Mike Mangini returns to the music scene with a new project after leaving Dream Theater.
The drummer’s new band, Monolith, includes Hernán ‘Motley’ Rodríguez on bass and vocals and Andy Barrow on guitar. Not much is known about them yet, but they have released their first song, ‘Oligarchs,’ with a music video.
The track is alternative metal with a mix of Sevendust, Clint Lowery, and Tremonti vibes, according to Metal Injection.
So far, Monolith has only introduced themselves through a few social media posts, calling the trio “a genre-defying band that embodies the fusion of rock and metal.”
Since leaving Dream Theater, Mangini has stayed busy. He released a solo album, ‘Invisible Signs,’ in November 2023. The album featured Tony Dickinson on bass, Ivan Keller on guitar, Gus G. (from Firewind and Ozzy Osbourne) on lead guitar, and former Evanescence guitarist Jen Majura on vocals.
Mangini joined Dream Theater in late 2010 after Portnoy left. He won the job over six other top drummers, including Marco Minnemann and Virgil Donati, in a three-day audition. The process was filmed for a reality show called ‘The Spirit Carries On.’
After leaving Dream Theater, Mangini said he understood why the band wanted to reunite with Portnoy. “All I know is the decision was made and when I heard it, all I pictured was, ‘Oh, this is an original guy going back to his band. Uh, okay. All right. Let’s go to the next thing,'” he told Eddie Trunk at the time.
He added, “It was nothing more. I was told. It was just nothing more than — it seemed so simple to me. And maybe intuitively it’s, like, ‘Oh yeah, I get it.’ And that was that. That’s really it.”
“The reason it was easy for me to deal with — very easy, actually — I was, like, ‘Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Original guy back in band.’ I got I got it. And I didn’t have to go do through a drop-down menu; I didn’t have to do it. It was just I looked at it and went, ‘Okay,'” Mangini also explained later on.
In a recent interview, James LaBrie praised Mangini for handling Portnoy’s return with professionalism. LaBrie said Mangini understood the decision and accepted it gracefully.
