Hopefully one positive about this is that the growling vocals and nu-metalish stuff that seemed to pop up on the more recent albums will go away. I get the feeling that stuff was Portnoy's doing.

FWIW, Labrie has a new cd due out in a few weeks. Static Impulse. I enjoyed his two Mullmuzzler releases, but LOVED Elements of Persuasion. I'm looking forward to this one.

I don't mind some of the growling vocals as it adds a little variety (and plays well off of Labrie's soaring vocals), but I agree that the nu-metal thing is totally Portnoy's doing.

Portnoy's backups are brutal and have gotten worse each record. It's almost like you can gauge his rising influence in the band by the rise and persistence of his backing vox. Eventually the guys probably got tired of fighting with him about it and he kept doing more and more.

While I'm not surprised about a change in DT's line-up, Portnoy was the last one I expected to leave. I thought for certain it would have been Labrie. Not sure what to make of his announcement. Like others have commented, it seems as if the other band members were adamant to get back to the DT thing and were going to press onward with or without his involvement. Best of luck to him. I'm certain he will have a number of interesting projects in the years ahead.

Regardless, the next record is going to be a fascinating listen to see how things deviate (if at all) from the last couple records. Seemed like there was a lot of compromising going on between everyone's tastes. Obviously MP had his AA series to work through, but a lot of the harder stuff on Train of Thought and Octavarium seemed to have his finger prints on it. There's no secrets about how he's a control freak on the OCD kind of level and he over-managed a lot of things about DT, I just wonder how tired the band may have gotten with that given how thin MP was spreading himself with everything else.

Given that MP is a Friend of Bill W, I also worry about the A7X influence there as well. I hope that he, the man, is keeping it all together.

FWIW: Here's a transcript of Portnoy's interview with Eddie Trunk talking about the split. There's a lot here that doesn't sit right at all.

Train of Thought and Octavarium? That's going back a ways considering there were two albums after those.

Another positive: Petrucci won't have to use spit shields for his amps anymore - the camel is gone!

I really home this brings Myung back into the writing process more. It's bad enough he's been sonically trampled by Portnoy's drums in the mix.

I got kind of burned out on DT's sound a while back, it's kind of exhausting. I've always thought Portnoy was a bit on the overwhelming side. I think it will be great to see what they do. I hope they throw some new sounds into the mix.

That's just my brash observance of the band seeing them evolve over time. Taking the harder edge also managed to get them on Roadrunner's label once the deal with Atlantic ended. Perhaps that's a coincidence, but I wonder if it wasn't.

please go back to DT (per his fb)
[quote]
Yes, the rumours are true...sadly my time with Avenged Sevenfold has come to an end...

The band has decided to carry on into 2011 without me...I had a great time with them throughout 2010, but it was their choice to end the relationship at the end of 2010 as was always the initial plan....

I had an awesome time on stage with the guys every night and have so many cool memories from the experience with them...I am proud to always be part of the A7X family and history.

I also adore the A7X fans and totally appreciate the way they welcomed me aboard and were so loving and supportive during my time with the band...thank you!

As far as my future, I am excited by the endless musical possibilities that lie ahead of me...my love for music runs very deep and my taste is very broad and ecclectic which will give me the chance to explore many different things and collaborate with many great friends and artists I admire and respect...

Happy Holidaze to you all and c-ya in the New Year,
MP

No DT reunion anytime soon...

http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/1...come-back.html

Guess he didn't think things through too well, did he?

So, in short...

First, he leaves DT because they can't/won't take a year off in 2011.
Then, A7V tells him that he's not joining them in 2011.
Shortly after, he begs DT for his job, and they say no.
Finally, he whines on the internet.

Sounds like "that guy" in your average local music scene who thinks that everyone thinks he's awesome, then essentially gets kicked out of two bands and still doesn't realize that maybe he's not so cool afterall.


*I was initially disappointed by the news of Portnoy leaving DT, but man... what a douche-y statement to put on his website.

Yeah, so it turns out it wasn't DT burnout but the prospect of a permanent A7X gig after all.

Saw he posted on Facebook earlier about working on the new Neal Morse album (?). Anyway, seemed like he already had something lined up.

Got an email from RoadRunner the other day with a picture of the band, sans Mike. It was interesting to see.

Who in their right mind would ever choose Avenged Sevenfold over Dream Theater? That would be like Bruce Dickinson deciding to sing for My Chemical Romance over Iron Maiden.

THE Bruce Dickinson?

I got that too. Roadrunner put up a small Q&A with John Petrucci also.



Edit:
I'm sure this comes as no shock, but apparently Avenged Sevenfold was not happy with all the controversy around Portnoy, Dream Theater, and some of DT's fans accusing them of being the reason Mike left DT.

So he leaves Dream Theater and starts to drop hints he may stay with Avenged Sevenfold (Even though the band told him it would just be for 2010). A7X drops him as planned and he tries to rejoin DT.

Source - Blabbermouth

Portnoy's got himself in quite a pickle, and is just coming off as kind of a dipshit.

So glad he's gone from DT. No more horrible backing vocals, his influence and repetitive drum mannerisms will be gone from the songs....so looking forward to a "fresh" DT record.

I'm thinking that's part of the reason the guys turned him down. They can finally get some fresh ideas through without Mike squashing them all in favor of his direction.

Are they still hitting the studio in January? Not to far away. I wonder who will fill in if they do.

I think this whole thing gave them the opportunity to get rid of him without having to "fire" him and get tied up in possible legal ramifications.

They've supposedly settled on their new drummer so I imagine January is still on.

The real news in all of this is that Testimony 2 is coming out in 2011! I can't wait.

Just saw this posted on Facebook:

That post reminded me how tired I was of his over the top personality in general.

I like Russell Allen - they need to get him in DT and then all will be as it should be.

I'm okay with this so long as he doesn't have to leave Symphony X.