I’m very excited and can’t wait to hear Dream Theater’s new album, hitting shelves next month, with new drummer Mike Mangini. It’s preordered and in the pipeline, but when I have a chance to take a listen, I’ll post my review. In the meantime, I’ve kept my ears fresh by following former DT drummer Mike Portnoy’s new band, Adrenaline Mob. These guys rock, really, really hard. Their EP is available on iTunes.

In other artistic news, my friend Jessica Prescott published a guest post that I wrote on her poetry blog. If you think you have what it takes to pen a magnificent six-word short story, Ernest Hemingway style, head over to the comments section and give it a shot.