Wow. Just.......speechless.



If you guys have any reservations at all of Mangini's ability to replace Portnoy on the skins, fear not. This guy is a monster and a perfect fit for the band. I can't find any discernable difference in the two's overall playing. I don't play drums, but I'm telling you he fits right in. The album has great flow and is better than the last few have been. A triumph. I have had it 24 hours and just finished it for the 4th time. This band has been part of my daily routine for years and I'm SO glad this one is a good one. I can't recommend it enough.

If you get the CD set, it has a DVD with the drummer auditions!

 

Wow, they are still around? I listened to them tons in college.

Their songs are great, especially when you are um, under the influence of...

 

I was kinda bummed when I heard that Portnoy had quit, but as soon as I heard that Mangini was in, I knew they were going to be just fine. That guy is just an alien on the skins.

Watch the little documentary they did chronicling the auditions for the replacement drummer. It was obvious from the first couple of minutes that it was going to be him, and he seems like a good fit for the band as well.

 

Mangini was a monster with Vai and with Extreme and still is with DT.

As for the album I am not so into it. The drum parts were composed by John Petrucci and Mangini only give'em his flavour.

Just for the record: JP and me

 

This is a really good interview Petrucci did about the auditions.

Story: I saw DT last summer at Tinley Park with Iron Maiden. It was the last show Portnoy did with the band before leaving. None of the guys looked like they were having a good time and the band played a short set. Portnoy threw the show away by doing nothing but clowning around. It was too bad, because I had waited years to be able to see them and left really dejected. It wasn't until weeks later I found out why they basically stunk that night. It had to be hard for those guys to be playing their last show with him. When you watch the interview and see how Mangini reacted to being accepted in to the band it puts a new spin on it. I'm glad glad for him because he really wanted it. It was a shame Portnoy left, but at the end of the day the band truly did pick the best sub out there.

 

I have seen them two times in 2007 in Durango with Symphony X and in 2009 at the Kobetasonik Festival. Both were great but I have always have the feeling that Portnoy is an attention whore. I love all he did with the band except the more metallish turn he gave to the band since Systematic Chaos. I love Train of Thought as an album on a catalog but I didn't like it to be their new genre.

 

I'm glad that these guys are back on track with epic music. I've seen them quite a few times, and have even owned a Petrucci Ernie Ball guitar. In light of the drivel that passes for music today, this monster of a record is refreshing.

And wow... listening to it 4 times in 24 hours, that is ambitious! That is a lot of music to take in!