Mike Portnoy has reacted to an spoof online story claiming the drummer would be joining Rush for a 40th anniversary Permanent Waves tour.
The joke article appeared on Spanish website Rock Progresivo for Santos Inocentes Day – a December equivalent of April Fools' Day – and they even simulated a tweet from Portnoy which read: “Very happy and blessed to be part of this band that are part of my childhood and heroes of my adolescence.
“I will try to do it at 10% as well as my idol Neil Peart. It will be a pleasure to tour with Rush and I hope to see you all on the road.”
That prompted Portnoy to react to the tongue in cheek ‘news’ with the musician posting on his official Instagram account: “Hahaha, so everybody is sending this to me.
"Apparently some metal website posted a fake article saying I will be joining Rush in 2020 for a 40th anniversary tour for Permanent Waves – even to the point of creating a fake Twitter post from me!
“While that’s a pretty awesome – completely hypothetical – dream... and I would surely do it in a heartbeat... it’s unfortunately not true! But it is a cool idea."
He added: “In any case, just wanted to break the real news to anybody that had gotten their hopes up thinking that this may be real! OK, back to your regularly scheduled programming.”
Portnoy has previously spoken about his admiration for Peart, who retired following Rush’s 2015 R40 tour, saying: “I can’t possibly overstate how much Rush had an influence on me. From about 1981 until 1987 they were my gods. Neil was my god.
“He was a huge influence on my drumming – the size of the drum set, the odd time signatures, the progressive style. Everything about Rush was huge.”
Meanwhile, Portnoy along with his Sons Of Apollo bandmates are currently preparing to release their new studio album MMXX on January 17 through InsideOut Music.
The follow-up to Psychotic Symphony features the lead singles Fall To Ascend and Goodbye Divinity.
Sons Of Apollo: MMXX
1. Goodbye Divinity
2. Wither To Black
3. Asphyxiation
4. Desolate July
5. King Of Delusion
6. Fall To Ascend
7. Resurrection Day
8. New World Today
Sons Of Apollo 2020 European tour
Mar 02: Drammen Union Scene, Norway
Mar 03: Gothenburg Traedgarn, Sweden
Mar 05: Kyiv N.A.U Theatre, Ukraine
Mar 07: Moscow RED, Russia
Mar 09: St Petersburg Aurora, Russia
Mar 10: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Mar 11: Milan Live Club, Italy
Mar 13: Bilbao Santana 27, Spain
Mar 14: Barcelona Razzmatazz 2, Spain
Mar 15: Madrid La Riviera, Spain
Mar 19: London Islington Assembly Hall, U.K.
Mar 20: Eindhoven Prognosis Festival, Netherlands
Mar 22: Show Brno Sono, Czech Republic
Mar 24: Kosice Colosseum, Slovakia
Mar 25: Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
