Last week, Mike Portnoy unveiled his new band, Adrenaline Mob to a packed house in New York City. As you can see in the above video of the group's most apropros opening number, a raucous version of Black Sabbath's The Mob Rules, energy both on stage and off was in no short supply.
"The show was electric!" Portnoy raved to Noisecreep of the band's maiden performance. "The live chemistry in this band is ridiculous. Everybody is a true performer - I cannot wait for people everywhere to feel the adrenaline!"
In addition to Portnoy, Adrenaline Mob consists of Stuck Mojo/Fozzy guitarist Rich Ward, Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen, Sonic Stump guitarist Mike Orlando and bassist Paul DiLeo. The group has already completed recording a a CD. Speaking to MusicRadar, Portnoy said, "The album is strong; it's only of those records where every song's great. So I don't think the appeal will rest solely on my following; I think we can really spread out and develop a new audience."
Portnoy figures that Adrenaline Mob's debut album will be released either late summer or early fall. Before then, he sees the group hitting the road. "We really want to treat this as a real touring entity, a real band," he said. "I think people are going to get pretty excited once they see us."
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Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.