It's been a year of ups and downs for Mike Portnoy. A desire for a small break to try and mend relationships with his bandmates in Dream Theater led to him bowing out of the prog monster he founded completely. Portnoy ended up lending his trademarked drum styles to Avenged Sevenfold on 'Nightmare' and subsequent tours after the untimely death of drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan, who always cited Portnoy as his favorite drummer. But now his time with the glitzy metalcore outfit seems to be over as well.

"Yes, the rumors are true ... Sadly my time with has come to an end," Portnoy said in statement. "The band has decided to carry on into 2011 without me ... I had a great time with them throughout 2010, but it was their choice to end the relationship at the end of 2010 as was always the initial plan."

Recently Portnoy took to Twitter with a cryptic message saying, "There's a lot of things going on in my life I wish I could openly and honestly talk about at the moment, but cannot ... but when I can, I will." Only time will tell if that is in reference to Avenged Sevenfold moving on or Dream Theater announcing they have closed in on his replacement.

As for what's ahead, Portnoy seems to be resting in all his accomplishments as he looks forward. "I am excited by the endless musical possibilities that lie ahead of me ... my love for music runs very deep and my taste is very broad and ecclectic [sic] which will give me the chance to explore many different things and collaborate with many great friends and artists I admire and respect."