Transatlantic:The Absolute Interview - Mike Portnoy interviewed by Ross Jennings (Haken)

[@Antsa70]

Haken's Virus is THE album of the year 2020. I really enjoyed listening this interview.

[@MrBenMcLean]

OK I'll have to listen to it but I seriously doubt it will beat Sola Gratia

[@marcoflores6661]

Oh yes it will!!

[@SamperorTV]

The live version of the album will be all four guys playing their own version of the album simultaneously.

[@fhdrummer8739]

Two talented legends talking about a legendary band releasing new legendary music! Much love!

[@newstuff1107]

Well maybe Ross is not a legend yet (I like him a lot anyways).

[@thalesprotazio]

The live version of the whirwind is the most impressive live album i've ever seen. The 100 minutes version of the Absolute Universe is the only thing that can be up to the challenge

[@EpicB]

It'll be supremely impressive if they perform it live in one go even if it can't fit on a single CD, given that The Whirlwind could already stretch over 80 minutes live. Worst case scenario they could format as two tracks on the live album and maybe offer as download of it that's listed as one track.

[@mikewright3614]

Can't wait for this! Just cancelled a meeting to watch it live. ha

[@raymondlte980]

hahaha bisa bat loh serbet warteg

[@bimagv]

superrrb

[@danieleiterer7468]

Ross! This guy has an amazing music taste, kind personality and outstanding voice.

[@artg2767]

The 5.1 version is awesome. Great job overseeing it Mike.

[@victormontielpiano]

Nice conversation between two prog friends/colleagues. Good memories from Ross singing in Mike's Shattered Fortress tour!

[@kevindelehanty7402]

Thank you for this interview and for the music--it is soul-enriching!

[@WarhawkBeyond2040]

It's always a great day when there is a new Transatlantic album, I am super pumped for this

[@Jahoragin94]

I'm sure with Covid it would have been tough to get any guests on this new album, but I hope Daniel Gildenlöw makes an appearance like on Kaleidoscopic. His voice is 👌 for Transatlantic

[@jeremythornton433]

I'm seriously looking forward to this!

[@johnrinehart8866]

Went to see Leprous in Austin for my buddy’s birthday and Haken was there. I had never heard of them at all. One of the coolest shows I’ve seen. Supposedly the guitar player was feeling horrible during the show but that didn’t change anything. Amazing show. Massive love for Mike Portnoy and his new stuff.

[@user-ez1xn2uk2m]

Dear Ross! I like Haken very much! Hope the band will reissue AFFINITY on vinyl in the near future! :)

[@evan-moore22]

Yes!!! We need this!

[@frankiepavinato]

1 hour ago InsideOut Music label declared there will be a reissue of Affinity!

[@user-ez1xn2uk2m]

@@frankiepavinato Just a moment! I'd like to check out this item in InsideOutShop.... YEEEESSSSS!!! I so it! Thanx a lot, bro!

[@TwoandaHater]

"go to garden" is such a british phrase, lol.

[@michaelradu4313]

PHENOMENAL interview! Can't wait for February 5th!

[@frankiepavinato]

I'm one of the fans who complained about the big box set as I/we wanted the 5.1 ch mix at an affordable price and I must really THANK the band and the label for listening to our request.

[@SteveMacLachlan]

Fascinating. Always great to hear the stories and steps in making albums

[@fernandademattos9530]

Absolutely love both of these guys! Excellent interview!!

[@bobcuesta2033]

Sorry, I beat you guys to it! Well, sort of... Me, being a Prog fan, and my wife, a Contemporary Christian music listener - when Testimony came out, I made a CD of just the vocal 'songs' of the story, one after the other, and kept it in (the CD player of) her car, and had the full length in my car. So she got into listening to the story in the songs, and when she rode with me in my car, was able to sit thru the prog interludes, as she waited for the next familiar bit. She was a Neal Morse/TA fan for life. Since then, we've seen Neal in all of his incarnations, including TransAtlantic, every time they've toured!

[@guidobischoff7642]

That was a fun interview!!!

[@jamesderekeikeland9048]

Look forward to get my hands on these albums, also love the last Haken "Virus" album

[@dewurstbursch5644]

Very interesting interviews, guys. Thank you for that!

[@zerodivider4333]

Oh wow. Two of my favorite musicians. I clicked the right link.

[@MischaESC2]

Two of my favorite musicians chatting a Prog Epic. What's not to like?

[@richardhermans4457]

Thankfully, Mike had the great idea to keep the original and for the group to let Roine mix the extended version Forever. Just got my vinyl copy in the mail from LaserCD, and looking forward to listening tonight with the wifey. What we used to know and Looking for the Light videos should receive videos of the decade. I know, they aren't quite up to the stellar creativity of WAP(lol), but the visuals and music are incredible. I love how Roine's mix of the album has more guitar and the mix just sounds better to me than the abridged version(sorry Neal).

[@erikmaronde2244]

If you don't already know: Ross Jennings is an amazing singer btw! Listen to Haken!

[@1satisfiedmind]

Manchester Orchestra did it with Cope and Hope, two very different versions of the same album, and they are both incredibly good.

[@MohitFrancisPradhan]

Love Mike ❤️

[@MohitFrancisPradhan]

Love from India❤️

[@erikmaronde2244]

Now I am really curious how it will sound. 🎶I love the new "Flower Kings" album btw😉

[@jeremythornton433]

I really hope there's going to be a "recording the album" video.

[@richardhermans4457]

There already is, it's going to be released as a documentary on blu-ray, and I believe it's included in the deluxe version.

[@maximechamberland5116]

It's always amazing to watch an interview with 2 super great musician together and be so earth on earth. We feel like Ross Jenning is a big fan and it feels so natural and fun! Always great to watch Mike Portnoy in an interview he is so humble! I like hear the process of creation behind a giant mammoth album like Transatlantic are doing.

[@DANTEFISI]

Hype!!!

[@doopum1]

They should have originally just done a 3cd + Blu-ray version. It doesn't take a lot of common sense that cd and 5.1 people would not want the vinyl. They could have put it out for $40 or $50 and saved a lot of cost on packaging too.

[@baptistebois5467]

The hype is real !!!

[@garanceadrosehn9691]

One difficulty with a set of vinyl is the cost it adds, particularly with shipping.

[@dougmcauliffe2253]

Welp, I have no clue which version to buy. Gonna choose abridged as a safe bet!

[@MrBenMcLean]

The "scale down" guy was Neal Morse according to the latest Neal Morse Inner Circle newsletter.

[@robertoiorio390]

Prog ❤️❤️

[@charvDKgtr]

I feel like I need a bit a venn diagram of whats on what version, sounds pretty complicated. Someone get on it.

[@EpicB]

Here's the track list reported for Forevermore (the long one): 1. Overture (also on Breath of Life) 2. Heart Like a Whirlwind ("Reaching For the Sky" on Breath of Life) 3. Higher Than the Morning (Also on Breath of Life) 4. The Darkness In the Light (Also on Breath of Life) 5. Swing High, Swing Low 6. Bully 7. Rainbow Sky 8. Looking For the Light (Track 6 on Breath of Life) 9. The World We Used To Know 10. The Sun Comes Up Today 11. Love Made a Way (Prelude) (Track 7 on Breath of Life) 12. Owl Howl (Track 8 on Breath of Life) 13. Solitude (Track 9 on Breath of Life) 14. Belong (Track 10 on Breath of Life) 15. Lonesome Rebel 16. Looking For the Light (Reprise) (Track 12 on Breath of Life) 17. The Greatest Story Never Ends (Track 13 on Breath of Life) 18. Love Made a Way (Track 14 on Breath of Life. For Breath of Life, besides Reaching For the Sky (which is confirmed to be an alternate version of Heart Like a Whirlwind from Forevermore) and Can You Feel It (which Mike Portnoy says in this interview is exclusive to Breath of Life), we have "Take Now My Soul" for something that doesn't appear to be on Forevermore, unless I'm missing something.

[@enamsenar]

@@EpicB tks for this. So, world we used to know is not in breath of life?

[@EpicB]

@@enamsenar Unless Take Now My Soul turns out to be an alternate version of The World We Used To Know, it appears The World We Used To Know is exclusive to "Forevermore". Can You Feel It from The Breath of Life is confirmed to not be on Forevermore at all; Take Now My Soul also does not appear on Forevermore under that title, unless Forevermore has it under a different title.

[@anthonyfarshaw8619]

If TransAtlantic is getting bigger and bigger and bigger all the time, I challenge you to do something like "The Black Codex" by Christiaan Bruin: Releasing a song every week of the year, so in the end you have a rock opera spread out over 8 discs. ;)

[@Rase177]

I don't understand. 3 versions of the first song? One and Two are from Abridged and Extended. But the third version Mike said is in THE ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE but I read the description doesn't mention about a full version of the song. Maybe its the Bluray edition? Anyone knows?

[@EpicB]

Breath of Life is the short one, Forevermore is the long one, and the third version is "The Ultimate Version", which is the Blu-ray, which will combine both versions of the album into a continuous 100 minute mega-epic.

[@Rase177]

@@EpicB thanks :D

[@raymondlte980]

ndang gageh oh Om Portnoy... selak ngantuk ki

[@juni3r]

Carpe Diem... From Portugal 🇵🇹

[@ScoJoTube]

Live ultimate version seems like a good idea for Morsefest 2021. Just saying.

[@feelxmusic]

Epic!👏

[@martinbuehler944]

Felix, you introduced me to Transatlantic some 20 years ago (as well as Flower Kings). We traded some discs, remember?

[@feelxmusic]

@@martinbuehler944 hey Martin, oh wow...ich muss gestehen ich erinnere mich grad (noch) nicht, aber das kommt sicher noch;-) du kannst mir auch gerne auf die Kontaktadresse auf www.feelxmusic.ch mailen?

[@MrBenMcLean]

Will it be up to fans to downmix the 5.1 mix to stereo? Somebody's going to have to.

[@arjanmaat1736]

Can I watch this without hearing snippets of music?

[@EpicB]

I don't think there are any aside from the brief clip of the overture at the start.

[@TonyAMO]

Ever considered contacting the Guinness Book of World Records?

[@ProgSnob14]

Looking forward to the big ass pack

[@janrusyoutubechannel8466]

And still they make albums faster than Metallica.

[@Girdedloins]

Great job Mike of keeping this thing moving and interesting. This Ross guy is a horrible interviewer. You bailed him out from dead air numerous times.

[@jamesderekeikeland9048]

He is vokalist in Haken and has just recovered from Covid 19, so not his profession and not on top of his game

[@MrFritzinger]

"This Ross guy" is the singer of one of the best bands I have ever heard, a band that Mike Portnoy is a fan of as well: Haken. I can only recommend checking these guys out. They put out some of the most amazing music of the last few years, and I'm not overstating this one tiny bit.

[@Girdedloins]

@@MrFritzinger Great, but that doesn't make him a great interviewer. He looked unprepared.

[@MrFritzinger]

@@Girdedloins I think he was prepared, but he is a fan of MP and Transatlantic like every one of us. It's understandable for a fan to be a little nervous during an interview ;)