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Artist News
Portnoy quits Dream Theater
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 13 September 2010
Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy is leaving the band, which is a big deal because, while sitting behind the drums, he was basically the outfit’s frontman. He says he’s been thinking about it for a whole year now, and his decision to quit is therefore not hasty. He will continue with his other musical projects, including drumming for Avenged Sevenfold, which he’s been doing since their former drummer, Jimmy Sullivan, died last year.
As part of a long statement, Portnoy wrote last week: “After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater, the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century. To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision, it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so. After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail!, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater”.
He added: “Please don’t misinterpret me, I love the Dream Theater guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them… it’s just that I think we are in serious need of a little break”.
