So, Dream Theater have a new drummer now, after Mike Portnoy's unexpected departure last year. They've since got a new drummer (detailed in an hour-long three-part documentary on YouTube, embedded at the end of this post), and spent a few months in the studio, and now have a new single.
http://youtu.be/oasnbzEMV08
Maybe I'm overanalyzing things, but I can pick out some stylistic changes in there that I think could liven things up a bit. I'll wait to hear the whole album, as singles (especially prog singles) can often paint an incomplete picture, but this move to a new hitting-things-really-fast guy might actually be a good thing in the long run.
I really recommend watching this documentary though, or at least skimming it. There's a lot of really interesting stuff in terms of how their audition procedures went, and how different musicians approach a same task in drastically different ways. For a music geek, its really nice stuff. As well, the new guy's reaction when he gets told he's now Dream Theater's drummer is fucking priceless.
http://youtu.be/L609JsPFmmI
Dream Theater - The Spirit Carries On Episode 2 (http://youtu.be/-vaDfcKzLbY) (yeah, it won't embed for some reason...)
http://youtu.be/2QHMQjH17aw
A video of Mike Mangini's drum solo during one of the recent European shows has shown up on the internets. It deserves a watch. It doesn't start out as the most interesting drum solo ever, but at about the 2:00 mark I came to the conclusion that he had his wrists surgically replaced with that rubber is that they make superballs out of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymtfcgGSFf0
I love the tiny cymbal.
This is a drum cam of Vitek. He's so relaxed while playing this, it's incredible. Watch what he does at 4:06
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cgt32Z3hvs
That was a slick move! I don't think it was done completely on purpose, but having a stick get away from you and managing to catch it is pretty frickin' incredible.
Reminds me of this insanity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DVbt5W-DNc#t=1m00s
Mangini is the man - you don't play with Steve Vai for years unless you can do a couple things, and his one-handed rolls have to be seen to be believed. Basically everything you guys are saying.