have played their first show with drummer in 14 years. Portnoy, who last played with the prog-metal legends during the final show of the Black Clouds & Silver Touring tour in August 2010 – at the Makuhari Messe Kokusai Tenjijou Hall in Chiba, Japan – returned to the stage as Dream Theater kicked off their 40th anniversary schedule at the O2 in London. almost exactly a year ago, saying, "I am overwhelmed with joy to be returning home and reuniting with my brothers! There is so much shared history between us all.
..so many memories, so much music.
..to think we’re coming up on 40 years since this journey began! The idea of creating new music together is so exciting and I absolutely cannot wait to hit the road and get to play live for a whole new generation of fans that weren’t ever able to see this line-up before.
..There’s no place like home!” The band shared a new single, , earlier this month, their first since music since Portnoy's return, and confirmed that their 15th studio album, would be arriving in February.
The one remaining order of business was the return to live action, and that duly took place last night with a three-hour set successfully completed in East London. The band kicked off their set with 1992 album and finished with the classic Along the way, made its debut after the intermission, and Portnoy – sitting behind a drum kit boasting three bass drums – also played and for the first time. Both songs were originally recorded with Portnoy's replacem.
