Lombardo was fired last year after a contractual dispute and has just released his second album with Philm. Portnoy quit Dream Theater in 2011 and, despite a last-minute attempt to rejoin, he's gone on to work with the Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, Transatlantic, Bigelf and others.

Asked if he feels a similar satisfaction to Portnoy, Lombardo tells Rocksverige: "Absolutely. You're not part of this machine that has to go on tour 90 days or 100 days out of the year - to pay for other people's mortgages.

"You're doing it for yourself, and it's creativity based on what you like. You express yourself in many different ways and it's definitely more satisfying and challenging too. You're not with the same guys and the same formula; you're challenged by walking into a room with new artists and it's like, 'Okay, how am I gonna make this work?'