Dream Theater’s Portnoy Honored To Be Touring With Iron Maiden

By now, you've probably heard that Dream Theater will be touring this summer with Iron Maiden. And yes, we're all psyched. But no one seems as psyched as Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who, just two weeks ago, finished helping Avenged Sevenfold track their forthcoming record as the fill-in kitman for the late Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan.

"After 25 years together, at this stage in our career, there's honestly only three bands Dream Theater would consider opening for and Maiden is one of them," Portnoy exclaims. "It is an absolute honor."

Maiden will be touring this year in support of 'The New Frontier,' which is expected to drop sometime in late summer. The tour will cross oceans and hit Europe as well, with Dream Theater on board. Unconfirmed rumors have Coheed and Cambria as the tour's other openers, but there's been no word from the prog band's camp so far.

"Through the years, we've done many one-off shows with Maiden, and they've almost all been overseas," says Portnoy. "It is very exciting to finally be doing a full tour with them and on our side of the pond, no less. These are gonna be amazing shows that the fans won't want to miss. Up the f---ing irons!"

Of course, Portnoy is also excited to play New York's storied Madison Square Garden, a venue which, even after all these years, Dream Theater has yet to rock. He admits that it "is a bit of a dream come true for us." He claims that, about a month ago, he was watching a video interview shot back in 1983, when he was in Intruder. "In the video before the show, I was interviewed and asked what my dream goal was. I responded 'To play the Garden.' It took almost 30 years, but it's surreal that I will now be able to check it off the list."