Mike Portnoy's Shattered Fortress was an American supergroup formed in 2017 by Mike Portnoy to finally perform the Twelve-Step Suite in its entirety, along with some other Dream Theater classics.
Background[]
While he was still with Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy expressed wishes to play the entire Twelve-Step Suite together in concert with the band. He even saved The Shattered Fortress for this hypothetical tour, hence, why it was not played on the Black Clouds & Silver Linings Tour. Unfortunately, Portnoy left the band before this could come to fruition, and the band premiered The Shattered Fortress live in 2014 on the Along for the Ride Tour.
In mid-to-late 2016, Portnoy was announced as a special guest on the series of Cruise to the Edge shows for 2017. Cruise to the Edge is a multi-day music festival housed on a cruise ship. Portnoy was a special guest, since the cruise would also be celebrating his 50th birthday. It was announced that he would be assembling a prolific group of artists to perform the music he had planned for the trip, spanning nearly 30 years of his career.
On Feb. 10, 2017, Mike Portnoy was slated to perform a surprise slot on Cruise to the Edge 2017. He began his slot with a semi-reunion of Liquid Tension Experiment, with Diego Tejeida of Haken on keyboards, Tony Levin on Chapman Stick and bass, and Eric Gillette of the Neal Morse Band on guitar performing Paradigm Shift, Acid Rain, and Universal Mind.
Afterwards, Portnoy brought Ross Jennings, Charlie Griffiths, Richard Henshall, and Conner Green of the progressive metal band Haken onstage and announced that he would finally be performing the Twelve-Step Suite live in its entirety for the first time. He also brought up other guests to perform lead vocals, such as Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation for This Dying Soul, and Ted Leonard of Enchant for The Root of All Evil. The performance was a massive hit with those present, and soon Portnoy was getting offers from major festivals to and other venues to perform their set. This soon expanded to a European tour, and the band toured most of 2017, starting in London, England on Jun. 28th, 2017 and ending in Melbourne, Australia on Nov. 25th, 2017. There are no plans for the group to reform.
Band Members[]
- Mike Portnoy - drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on Repentance, co-lead vocals on The Shattered Fortress
- Eric Gillette - lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on The Root of All Evil, co-lead vocals on The Shattered Fortress
- Ross Jennings - lead vocals, backing vocals on Repentance
- Charlie Griffiths - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Richard Henshall - rhythm guitar
- Diego Tejeida - keyboards, keytar, samples
- Conner Green - bass
Setlist[]
Intro[]
- Prelude (by Bernard Hermann, from the Psycho soundtrack; played from recording)
- Scene One: Regression (Hypnotherapist spoken word section only, with instrumental snippets from A Fortune in Lies, 6:00 and Honor Thy Father; played from recording)
- Scene Two: I. Overture 1928
- Scene Two: II. Strange Déjà Vu
- The Mirror (with keytar solo and Lie guitar solo outro)
Twelve-Step Suite[]
- The Glass Prison
- This Dying Soul
- The Root of All Evil (Eric Gillette on lead vocals)
- Repentance (Mike Portnoy on lead vocals)
- The Shattered Fortress
Encore[]
- Scene Six: Home
- Scene Seven: I. The Dance of Eternity
- Scene Nine: Finally Free (with instrumental snippets from Scene Seven: II. One Last Time and A Fortune in Lies)
Tour Dates[]
Dates are written mm/dd/yyyy.
- 02/10/2017 - Atlantic Ocean @ Cruise to the Edge 2017
- 06/28/2017 - London, England @ KOKO
- 06/30/2017 - Barcelona, Spain @ Be Prog! My Friend 2017
- 07/01/2017 - Paris, France @ Le Trianon
- 07/02/2017 - Malmö, Sweden @ Slagthuset
- 07/03/2017 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Kulturfabrik
- 07/04/2017 - Assago, Italy @ Teatro della Luna
- 07/05/2017 - Pratteln, Switzerland @ Z7 Konzertfabrik
- 07/06/2017 - Tilburg, Netherlands @ Poppodium 013
- 07/09/2017 - Tel Aviv, Israel @ Havana Music Club
- 07/11/2017 - Moscow, Russia @ ГЛАВCLUB
- 07/12/2017 - St. Petersburg, Russia, @ Aurora Concert Hall
- 07/14/2017 - St. Goarshausen, Germany @ Freilichtbühne Loreley (Night of the Prog XII)
- 09/08/2017 - Atlanta, GA, USA @ ProgPower USA XVIII
- 09/10/2017 - Mexico City, Mexico @ ESP Prog Night
- 09/24/2017 - New York, NY, USA @ Irving Plaza
- 10/19/2017 - Santiago, Chile @ Teatro La Cúpula
- 10/21/2017 - São Paulo, Brazil @ Carioca Club
- 10/24/2017 - Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Teatro Vorterix
- 10/26/2017 - Bogotá, Columbia @ Auditorio ABC del Colegio Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo
- 11/16/2017 - Auckland, New Zealand @ Studio The Venue
- 11/18/2017 - Brisbane, Australia @ The Tivoli
- 11/20/2017 - Perth, Australia @ The Astor Theatre
- 11/22/2017 - Adelaide, Australia @ The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel
- 11/24/2017 - Sydney, Australia @ The Metro Theatre
- 11/25/2017 - Melbourne, Australia @ Croxton Park Hotel