Liquid Tension Experiment

Liquid Tension Experiment (LTE)
Liquid Tension Experiment onstage at Nearfest 2008. Bethlehem, PA.. From left: Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci.
Background information
Origin	New York City, United States
Genres	Progressive metal
Years active	1997–1999, 2008
Labels	Magna Carta
Associated acts	Dream Theater King Crimson
Past members	John Petrucci Jordan Rudess Mike Portnoy Tony Levin

Liquid Tension Experiment (LTE) was an instrumental progressive metal band founded by Mike Portnoy, then Dream Theater's drummer, in 1997. The band has released two albums through Magna Carta Records. A third album, with the absence of John Petrucci was released in 2007 under the name "Liquid Trio Experiment". A live album with the absence of Jordan Rudess (mostly) was released in 2009 under the name "Liquid Trio Experiment 2". Three live albums and two videos were released in 2009 by the complete band.

Liquid Tension Experiment was formed by former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. Portnoy first invited keyboardist Jordan Rudess and progressive rock icon Tony Levin (bass, Chapman Stick) of King Crimson and Peter Gabriel's band to join him. In his instructional video "Liquid Drum Theater", Portnoy said that his first choice for the guitar was Dimebag Darrell, but he was unable to join because of conflicting schedules. Two other primary choices, Steve Morse (Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Deep Purple) and Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) were also unavailable. Portnoy then turned to fellow Dream Theater member John Petrucci to fill the position (despite initially wanting to keep the project completely separate from Dream Theater). The combo was formed as a side project to Dream Theater in 1997. Both Mike and John confirmed on the 5 Years in a Livetime DVD commentary, that Rudess was asked to join Dream Theater largely because of the success of Liquid Tension Experiment, and the chemistry of the three working together. Rudess had previously declined to join Dream Theater in 1994 and instead became a member of the Dixie Dregs, known for complex, "Southern fusion" instrumental music.