Man... the degree of pure speculation being treated as absolute fact here is insane. I'm guessing that their lawyers probably told them to not give any details of the lawsuit(s) and to just to respond that way whenever the issue came up. If an interviewer says "So I hear Portnoy is suing you for X, Y and Z", and instead of denying it they respond by saying "There are legal issues, but we can't talk about them", that doesn't necessary mean X, Y and Z are correct just because they weren't denied. It's possible that it just means they can't talk about it.



This was posted by someone at Portnoy's forum (and I saw it on FB):Some "interesting" and shocking details on DT/MP split:Disclaimer:the following information are taken from the German Metal Hammer and Rock Hard magazine which both came out 3 days ago !For the parts listed below, I have translated the German text which in itself MIGHT not be a proper reflection of what John P and James have said in English.I have only focused on some new information not the whole very long interview.The interviewer(s) seems not to be a pro Mike looking at the question and comments they make.Last but not least, I am a big MP and DT fan and really hope they will have success with everything they do.----------------Mike said he likes to take a break, after 5 years or so the band will come back stronger than ever.When everyone else refused to take the break, he said "ok then I need to quite. I don't feel connected to DT anymore !"John P did try to convince Mike to stay. The band said that he is doing a huge mistake and the AX7 gig is like a affair and one day he will be overtaken by the realityAround 8 weeks later, after AX7 and Mike separate ways, Mike has send an Email to DT asking for rejoining, which the band refuses (They had already selected MM and where wondering how in 8 weeks the passion for DT did came back)The interviewer (Metal Hammer) is asking:"So to take revenge Mike is now suing you for a lot of money, claiming share of ownership of the band's name"James: It is correct that there are some legal issues which we need to sort out. Fact is that Mike took a lawyer and we have informed ours. We are are not allowed to share more"John P: at the end theses are some private issues which we should not talk about in public. Fact is we the band own Dream Theater's name/brandInterviewer: It must be a real torture as musician to have to deal with these kind of issues:James: the times of friendship with Mike, when we where friends and would hug each other and wishing him success for the future are definitively over. He needs to clarify everything via the lawyer now, there no other way. It is unpleasant but he did decide to take this path and now the judges will have sort things out "John: I don't see a massive issue/deal. These things are part of life, no matter if you are a cookie seller or musicianWith regards to the new album:The Interviewer: "The situation for James did not significantly changed. His demand to have more involved in the lyrics was not approved"James: Well, for this album, I have submitted 3 lyrics but for some reasons only one was picked up. You never know, maybe the other two will be reconsidered next timeFrom Rock Hard:When Huge Syme did create the art work for the album, the working title was "Bridges in the Sky" !!Later it was changed to "A dramatic turn of events" and the original title which came from the song "The Shaman's Trance" was used to rename the actual song !EDIT by XJDenton: Because its a point well made and something the users could do with reading before posting, I am adding this quote to the original post: