Originally published in Metal Hammer magazine (UK) 214 · February 2011
John Petrucci comments (excerpt)
ArticleJohn Petrucci1 min read
Classic Rock’s High Voltage festival have announced their two headline acts. Judas Priest and Dream Theater for the 2011 event – and will be the former’s last ever UK performance. The event will again take place in Victoria Park in London, this year happening on July 23-24.
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This may not be a final hurrah from Dream Theater but it will be a watershed, as it will be their first UK performance since the departure of drummer co-founder Mike Portnoy (currently with Avenged Sevenfold) and they’ll be introducing their new drummer:
“We do have a guy,” guitarist John Petrucci told Classic Rock. “We’re excited about our choice but we’re not ready to make an announcement just yet.” The band’s announcement comes hot on the heels of Mike Portnoy’s suggestion that the band needed some time off to ‘recharge their batteries’.
“I started this band with Mike and John [Myung, bass] more than 25 years ago and it has steadily gained momentum. We had no intentions of disassembling our empire, or even slowing it down. If anything. especially coming off a US tour with Iron Maiden, we felt the opposite.”