It was recently reported that legendary psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd will be releasing their first album in 20 years titled The Endless River this October. Yet, as excited as most Floyd fans around the world seemed to be, there were evidently quite a few who remained suspicious. Of those included, Dream Theater and Winery Dogs drummer Mike Portnoy, in particular, had something to say.
After it was unveiled to the masses via a tweet from guitarist David Gilmour's partner Polly Samson that The Endless River would be comprised of music from the days of 1994's The Division Bell – the band's last record – Portnoy took his aggravation to Facebook. The musician stated, "What's this about a new "Pink Floyd" album? Last I checked, [Roger] Waters is no longer in the band and [Richard] Wright & [Syd] Barrett are dead ... if these are leftovers from The Division Bell sessions, then just put 'em on a [The Division Bell] Special Edition release! It's disrespectful to Roger & everything he built for all those years! Just do a solo album Dave [Gilmour]..."
As one can imagine, the bold statement was followed by some support but also a great deal of opposing views from fans who believe another Pink Floyd album is perfectly understandable and justified.
The drummer then granted some leeway, speaking to the Facebook commentary, "Hmm ... Lots of bickering over my Pink Floyd comments! OK, I'll meet the Gilmour fans half-way and say IMO, the "real" Pink Floyd is BOTH Gilmour/Waters TOGETHER ... Piper was a Syd album, The Final Cut was a Waters album and [A Momentary Lapse of Reason] / [The Division Bell] are Gilmour albums ... the "magic" was Waters / Gilmour TOGETHER."
The Endless River will include band members David Gilmour, the late Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason. Roger Waters, however, is not excepted to appear.
