Dream Theater's 'Pull Me Under' Almost Didn't Make the Album

Artists have some very pivotal selections to make all through their careers, and Dream Theater virtually made one that might have modified their complete trajectory. Mike Portnoy, who lately rejoined the group, defined how the track “Pull Me Under” virtually did not make the album throughout a latest particular with Drumeo.

“Pull Me Under” is the opening observe on Dream Theater’s 1992 sophomore album Images and Words. In the video uploaded by Drumeo, Portnoy mentioned the track’s origins and demonstrated methods to play it on the drums, making it the first time he is publicly performed the track in over 13 years.

Portnoy left the band in September of 2010, and it was simply introduced that he is returned in October, changing Mike Mangini. So, in line with Setlist.fm, the final time the drummer performed “Pull Me Under” with Dream Theater was in July of 2010 after they have been opening for Iron Maiden.

“It was only announced that I’m rejoining Dream Theater, only a few weeks ago at the point of filming this. So for me to play this now, it’s kind of just like riding a bicycle. The muscle memory is there for life, it’ll be there forever,” Portnoy stated.

Earlier in the video, although, the rocker admitted that they virtually did not embody the observe on Images and Words.

“‘Pull Me Under’ was the song that put Dream Theater on the map. I think it’s pretty safe to say if we didn’t write that song, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he stated, including that it wasn’t going to be on the album till their A&R consultant, Derek Oliver, urged they write one other track that was “a little more concise.”

READ MORE: James LaBrie Names the Best Song for Someone Just Getting Into Dream Theater (It’s Not ‘Pull Me Under’)

Though the outcome wasn’t a observe that was notably concise in size, Portnoy described it as “easily digestible,” and famous that it isn’t very troublesome to play on the drums both. Later in the video, he recalled occasions the place he would change up the tempo whereas they have been performing it dwell as a result of he received bored of enjoying it the similar approach time and again for many years.

See the whole video, which features a breakdown of methods to play the track’s totally different components after which a full efficiency, beneath.