THE BEAST

James LaBrie   says that he "highly" doubts   DREAM THEATER   will reunite with   Mike Portnoy   in the not-too-distant future, but he doesn't rule out the possibility completely.

Portnoy , who co-founded   DREAM THEATER   35 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with   AVENGED SEVENFOLD . He has since been replaced by   Mike Mangini   ( ANNIHILATOR ,   EXTREME ,   STEVE VAI ).

LaBrie   addressed the prospect of   Portnoy 's return to   DREAM THEATER   while filming a video message on   Cameo , which lets users hire celebrities to record brief, personalized video messages about virtually any topic.

Asked by one fan if he has been in touch with   Portnoy   at all these last 10 years, with the fan adding that he wants to see a one-off-only reunion with   Mike , like   DREAM THEATER   had previously done with keyboardist   Derek Sherinian   and vocalist   Charlie Dominici ,   LaBrie   responded (see video below): "I haven't spoke with   Mike   in 10 years, and to be honest with you, at this point in time, a reunion? I highly doubt it. But we don't know what the future holds, right? So, never say never, the saying is."

The singer had previously seemingly closed the door on the possibility of a reunion with   Portnoy , telling Chile's   Radio Futuro   in an August 2013 interview: "That possibility, I don't see it ever happening; it's not gonna happen. Because, first and foremost,   Mike Mangini   is a full-fledged member of the band now, he's a phenomenal drummer and he's doing everything that we could possibly want as a drummer in a band. He's helping us realize exactly what we wanna do right now musically. And he will be our drummer until the day that we finish doing this, when we conclude.   Mike Portnoy   was a big part of our past, but I think that's where it's going to remain. He was a drummer from the past. And as far as presently and into the future, it will be   Mike Mangini , and we all feel very strongly about that. He's an incredible drummer, he's an incredible asset to the band, and he is fulfilling our wildest dreams as far as what we're doing musically and what we're doing with each album. So that's the way it stands."

After   Portnoy   posted a photo two years ago of him hanging out with   DREAM THEATER   guitarist   John Petrucci , many fans expressed hope that it represented a thawing of tensions between the two musicians who had been friends for more than three decades. But   John   played down the photo's significance, telling   Music Radar : " Mike   and I have maintained a relationship and have been friends all these years. Our families are all good friends, and we've gotten together several times. That just was the first time we took a photo and posted a photo. [There's] nothing to read into, other than it's good to maintain good relationships. That's really all it is."

Portnoy   told   "The Metal Podcast"   that he and   John   had "actually reconnected" in recent years "and gotten together many times and had dinner together with our families." He added: "The reality is he and I have been friends since the first week in college back in September of 1985, so it's a relationship that goes back [35] years. And our families are all friends, our wives and our kids are all friends, we all grew up together, and that's never gonna go away.

"After I left   DREAM THEATER , there were some years' worth of drama and bullshit," he admitted. "But the reality is you put all that aside and friends are friends and family is family and   John   and I will always be friends and family."

Mike   told   Loud   that he left   DREAM THEATER   because he wanted to expand his musical horizons. "[I didn't] want to go to my grave and just be the drummer from   DREAM THEATER ," he said. "I knew there was way more to what I had to offer."

Via Blabbermouth