James LaBrie: Meeting With Mike Portnoy In New York Becomes Dream Theater Reunion Catalyst

JAKARTA - The Dream Theater reunion with the return of Mike Portnoy has an important "catalyst", namely a face-to-face meeting between vocalist James LaBrie and the drummer in New York.

LaBrie mengungkapkan bahwa momen tersebut menjadi salah satu "domino terakhir" yang harus dihadapi sebelum reunikasi dream tersebut akhirnya terwujud.

Meanwhile, the historic meeting took place in March 2022 at the Media Theater, New York City, when Dream Theater was holding a show.

"Ya, itu adalah semacam katalis yang benar-benar membuka pintu lebar-lebar dengan kemungkinan bahwa kita semua bisa mulai mempertimbangkan dengan serius," kata LaBrie, dikutip Blabbermouth, Senin, 29 Oktober.

According to him, after the meeting, Dream Theater personnel began to think about whether a reunion was something they should seriously consider.

LaBrie also explained that this reunion did not happen suddenly. There are several things that preced, such as Portnoy's collaboration with guitarist John Petrucci on Petrucci's solo album, Petrucci's solo tour, and also the Liquid Tension Experiment project with Petrucci and Jordan Rudess.

"So, all of these things are slowly but surely make sure that he walks through the door to get back into the band," added LaBrie.

When Portnoy finally came back, the atmosphere felt very natural. LaBrie told me that there was no doubt or question about whether this would work. He even joked that it felt like Portnoy was "going out for coffee and he came back and we started writing."

The process of writing Dream Theater's latest album, Parasomnia, also went very smoothly and without a hitch.

"Very smooth, very smooth," said LaBrie. "Because once you actually enter the neighborhood and you start writing albums, you start remembering almost real chemistry."

The vocalist added, in the first one or two days of writing, they were already joking, laughing, and remembering their analytical approach to songs.

The sensation of returning to work with Portnoy was also felt on stage. LaBrie said that during the first five or six tours of 40 years, it felt like it was not real to see Portnoy behind the drums.

"I will turn around and the two of us look at each other, smile or make expressions for each other," concluded LaBrie.