Mike Mangini ‘Understood’ Dream Theater’s Reunion with Mike Portnoy

Last week, the unthinkable happened when Dream Theater announced they were reuniting with founding member and drummer Mike Portnoy. It was a wild moment that while super exciting for fans, meant that Portnoy’s replacement for the last 13 years Mike Mangini was no longer in the band.

While our initial reaction to the news was holy shit, we couldn’t help but wonder how Mangini felt about the news. And while he’s got his own solo shit coming out soon, it turns out that Mangini’s taking the whole thing in stride. In fact, during an interview with The Mistress Carrie Podcast, he’s totally cool with how his tenure with Dream Theater came to an end.

“A decision was made that I understood. That’s all it is. ‘Cause when I heard the decision, I understood it. I tried to explain that I understood the parameters of that being a music thing. Anyway, it’s as simple as that. And I’m telling you, I was, like, ‘Okay, ‘I get that.’ The situation made sense to me when I heard it in that — I don’t know, I guess I just skipped out and thought, ‘Oh, that’s an original bandmember going back to a band. Oh, I get that. Okay, I get it.’ And that’s it. I mean, that is literally it.”

The 60-year-old drummer said he looks back fondly on his time with the band, calling it an “unbelievable experience.”

For those out of the loop, Dream Theater announced Portnoy was back in the band last Wednesday. In their statement, each member got to comment on the announcement. In every instance, each member praised Mangini’s professionalism, including founding member and bassist John Myung.

“I wish nothing but the best for Mike Mangini for all the blood, sweat and tears he put into DT during his 13-year tenure with the band.”

Dream Theater is apparently working on or about to work on their 16th studio album. When more details emerge on that front, we’ll be sure to share that with you.