Mike Portnoy and John Sykes Join Forces in New Supergroup

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!"