mike portnoy 08年在北京
mike portnoy在其facebook上发文表示要离开dream theater，DT官方已经证实。mike的facebook全文如下：
Wednesday September 8th 2010
I am about to write something I never imagined I’d ever write:
After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater….the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century.
To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision…it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so….
After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater…
Please don’t misinterpret me, I love the DT guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them…it’s just that I think we are in serious need of a little break…
Dream Theater was always my baby…and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985…24/7, 365…never taking time off from DT’s never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was “off” between cycles)…working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band…
But I’ve come to the conclusion that the DT machine was starting to burn me out…and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my DT spirit hungry and inspired.
We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a “hiatus” to recharge our batteries and “save me from ourselves”…
Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather…I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be…
While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy (hell, my father named the band!!), I do not want to stand in their way…so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes….
Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of DT and I talked about “always following your heart and being true to yourself”…sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater…and I would simply be “going through the motions”, and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.
I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come…I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played….
I’m sorry to all the disappointed DT fans around the world…I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work…I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)…but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within….
You DT fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me….(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)
Sadly…
Your fearless ex-leader and drummer,
MP
（APN提供）
中文版，也让更多DT粉丝知道具体内容。
2010年9月8日 星期三
下面的内容是我从来没想到我会要写的：
经过了25年，我决定离开我所建立的、领导的，也是我深爱长达四分之一个世纪的乐队，DT。
很多人都会被我的举动深深震惊，而且我也会被很多人误会，但是相信我，这不是一个草草的决定，这是我挣扎了一年作出的选择。
在过去和Hail,Transatlantic,Avenged Sevenfold经过很多美好的时光后，我发现我和他们的成员关系走得越来越近，甚至比DT还近，我们一起度过了愉快的时光。
请不要误会，我爱着DT的伙伴们，我们很早就已经是朋友，我们有着很深的友谊，我们只是需要个短暂的休息。
DT一直就像我的孩子，我从1985年开始每一天都在精心的照料着它，每天24小时，每周七天，每年365日，尽到了我应尽的所有责任，比任何一个对乐队负责任的人还要做得多得多。但是我发现DT这台机器渐渐的将我这种燃料耗尽了，我真的需要稍微休息一下，来拯救与DT其他成员的关系，同时也保持我这份对 DT精神的可望和灵感。
在20年的日子里，我们不停的在进行写作、录音、巡演的循环，不论从哪方面讲，我们都未曾止步，我想这么多年，大家稍微离开几个月或许是个很有帮助的事情，我真诚的希望乐队能同意我这短暂的离开，让我充下电，同时拯救我与大家的关系。
不幸的是，在我与大家谈论这件事情之后，他们不这么认为，而且决定继续下去，而不是稍事休息，我甚至不顾我最初的想法，请求在2011年间断性的做些工作，可惜事与愿违。
这个决定让我觉得很不舒服，DT就这么离开了MP（靠，我老爸命名乐队为DT！），我不同意他们的想法，所以我只好牺牲自己，就这么离开乐队，不听他们的劝阻。
很奇怪的是，我刚好看到了不久前对我的采访，问及DT的将来，我答到“跟随你的心，做真实的自己”。。。糟糕的是，在这个特别的时刻，我的心没和DT在一起，如果我为了顾全大局而坚持留在DT，装出没事的样子，那就没有做我真实的自己。。。
衷心祝愿我的朋友们，希望他们能继续发扬我们一起创造的光荣传统，让我们的粉丝们在将来继续得到快乐，我为我们的每一张专辑骄傲，为我们写的每一首歌骄傲，为我们一起表演的每一场现场骄傲。。。
对所有为我感到失望的粉丝，我要说抱歉，我真的尝试挽救这种局面，我真的只是想要休息一下（而不是分开），但是强扭得瓜不甜，那是要发自内心的才行。
你们DT粉丝是世界上最好的粉丝，你们知道，我一直为你们努力工作，我希望你们能继续与我同在，不论我未来的音乐道路会怎样，而且你们知道我的工作准则，肯定在不久就会有新的MP计划！
真抱歉
你们无畏的前领导者与鼓手
MP
（ Desperado 翻译）
关于MP离队，Dream Theater的官方发言
致所有我们忠实的歌迷和朋友：怀着深重的悲伤与痛惜，我们宣布，Mike Portnoy，我们永远的鼓手与朋友，他决定离开DT。Mike这么多年在乐队中的地位，对我们所有人来说就是整个世界，具有职业精神，富有音乐才干，一切事务亲力亲为。不用怀疑：Mike一直是乐队中的主心骨。
然而Mike选择了从事其他冒险和挑战已成为事实。我们向你们保证，DT将会以同样的力量和同样的音乐传统继续前进，带着你们给予的令乐队取得如此成就的所有支持，那才是真正让我们感到欣慰的。
歌迷与朋友们：这只是“乌云与银衬”下的插曲。根据计划，我们将在2011年1月开始录制我们的新专辑，随后我们将进行一次有充分规模的世界巡演。“The Spirit Carries On 精神仍在继续！”
DT所有成员衷心希望Mike在他的音乐旅程中走好。我们在一起创造了漫长且有意义的职业生涯。祝他能找到所有他想要找的，这是我们真实的希望，也是他应得的快乐。我们会想念他。
（dtfanswang翻译）
Dream Theater其他成员对Mike离去发表意见
Labrie：我想多给点时间给你们【歌迷】去消化mike离开的消息.mike说过dreamtheater在一起的生活太累了，想要休息下，我们尊重他的选择
说完这个我还想强调一下我们想继续dream theater的意念
Petrucci：现在大家都应该知道mike离去的消息了，我也想跟大家交流一下，以免一些不实的猜想
我对mike的感情很好，我真心希望他高兴和成功，不管任何他想做的事。
我知道mike是唯一一个成员常去跟歌迷交流，所以我也想说从现在开始我也会多去我的官网和dreamtheater的官网跟你们交流，让你们知道我也在场.
对我来说DT的故事是一个竞争，一个纯音乐性的象征 感谢我们幸苦的努力带来了成功
mike的离去是一件伤心的事情，但是我还想继续下去这个旅途，跟其他几位世界上最棒的乐手一起！
Rudess：所有人都在问我对Mike出走的意见，还有DT的巨大改变
我一直都比较擅长用我的音乐来解释我的心情，所以我决定这次也用音乐来表达