Mike Portnoy’s Dream Team Perform Dream Theater Classic

Mike Portnoy doesn’t dream small. He admits he had a few problems but turned things on their head by channelling recovery into a stone cold Dream Theater classic. Come this November, it will finally be our turn to see Dream Theater's 12-Step Suite live in concert. Intent on presenting the work in the best show ever, the iconic drummer will be enlisting a proverbial who’s who of progressive metal to help.

The 12-Step Suite is a series of five songs (The Glass Prison, The Dying Soul, The Root Of All Evil, Repentance and The Shattered Fortress) written by Portnoy, each included on one of five Dream Theater albums, being Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Train of Thought, Octavarium, Systematic Chaos, and Black Clouds & Silver Linings. The concept is difficult to explain, let alone perform so Portnoy couldn’t just hire any old session musicians — he busted out the Rolodex.

Joining Portnoy for the Australian tour will be Connor Green on bass, Charlie Griffiths and Richard Henshall on guitar, Diego Tejeida on keyboard and Ross Jennings on vocals. To some, those names may look familiar, but to the uninitiated, the aforementioned names make up progressive metal powerhouse Haken, widely regarded as modern day heirs to the Dream Theater legacy.

Joining the troupe is Eric Gillette, the stunning lead guitarist for the internationally acclaimed Neil Morse Band. As one unit, under the banner of Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, they’ll perform the Suite in its entirety, bookended with a number of other Dream Theater hits (check out Setlist.net and get seriously excited).

Let’s be clear - this is the drummer extraordinaire from progressive metal royalty, flanked by one of the best new neo-prog band striding the world’s stages, aided and abetted by a world class lead shredder. On one stage. In our cities.

Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress supergroup has performed The 12-Step Suite this year for the denizens of a number of lucky cities but make no mistake, it won’t last forever - in Portnoy’s own words (and the shouted for emphasis), “THIS IS IT! This WILL NOT BE HAPPENING AGAIN! So be sure to catch this ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT while you can!”

Tour dates:

18 Nov, The Tivoli, Brisbane

20 Nov, Astor Theatre, Perth

22 Nov, The Gov, Adelaide

24 Nov, Metro Theatre, Sydney

25 Nov, The Croxton, Melbourne

Tickets via Metropolis Touring.