“I don’t have any regrets” – Mike Portnoy shares his feelings on parting ways with Dream Theater

Mike Portnoy, the drummer for Dream Theater, said he has no regrets about leaving the group in 2010. After a 13-year hiatus, Portnoy made his Dream Theater comeback last year, and almost everyone was pleased with how the reunion went. Though Portnoy’s comeback to the fold has been successful, he maintains that he has no regrets about leaving at that point. He spoke to Mariskal Rock about this.

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. Mike Portnoy

He was also happy about the time he spent away from the band.

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. Mike Portnoy