album. He toured with the group in support of the CD until 1994 at which point he was asked to play with the Massachusetts band EXTREME, replacing that group’s original drummer Paul Geary.
After EXTREME dissolved in 1996, Mike was informed through drummer Jonathan Mover that guitarist Steve Vai was auditioning drummers for his live band. Mike successfully auditioned for Steve Vai’s band and relocated to Los Angeles.
From late 1996 to early 2000, Mangini was the highly regarded drummer of Vai’s live ensemble, which also included bassist Philip Bynoe, guitar wizard Mike Keneally and (in 2000) guitarist Dave Weiner. Mike also recorded several drum tracks for Steve’s “Fire Garden” and “Ultrazone” albums.
In 2005, Mike accepted a full-time teaching position at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and today he is a prominent faculty member in the school’s percussion department.
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, abruptly quit the band last summer while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD.
He played on AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s latest album, “Nightmare”, following the death of that band’s drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, and toured with them in late 2010 .
Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has revealed that he made a recent attempt to rejoin his former bandmates but was rebuffed by the group he formed and led for 25 years. Writing on his official forum, Portnoy states, “Just for the record, this is indeed true..
“Fairly recently, I reached out to the guys to try and make amends and offered to reconcile for the sake of having peace back in our lives… (plus I know how much it meant to a lot of the fans…)
“I figured it was still possible to try and save us, because they hadn’t made any announcements yet or begun any public activity with another drummer… but sadly, they declined my offer (well, actually their lawyer did… they didn’t even tell me themselves….)
“Sorry, gang, I honestly gave it my all…
“So now the fans on my Twitter and Facebook can please stop asking me to go back to DREAM THEATER… I tried, and the door is now shut… The ball is now in their court, not mine…
“I’m not crying or looking for mercy by posting this… I am merely trying to set the record straight as that is always the most important thing about my relationship with you guys… No BS, no spins, nothing to hide… and for better or for worse, I tell it like it is… I’ve also recently seen some people accuse my online activity of ‘looking for attention or media coverage,’ or ‘looking for sympathy,’ but it’s honestly none of the above… I merely value having an open and active communication with my fans… Always have, always will… It is the cornerstone of everything I’ve done since day #1 with DREAM THEATER…
“This was posted here FOR YOU GUYS to know about… here on MY message board on MY website… If it ends up on Blabbermouth or wherever else, that is THEIR choice to spread, I did not request it or send out a ‘press release’…
“Anyways, onward and upward…
“I’ve got a lot of great music and ideas waiting to come out of me and alot of exciting collaborations in the works….so goodbye 2010…bring on 2011!”
AVENGED SEVENFOLD issued a statement late on Friday (December 17) regarding the dismissal of Portnoy, who played on the band’s latest album, “Nightmare”, and toured with them during the past year following the death last December of original drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. The band’s statement read in part, “For the past few months, we’ve been blessed with Mike Portnoy‘s talent and humanity. When Mike agreed to tour with us, it was only through the end of 2010. We always knew we’d need to find another solution for 2011 and beyond. And it’s time for us to take that next step.”
As for why Portnoy himself was not their man, the statement said, “[Portnoy] is a brilliant writer, producer and, of course, drummer. Because of that, the world and we would always see it as AVENGED SEVENFOLD with Mike Portnoy. We take a lot of pride in AVENGED SEVENFOLD being about something greater then any individuals.”
Portnoy himself broke the news via his Facebook page on Thursday, following several days of rumors about his status.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows told The Pulse Of Radio that the band was not happy about the public way in which Portnoy‘s split with DREAM THEATER was played out, which may have soured Portnoy‘s relationship with AVENGED. “We were actually a little more shocked,” M. Shadows said. “We felt that maybe both parties could have handled it a little more internally without being so press release-happy about what had happened between them. Because we’re a band that, really, when it comes to news all over web sites or this or that about bands, you know, we don’t tweet much, we don’t try to put ourselves out that much, and all the drama and controversy wasn’t something that we wanted at all.”
In an interview over the weekend with LA Weekly, AVENGED manager Larry Jacobson said, “The plan had always been for Mike Portnoy to play with the band through 2010. Nothing changed there but it was confusing (because) Mike gave interviews suggesting he may be touring with the band beyond 2010.”
DREAM THEATER vocalist JAMES LABRIE has issued the following update:
“It is very difficult for what I am about to say. The Static Impulse tour has been cancelled due to some unfortunate, unforeseen difficulties with securing work visas for a couple of the guys. It would be virtually impossible for us to have these visas processed on time to begin the tour let alone the rehearsals which were scheduled for the week prior to the first show.
I don’t know what to say other than we are all in shock and can only hope we can make this a reality at some point in the near future. I am really sorry to everyone who has gone out and purchased the meet and greets and show tickets. This totally sucks and I’m sure you’re all quite upset and have every right to be. I can only ask for your understanding and forgiveness and assure you that when we are in a position (hopefully in the near future ) to tour all of this will have been taken care of well in advance or it just won’t happen.”
The aforementioned North American tour had been scheduled to run November 26th to December 20th.
On the heels of the release of his latest opus, ‘Static Impulse’, JAMES LABRIE has finally announced his return to the stage as a solo artist and will embark on a North American tour this winter! The DREAM THEATER vocalist has released two releases in a side project dubbed MULLMUZZLER and two solo releases including 2005’s ‘Elements of Persuasion’ and the latest masterpiece ‘Static Impulse’ which was released last week via InsideOut Music.
LABRIE comments: “Hello Everyone, Matt, Marco, Peter, Ray and I are extremely psyched to announce a tour in support of the new album ‘Static Impulse’. Everyone that played on the disc will be on stage. This is going to be a very powerful and memorable evening. Just us and the fans doing what we both love doing. You will hear songs from MullMuzzler, EOP and of course the latest, Static Impulse. Come out and support this US/ Canada tour and let’s have a blast. We will hit you like a sledgehammer, but I promise it won’t hurt… See you out there. Goooooooooo!!!!! James.”
Tickets for the trek go on sale today exclusively via EnterTheVault.com where fans can purchase both regular and VIP tickets for the trek. VIP packages include entrance to the venue 1-hour early, a meet-and-greet with JAMES LABRIE and a signed tour poster!
Longtime collaborator MATT GUILLORY added: “James, Marco, Ray, Peter, and myself are all really excited about touring the US and Canada in support of our new album Static Impulse. The response we’ve been getting since the album was released has been so amazing. We can’t wait to play this stuff live. This is going to be a lot of fun. We look forward to seeing everybody on the road!”
‘Static Impulse’ was produced by LABRIE and GUILLORY with mixing and mastering being handled by the mighty JENS BOGREN (OPETH, KATATONIA). Fans can download a free MP3 of the song “Mislead” as well as purchase the album at the following location: http://www.insideoutmusic.com/specials/jameslabrie/
A special, limited edition version of ‘Static Impulse’ and t-shirt are available via CMDistro.com.
TOUR DATES Nov 26 – Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall
Nov 27 – Raleigh, NC – Volume 11
Nov 29 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
Nov 30 – Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
Dec 02 – Montreal, QUE – Club Soda
Dec 03 – Toronto, ONT – Opera House
Dec 04 – Detroit, MI – Blondies
Dec 06 – Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
Dec 07 – Chicago, IL – Reggie Rock Club
Dec 08 – Minneapolis, MN – Station 4
Dec 10 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Dec 11 – Portland, OR – Berbati’s Pen
Dec 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Key Club
Dec 15 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Theater
Dec 16 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater
Dec 18 – San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
Dec 19 – Dallas, TX – Trees
Dec 20 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
Toronto native James LaBrie is regarded as one of the most influential prog metal vocalists of the last 20 years. His significance as the commanding front man of progressive giants Dream Theater, is without question. He joined the trailblazing fivesome in 1992 and has since recorded eleven studio albums with the band.
Besides being in the spotlight for the prog rock force from New York, LaBrie has launched an impressive solo career. Static Impulse is his first solo effort in over five years, and this latest masterpiece is by far his heaviest to date, revealing astonishing new facets of LaBrie’s music and sure to please his legion of die-hard fans while winning over many new devotees in the process.
LaBrie’s musical inspiration comes from many different genres, including such artists as Sebastian Bach, Metallica, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole, Queen, Sting, and Muse. One listen to Static Impulse and it becomes quickly apparent that LaBrie’s influences run far and wide and that he’ll be entertaining us all for years to come.
TRACK LISTING:
1. One More Time
2. Jekyll Or Hyde
3. Mislead
4. Euphoric
5. Over The Edge
6. I Need You
7. Who You Think I Am
8. I Tried
9. Just Watch Me
10. This Is War
11. Superstar
12. Coming Home
