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Music Dorkery

IS THERE ANY DOUBT THAT MIKE PORTNOY IS ONE OF THE BEST DRUMMERS ON THE PLANET?

 Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 10:00am by

No… no, there isn’t. Even in those rare moments when he’s just playing a simple beat he’s so deep in the pocket it’s fucking ridiculous.

Apparently this comes from a DVD called Drums of Thought, which features Mike’s Drum-cam footage from Dream Theater’s Train of Thought recording sessions.

-VN

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  • BassTom

    hes amazing, one of the best drummers ive seen live. he used to have a way bigger kit and do long solos live, then he was getting shit from people about being a “show off” then he took like half of the kit away and toned it down a bit, which i think sucks. But on the last tour he was at about 3/4 of the kit he had when they played budokan.

  • Joe

    I think Mike Portnoy is the best drummer now, but in 5 years, Chris Adler will have smashed the competition.

  • Rolling Thunder

    If I wanted to watch someone masturbate exceedingly well, i’d come over to the Metal Sucks Mansion anytime between 6pm and 6am.

    I’d like to see MP kill it on my kit, 2 cymbols and single bass drum.

  • groverXIII

    I think I peed a little.

    I know it’s not necessarily as popular with the DT fans, but Train Of Thought is my favorite DT album. Gotta love the heavier stuff they do.

  • SK

    I’ve never understood the hype surrounding this guy…yeah hes in the pocket and all…but great NO!. Lacks originality,rawness, and not to mention Dream Theater FUCKING SUCKS.

    He’s no Don Caballero.

  • SK

    And another thing….I think Mitch Mitchell is more deserving here…Show some FUCKING RESPECT..
    Thanx!

  • gnarlk

    give me dale crover any day…

  • Shanetera

    Just because his drum set has a thousand pieces, that doesn’t mean he’s a fucking amazing drummer.

  • lung

    it might just be me.
    but the fact that he us wearing a classic “Mr.Bungle” t shirt.
    from their first tour.
    just makes it even more mind blowing.

  • dthrasher

    I think a sign of a great drummer is having a small kit and still tearin it up. This 500 piece drum kit shit is ridiculous. Case in point, Neal Peart would be a hundred times less gay if he didn’t have all those goofy fucking chimes to ruin songs with.

  • Sammy

    I am thoroughly convinced Portnoy could play 6/8 time with his feet, 4/4 with the right hand and 12/16 with the left. All while keeping the crowd entertained while his bandmates forget there IS an audience.

  • ZapBranigan

    I like playing on a larger drum set. I play with 4 toms, 3 crash, 2 china, 3 splash, 1 bell plus of course snare, ride, hi-hat, & bass (w/double pedal).
    I look at it like a painter. A painter can paint an amazing piece in black & white. But take that same black & white painting and add some different colors to accent certain things and you could make something much more interesting (my opinion).
    The trick about playing on a larger set is to not over play, which is something I work on.
    The bare minimum is snare, bass and hi-hat. Everything else is extra.

  • http://hookssobig.blogspot.com Wayne

    I love you to pieces Vince, but fucking Mitch Mitchell died and you post this?? Yes, Portnoy is a great drummer, but fuck Dream Theatre and their masturbating.

    And gnarlk…right on, dude. Crover is the shit.

  • cornblood

    I don’t really listen to much Dream Theater, but as a drummer myself, I think Portnoy’s pretty good.

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    My friend, in this world there are two kinds of drummers: those who think Mike Portnoy is a god and those who think he is a second rate Neil Pert clone.

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimpanzee Person J. Nobody

    Um… Sean Reinert… *cough-cough*
    Portnoy’s great, though. Definitely somewhere near the top of my list.

  • http://www.myspace.com/corrosivefate Rohit

    @ Sammy

    6/8 time and 12/16 are pretty much the same thing and can be simplified into 3/4

    • AntiDtHater

      ummm, no not really…

      • Connor

        yes really.

  • haters suck!

    U know, haters are stupid!! Mike is a great drummer like it or not! One of the best out there, really. For those who hate dream Theater, what type of music you hear!?? let me know….maybe 3 minute pop songs….or brutal chaotic death which everything sound pretty much the same……..or maybe rap

  • Sammy

    @rohit: Don’t confuse the situation with your technicalities and facts.

  • gnarlk

    to the above genius: people who use the term hater are retards and yes i’d rather listen to a good hip hop album over dream theater.

  • Gravy

    hell yeah!!

  • iolanach

    I love Portnoy, but Sean Reinert and Gene “The Atomic Clock” Hogan are superior drummers, imo.

  • http://cafecomcigarros.blogspot.com wendell

    Yeah, he is great, but he should find another band, cause DT is way too boring.
    I would like to see him in The Mars Volta

    • http://Wesnaw Mark

      He helped avenged sevenfold with their newest album nightmare since their original drummer passed away in 2009…but mike later said on via facebook that he would no longer be working with A7X anymore and they found a new drummer, so he is obviously looking for another band to permanently play in other than DT.

  • Adam

    Give me a GospelChops drummer or George Kollias/Flo Mounier/Hannes Grossmann ANY DAY over Mike Portnoy. Listen to Tony Royster Jr. and THEN tell me how “in the pocket” Mike is.

  • Evan

    Wow, just because he has alot of different pieces on his kit, doesnt make it gay or stupid, it just means that he would like you put in as many different sounds as he can in one song, anybody who complains about his huge kit should shut up because you cant tell me that if you had his kit, you wouldnt use all the different cymbals, and all that crap, Portnoy is an extremely good drummer and thats that. How are you supposed to incorperate all these different sounds in a song if you only have 2 cymbals and a single bass drum?

  • Kim

    Show serious drummers some fucking respect and admit that Mike Portnoy sucks ass! He is the most untight drummer ever! He is groovy though, but alot of other drummers are too. I can see that noone in this forum is a serious drummer.. Just listen to a live Portnoy take for gods sake!