Mike Portnoy doesn't regret leaving Dream Theater despite massive success of his recent return to the band

(Image credit: Photo by Matt Quina/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy says he doesn't regret leaving the band in 2010.

Portnoy returned to Dream Theater last year after 13 years away from the lineup, and just about everyone seems to be thrilled with how the reunion has turned out.

But despite the success of his return to the fold, Portnoy insists he has no regrets about walking away when he did.

He tells Mariskal Rock: "I don't have any regrets. I think even leaving Dream Theater back in 2010, I don't regret that because I think if I had unhappily stayed at the time, I might've spent the rest of my life regretting not taking a chance.

"So it's always better to regret the things you have done than the things you haven't done. That was always my philosophy. I even wrote that in the lyrics for Repentance.

"I don't have any regrets because they're all part of the story and they're all part of what got me to where I am today. And luckily for Dream Theater fans, it's come full circle and it has a very happy ending in the end anyway."

As for how he spent those 13 years away from Dream Theater, Portnoy feels good about everything he achieved.

He adds: "I'm proud of it all. Dream Theater has created one of the biggest empires in progressive metal. So I'm proud of having been a part of that. But I'm also proud of everything I did the 13 years I was out of Dream Theater.

"I did everything from The Winery Dogs to Sons of Apollo, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, Metal Allegiance – so many different kinds of music, and I was able to do everything from thrash metal with Metal Allegiance to classic rock power trio with The Winery Dogs and everything in between.

"So all of these things are part of the big picture of who I am and what I've done with my life and my career. And I'm proud of it all."

Dream Theater will head out on a 40th anniversary tour later this year and into 2025. Full details are available on the band's website.

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.