Mike Portnoy Plays ‘Name That Tune’ on Pokemon Drum Kit
Mike Portnoy has returned to the Loudwire studio to crush another undersized drum kit! This time, we got our hands on the Pokemon kit Portnoy so desperately wanted and the legendary drummer performed another round of ‘Name That Tune.’
You may remember Portnoy’s outrage during his Hello Kitty drum session from last year. We didn’t read the percussionist’s rider, which clearly stated Mike only played Pokemon kits. We also neglected to provide double bass drums and the purple star decal on his one cymbal. This time around, we hooked Mike up with black hardware and double bass, but still accidentally gave him the orange star cymbals. Portnoy has actually switched endorsements to the blue star, so he took it upon himself to color in our mistake.
In this new clip, Mike starts off with some of his own Dream Theater material, blasting into “Six O’Clock” from Awake and “Honor Thy Father” from Train of Thought. Mike’s been manning the kit for Twisted Sister’s final tour dates, so he gave us some of A.J. Pero’s iconic “We’re Not Gonna Take It” drum beat.
After Portnoy sent pieces of his new Pokemon kit flying across the studio, he went into an epic round of ‘Name That Tune.’ Now that he could work with a double kick, Portnoy played some of rock and metal’s most iconic drum parts featuring rapid-fire kick drums. Like a true Pokemaster, Portnoy absolutely blazed through Judas Priest’s “Painkiller,” King Diamond’s “Welcome Home” and he even attempted the impossible by taking on Dave Lombardo’s iconic double kick fill in Slayer’s “Angel of Death.”
Watch Mike Portnoy exhibit his masterful skill in the video above!
Mike Portnoy: 'Name That Tune' on Hello Kitty Drum Kit
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