For Dream Theater, it was a nightmare scenario. On September 8, 2010, after months of emotional turmoil, original drummer Mike Portnoy announced he was leaving the band.
The move came as a shock to the band’s fans, many of whom viewed Portnoy as the group’s heartbeat, the precise, polyrhythmic pulse that anchored the songs and gave guitarist John Petrucci a colorful, well-lit lane in which to fervently speed, randomly meander, or passionately roll.
