Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy has joined forces with Thin Lizzy guitarist/vocalist John Sykes and an as-yet-undisclosed bassist in a new power trio. The project has demoed 12 songs so far at a Los Angeles studio, with Portnoy describing one track as "copping the Zeppelin/Sabbath vibe" and another as "Pink Floyd meets Deep Purple!!! Some serious old-school classic rock."
In a posting on his official web site, Portnoy described the new group as "a completely ridiculous modern-day power trio" and calls it "real band" as opposed to a side project.
He adds, "I will divide my time as best as I can between the two (hey, if Corey Taylor and Jim Root, Mike Patton, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith, Zakk Wylde all can do it, so can I!) and I am equally excited by both... as they are both amazing new bands, but VERY different worlds musically... so there's really no clash creatively. Timing-wise, Adrenaline Mob is happening NOW, and my band with Sykes won't be released later next year, so they'll be able to co-exist just fine!"
Portnoy and Sykes appeared yesterday, Monday, July 25 at a taping of season eight of VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. The program's co-host Eddie Trunk tweeted about their new collaboration, "I heard demos. Sounds like killer Blue Murder meets '1987' Whitesnake. Amazing!"
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Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
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