Mike Portnoy leaves Dream Theater

"...We'll meet again, my friend. Some day soon..."I can barely wrap my head around it, but apparently Mike Portnoy is leaving Dream Theater after 25 years.

Though the split is reportedly amicable, Mike has decided that he "needed a break" from the band he's been a major part of since before its inception.  From the sound of it, he's gotten kind of burned out on pouring so much of his time and energy into the band even during their down time between albums (only 11 studio albums since 1985 isn't exactly a busy schedule, after all) and it got to the point where playing in other projects was more fun than writing and recording with the band his own father named so many years ago.  And regardless of what you may think about Dream Theater as a band, there's no question as to their musical legacy.  Or to the fact that Portnoy was a major driving force behind their sound.  And with the band still on track to start recording in early 2011, who knows what direction things will go for DT?

I'm not sure what to think of it all, but as a fan of both the band and Mike as a talented musician, I respect their decision and hope everyone prospers from here on out.

Fans will miss you, Mike.  Keep up the good work!

- Genghis is feeling a little nostalgic...

You Maybe Wanna Talk?

There are some interesting discussions happening over in our Discussion forums if you want to chime in.  Check it out and "hip us to your personal wisdom".

- Genghis loves to bust out his Dennis Miller quotes...

Where's The Metal Minute?

Sorry about the whole Metal Minute being on indefinite hiatus, but some unforeseen things have put that on hold.  But!  Buuut it's coming back soon, I promise.

I'm trying to figure out a way to put them out weekly and ON TIME.  I think the whole live production with me standing in front of the monitor, Talk Soup style, doesn't work as easily as I'd hoped, but it's getting figured out.  If anyone has any suggestions for FREE software for video production that would allow me to make my own Powerpoint presentation and I can simply overdub my voice over it, I'd be quite pleased.

- Genghis really does enjoy The Metal Minute, seriously...

Vanden Plas - The Seraphic Clockwork

German progressive metal at its finest.For those of you whose only familiarity with Vanden Plas is seeing the name on the back of some rich guy's Jag, this German progressive metal band has been cranking out music for nearly 25 years.  That said, The Seraphic Clockwork is only their 6th studio album to date.  And if you're looking for music set firmly in the archetypes of the genre, you've come to the right place.

Vanden Plas' strengths lie in crafting compelling rhythms with a judicious use of dynamics, reminiscent of genre forefathers like Dream Theater.  Following another common prog metal standard, The Seraphic Clockwork is a concept album chock full of imagery.  Songs like Holes In The Sky will definitely call to mind the satisfying unison runs (at 3:35 in the track) heard so often on albums like Images and Words.  While Sound of an Angel wields the power of Symphony X-style interludes (@ 2:26) with ease.  But don't let me mislead you; Vanden Plas definitely puts its own stamp on the genre with a Gothic chorus on Sound of Blood (2:25) and a string accompaniment on Quicksilver (1:51) and On My Way To Jerusalem (:25), the album's showpiece.

Andy Kuntz ably handles the singing chores, from smooth crooning to accentuating growls, demanded of prog metal's better vocalists.  Stephan Lill's guitar work won't immediately blow you away necessarily, but make no mistake, he can play.  See what I mean on tracks like Quicksilver (7:29) and on the intense Rush of Silence (7:11) for proof of his skills.

The Bottom Line:  Despite a disappointingly flat mix overall, The Seraphic Clockwork is a solid album from one of the better bands in the genre.  Fans of prog metal should definitely add this to their collection.

- Genghis likes his metal proggy

We're Back!

As you might have noticed, we had a spot of bother with the website a few weeks ago.  Well, it was about time we updated and reorganized anyway even if it wasn't the way we planned on going about it.  But enough of that.

We're actually pretty excited to show you around the new place, including some of the new features here at The Right To Rock.  First, the podcast is back online with a new show: Episode #103, with special guest, Richard Christy, of Charred Walls of the Damned.

Next, we have a Discussions section which allows people to discuss various topics which Ragman and I will post for the listening audience.  The more interesting responses will be featured on future shows and might even get you a little something in return...

We've got a much better way to provide listeners and our guests with links to their sites on a separate Recommended Sites page in order to clean up our once cluttered sidebar.  Speaking of which, the sidebar on the right will contain better information about the CD of the Month as well as my Twitter feed (for whoever actually cares) so you can keep up with what's currently making our heads bang.

We'll add more features as we can, but until then, I'm thinking this will work out better than our old Wordpress site.  Hope you guys like it, and the podcast, and we'll keep on puttin' them out until our necks break from old age at a Megadeth reunion show.  Cool?

- Genghis wishes everyone a mighty HORNS UP!