So I recently discovered just exactly who the finalists were for Dream Theater's search to replace Mike Portnoy and have listed them above. I myself am a huge fan of Derek Roddy and would love to have seen how Dream Theater would turn out with such an extraordinary drummer sitting in the throne. But it was not meant to be, obviously, and I felt this was a potentially very interesting topic of discussion so I decided to create a poll to see who, of the final 7, some of my fellow metalhead brethren would have preferred to see fill Mike Portnoy's shoes in Dream Theater. So please vote and comment on your idea of who you think should've been chosen or if you believe that Mike Mangini was the best decision. Of course if you dont like any of the 7 finalists and you believe someone else may have been a better fit then of course please voice this opinion for discussion as well. :-)

Disclaimer: I have no ill feelings towards their decision for Mike Mangini and I do think that he is an amazing drummer and I believe he will be a fantastic addition to Dream Theater. I would've preferred to see Derek Roddy chosen though just simply because he is also a very well rounded drummer, outside of his prominently death metal career, and would love to have seen what Dream Theater would be like with a former death metal drummer instead of another (also very talented) prog drummer.

Written by psykometal on 10.06.2011 at 04:34

Disclaimer: I have no ill feelings towards their decision for Mike Mangini and I do think that he is an amazing drummer and I believe he will be a fantastic addition to Dream Theater. I would've preferred to see Derek Roddy chosen though just simply because he is also a very well rounded drummer, outside of his prominently death metal career, and would love to have seen what Dream Theater would be like with a former death metal drummer instead of another (also very talented) prog drummer.

Don't worry, I don't think Mike Mangini is going to get offended when reading this post

When I watched both Dream Theater's documentaries (or whatever they were), I got impressed by Mike Mangini and Thomas Lang, both drummers play with much energy.

I think DT took the decision to incorporate Mangini from the beginning, they just made him suffer a little bit.

HellHammer or GTFO.

Written by GroundZero on 10.06.2011 at 05:10

Written by psykometal on 10.06.2011 at 04:34

Don't worry, I don't think Mike Mangini is going to get offended when reading this post

When I watched both Dream Theater's documentaries (or whatever they were), I got impressed by Mike Mangini and Thomas Lang, both drummers play with much energy.

I think DT took the decision to incorporate Mangini from the beginning, they just made him suffer a little bit.

Haha. Touche sir. Actually I put that in their so that others reading this wouldn't think I was biased and hate Mangini or something. Lol.

Written by LeChron James on 10.06.2011 at 05:22

HellHammer or GTFO.

Haha that would've been awesome if Hellhammer applied for that and even more epic if he had been chosen and I do think he would've made an interesting addition as well. But Dream Theater would expect him to put everything else on the back burner and focus on DT and DT alone so I don't believe he would accept the position even if DT sought him out because that man would be so bored if he was forced to only play with one band.

Written by psykometal on 10.06.2011 at 05:28

Haha that would've been awesome if Hellhammer applied for that and even more epic if he had been chosen and I do think he would've made an interesting addition as well. But Dream Theater would expect him to put everything else on the back burner and focus on DT and DT alone so I don't believe he would accept the position even if DT sought him out because that man would be so bored if he was forced to only play with one band.

Well HellHammer is really only playing in 2 bands, Mayhem and Nidingr are the only bands of his that have released anything recently. But I can see where you're coming from with the whole "one band death sentence" kinda thing. Either way, Hellhammer would make a hilarious addition to Dream Theater, mainly because of the vast difference in the musical style and themes compared to Mayhem. Makes me laugh just thinking about it haha.

Written by LeChron James on 10.06.2011 at 05:42

Written by psykometal on 10.06.2011 at 05:28

Well HellHammer is really only playing in 2 bands, Mayhem and Nidingr are the only bands of his that have released anything recently. But I can see where you're coming from with the whole "one band death sentence" kinda thing. Either way, Hellhammer would make a hilarious addition to Dream Theater, mainly because of the vast difference in the musical style and themes compared to Mayhem. Makes me laugh just thinking about it haha.

Well yes Mayhem and Nidingr are vastly different from Dream Theater but don't forget he also plays with Winds and has played with Jorn, Arcturus and Fleurety so he is also very well versed in progressive drumming techniques as well so Dream Theater would not really be that big of a stretch for him to perform with. Which is why I would've preferred to see Derek Roddy over Mike Mangini because he is very diverse but would also be able to bring elements of extreme metal drumming to Dream Theater's sound. Provided of course they let him, they may be too old for that sorta "nonsense" these days, haha.

I think Mike Mangini was the perfect choice, in all honesty... From that list, definitely Aquiles Priester. He is an amazing drummer, and I think his style would have suited the band better than any of the other 7 drummers shortlisted. If Mike Mangini hadn't been chosen, Aquiles would have definitely been a great choice! xD

All of them are technically great drummers so the most important part of the search was to find a drummer fitting to the band. I guess Mangini is the best choise by those standards. I liked his playing and I think it fits DT very well.
I really liked Marco Minnemans playing too but I don't think he would have been such a perfect match for this band.

Well, out of the seven, I prefer Mike Mangini. I even prefer him over Portnoy, because he seemed very eager to work with DT, which was not the case for Portnoy anymore
If we think outside of that box, man, I'd like to see Kai Hahto do that. He's way beyond what he showed us in Wintersun, and that is nothing small either

AAAAAAAAH...Not an easy decision...Derek is a cool and talented drummer, and fast as hell undoubtly, BUT i dont think from his background he would fill the seat fully, i think the guy drumming for DT needs to be more than a drummer, he needs to have experience with the whole writing process and probably chords N scales, i also think that on the personality issue has alot to say, I guess Roddy is almost as selfcentered as Portnoy...I think the DT guys sees Mangini as the best fitting guy compared to these issues.

Anywayz.....Cant wait to hear the new "Creation" .....will it be worth it all !?!?!

Really nice idea!

I would actually vote Sean Reinert ahead of all of them

The man is a technical genius and musically his songwriting is pretty incredible as well. He's only done 3 LPs worth of metal material but that's all it would take to make my decision.

He has a nice flow/rhythm to everything he does giving a catchy vibe while being more than technically profecient-making him a perfect candidate for such a good prog metal band.

But that's just me.

I voted Mike Magini. I love his work with acts such as Annihilator and I feel he's similar to Portnoy while adding his own flare to the music.

For me it really boiled down to two: Mangini and Minnermann.

Mangini has got an incredible technique and amazing personality, which would make him a perfect fit for Dream Theater. In the "reality show" they did it really showed he truly wanted to be there, and he just felt right. And you have to admit his single-handed tremolo trick is impressive (I'm a drummer too, I should know).

However, Minnermann's personality is even more interesting, and though he didn't really "click" like Mangini did, he's a very versatile (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-GUacp-x4 jump to 2:54) and would've been very interesting to see how they'd develop with him.

I can't make my mind up and choose between these two. However, I do believe that what tipped the scale towards Mangini was his stage personality - both are energetic on stage, but I don't know... Something with Mangini when live that I just "get" more. So in my view - they did a fine choice, and I'm already anxious to see what they've come up with.

Dont care because Im nota fan of band and I dont belive who will replace will make big deal anyway

I'm happy with the choice so far, I think they were all good, but Mangini seemed to jell with the band nicely.

Now, we'll have to wait and see how that will translate into the record and live. That is more important to me, the final product.

What a ridicules update!!!

Gene Hoglan

The Chicago Cubs would have been the best decision IMO.

I've been a fan of Mangini since Annihilator's,"Set the world on Fire". I wanted him as soon as I knew Portnoy was out because also knew he was friends with them and worked with James. He's definitely the best fit. As far as the voting, only Minneman and Donati had a chance.

Mangini had previously held these 7 world's Fastest drummer records (actually thats how i first came to know abt him) and when i watched his solo on a steve vai concert... I couldn't think abt anything else for 3 or 4 days... YES Mangini is not death metal or extreme metal fast:-) he is beyond that, He is creepy FAST! While still being virtuostic! He is faster than derek roddy. Who they chose doesn't matter. It depends upon whether they want to speed up or insert some extreme metal sort of stuff in their albums.I CAN ONLY DREAM THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.

Yea I finally actually got to watch the videos at a friend's house who actually has internet (most of the time I'm on MS is at work cuz I don't have internet at home but the firewall there blocks youtube so I couldn't watch the audition vids) and I completely agree with what James that Mike, Marco and Peter were the best 3 decisions but honestly I have to say that I felt Marco would've been better and I have to agree with GroundZero I think they wanted Mike before they even decided to audition the 7 but did the audition for the publicity anyway. Honestly to me they looked like they were more impressed and enamored with Minneman, idk if they were biased because they decided they were going to hire Mike from the start or something, but to me they looked more excited after playing with Marco than Mike. I will definitely admit that I voted Derek initially because I think it would be cool if DT hired an extreme drummer and incorporated that experience to write some heavier stuff but in the end they are still older guys who probably are not interested in writing heavier anymore so in the end I would have to recant and agree that Mike was the best decision. If this had happened 10 or 15 years ago when they may still have had interest in writing a heavier album then I would have to say Marco is who they should've picked because they seemed especially enamored with him, appeared even more so than Mike imo, and he has experience in more extreme drumming from Necrophagist and Kreator.

It's too hard to choose. There were a lot of talented Drummers and I think Mangini is a solid fit. Though, I would have loved to see Virgil Donati get the gig, because I love his style and his work with Planet X. Also, he was in a DT cover band.

Minneman should've been the one.

Kick Ass....
i dont want see any one of them
i want to see Mike Portnoy
dream theater means 1 team .... Mike Portnoy - John Petrucci - Derek Sherinian & John Myung -
this is dream theater i want see it ,
not just new faces

I'm happy MP left and I'm happy Mangini replaced him, the band seems so much happier now and more creative. I wouldn't have minded Virgil or Minnemann too.

The entire show (about choice) was ungifted parody. The choice was predetermined.

Mike was the heart of DT ---> adequate replacement is impossible ... and the last album is very gray and despondent.

Yeah, I think they made the best decision going for Mike Mangini, he's awesome. \m/