I have been a die hard dream theater fan for years. From the very first time I saw their performance at a friends house on tv I was hooked. And mike portnoy as well as petrucci were the twomain reasons for it. I never liked labries opera voice but he did a few good songs. Instrumentals were always the best part of DT. Well today I bought the new album popped it in, and although I liked it at first.... I came to quickly realize it was overly simple, and didn't sound like dream theater anymore. I opened the cover to realize why. The off beat master and drum god mike portnoy was gone. Shame on dt for not waiting for a breather and starting this lame effort to kick him out. All I can say is you have lost at least one fan for sure in me. I'm dissapointed beyond words and I hope this album flops because sadly its simply not the same!! You're new album is studio sound garbage compared to the incredible DT of old.... Wow man... Sad.