In a new appearance on Drumeo, Mike Portnoy challenged Danny Carey to perform a Dream Theater song.
Portnoy attempted to learn Tool’s “Pneuma” as quickly as he could but found it extremely challenging. He then issued a playful challenge to Carey:
“Danny, you’ve got to come in and do [Dream Theater’s] ‘The Dance of Eternity’ now.”
Portnoy on the Complexity of ‘Pneuma’
Portnoy initially spoke about the difficulty of “Pneuma”:
“I knew this song from hearing it as a fan, as a casual listener. I was blown away by it, but never in a million years had I considered learning it. There’s no way on Earth I could have learned all of Danny’s fills. I mean, I’m sure Danny spent days, weeks, months, years constructing this masterpiece – and it is a masterpiece, it really is – but there’s no way. Even though I know my odd time signatures and all that… I’m a feel guy, and this was a challenge and a half. I don’t know if I should thank you or kill you.”
Mike’s Appreciation for Tool’s Music
Portnoy is a long-time fan of Tool. He previously shared his thoughts on the band on his YouTube channel in 2021:
“An experimental album, and strangely enough, my only Tool vinyl. This is the ‘Lateralus’ album, but honestly, I really should have all of those, mainly beginning with the ‘Aenima’ album. I think that was around ’96. Everything they put out – the ‘Aenima’ album, then this, then ‘10,000 Days,’ and then even their latest one, those four albums took about 25 years to get out, but every one of them is such quality, such depth…”
He continued, expressing what he loves about Tool’s music:
“I mean, the rhythms, and the odd time signatures, and the patterns, and it’s so intricately interwoven – it’s no wonder they take so long to put out albums because the quality on each one is just so deep. So yeah, I can’t say enough great things about Tool. I love them. Danny Carey is an amazing drummer, one of my favorite guys out there today. In any case, all of those albums are all equally incredible, so I need to get up my game and get those other ones on vinyl as well.”
Upcoming Tours
Tool started their UK/European tour on Saturday, May 25, in Hannover, Germany. Dream Theater will begin their first tour with Portnoy back in the band on October 20 in London, starting their UK/European leg.
You can watch Portnoy’s ‘Pneuma’ performance below.
