Mike Portnoy - Why the '80s Were Better Than the '90s for Metal

Throughout music history, different decades brought different waves of rock and metal, but they've managed to coexist ever since the '70s. Mike Portnoy, however, has explained why the '80s were better than the '90s for metal.

During a Cameo video Portnoy made for Sobre La Dosis, he compared the different bands that rose during the '80s and the '90s, and cited Seattle grunge as a phenomena that had an effect on metal.

"Well, for metal, I would have to say the '80s, 'cause the '90s started to go downhill once grunge came around. The '90s… really, the only thing going for metal, for me at least, in the '90s was Pantera, Sepultura and Machine Head. Those were the only new bands, really, doing metal. All of the other great metal bands from the '90s all came around in the '80s," the drummer said.

"So for me, the '80s, we got Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Overkill, Exodus, Megadeth — that was all the thrash scene. And then all the early '80s stuff, you had Rainbow and AC/DC and Accept and Motorhead and Sabbath and Priest and Maiden. So, I think the '80s were definitely the stronger decade of the two."

Watch the full Cameo clip below.

Portnoy formed Dream Theater in 1985 with John Petrucci and John Myung, but they didn't release their first studio album until 1989. Despite the rise of grunge in the early '90s, Dream Theater experienced a breakthrough in '92 with their sophomore effort Images and Words.