Mike Portnoy says he won’t revisit Dream Theater material following his current run of shows with his Shattered Fortress project.
He revealed in 2016 that he planned to play the 12-Step Suite which features The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, The Root Of All Evil, Repentance and The Shattered Fortress to celebrate his 50th birthday on this year’s Cruise To The Edge.
That then led to further live dates with Shattered Fortress, which also features members of Haken and The Neal Morse Band.
But Portnoy, who wrote the collection of tracks to deal with his experience of alcoholism, says that once the shows come to an end, he won’t play Dream Theater material again.
He tells Metal Talk: “Initially, it was going to be a one-time thing for my birthday, but once word got out, I started to get offers from festivals in Europe, an American prog festival in September and then after that there were more offers from local promoters to play in other places.
“It’s now blossomed into a full European tour, dates in Australia and a run down in South America. It’s way beyond what I had ever anticipated.”
He adds: “As far as the music goes, this is closure for me. I don’t ever plan on revisiting Dream Theater material beyond this tour.
“This is the finite ending of the Dream Theater journey for me. I’ve been doing so many other things during the last six years, without touching the Dream Theater material after I do it on this tour, I have no plans of ever revisiting it.
“I have so many other things in my life and career. This is the end of that career musically, but lyrically the twelve steps are something I have to have in my life for the rest of my life.”
Find a list of Shattered Fortress’ planned live dates below.
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Shattered Fortress 2017 tour dates
Jun 28: London Koko, UK
Jun 30: Barcelona Be Prog My Friend, Spain
Jul 01: Paris Trianon, France
Jul 03: Esch Sur Alzette Kulturfabrik, Luxembourg
Jul 04: Milan Teatro Della Luna, Italy
Jul 05: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Jul 06: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Jul 08: Tel Aviv Teatre Club, Israel
Jul 11: Moscow Yotaspace, Russia
Jul 12: St Petersburg Aurora , Russia
Jul 14: Loreley Night Of The Prog, Germany
Sep 08: Atlanta Prog Power, GA
Sep 10: Mexico City El plaza Condesa, Mexico
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