Dream Theater

With friends (and bandmates) reunited for the band's 40th anniversary, it'll be a special night for fans at Wembley Arena.

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The return of Mike Portnoy, co-founder, drummer, songwriter, producer and all-around creative dynamo of Dream Theater, the world's biggest and arguably best progressive-metal band, has been a long time coming - 14 years, to be precise. Guitarist John Petrucci, a fellow original member, previews the Grammy-winning US/Canadian group's 40th-anniversary tour, which includes a date at London's O2 Arena, and looks further ahead to a brand-new studio album.

In a parallel life where you work as a bookmaker, what odds would you have given on Mike Portnoy returning to Dream Theater in their 40th-anniversary year?

Ha ha. That's a great question. Not too long ago I would have given very long odds on that. But life is funny that way. Time passes, things change and events unfold. Mike played on my solo record and he toured with me, and I could sense the fans suspecting something might happen. But I must stress that we really were not in that head-space yet. It just happened so quickly and felt right.

For long-term fans invested in the band's history, it was great to see Mike and singer James LaBrie finally bury the hatchet.

Absolutely, and for me too. There are no reasons why brothers should not be able to resolve any trauma that they've been through. At that point [when they reconnected] Mike's coming back still was not being discussed, and in the ethos of the universe it felt really, really positive to no longer have that sort of negativity in our lives any more.