Dream Theater have named Mike Mangini as their new drummer.He replaces co-founding member Mike Portnoy, who left the band in December following a stint with Avenged Sevenfold.Mangini, who has performed with the likes of Annihilator and Steve Vai, fought off strong competition from Thomas Lang (Glenn Hughes), Virgil Donati (Planet X), Marco Minnemann (Kreator), Derek Roddy (Malevolent Creation), Peter Wildoer (Darkane) and Aquiles Priester (Angra) to become the band's new sticksman. The series of auditions were filmed as part of an online reality show, entitled The Spirit Carries On. Click here to view the three episodes."The day that I got the phone call to be in Dream Theater, it took my brain a minute to assemble what was going on, and when it sank in, the feeling was just of tremendous relief," says Mangini. "It means so much to me.

"What it means to me to be part of not only such a legendary band, but this band, is a sense of fulfillment and purpose," he adds. "I feel like a puzzle piece, and with Mike [Portnoy] in particular, I feel really honoured to carry on the torch for him; I'm carrying on his spirit."The band are currently working on their 11th studio album. No release date has been set.