Mike Mangini Makes Debut as Godsmack Drummer on The Rise of Rock Tour

*Mike Mangini performs at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas at The Linq Promenade on January 17, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)*

Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini is now drumming in Godsmack.

Mangini made his debut with the “Voodoo” outfit on Friday for the kickoff of the band’s The Rise of Rock tour with Stone Temple Pilots and Dorothy.

“Ladies & Gentlemen, the one and only Mike M’Fkn Mangini!” frontman Sully Erna wrote in an Instagram post welcoming the new drummer. “S***’s about to get real.”

Mangini takes the place of Wade Murff, who’s currently manning the kit for Black Veil Brides’ European tour while filling in for Christian “CC” Coma, who dropped off the trek due to a personal matter. Murff had joined Godsmack in place of Evanescence’s Will Hunt, who had taken the gig following the retirement of longtime drummer Shannon Larkin in 2024.

Mangini played in Dream Theater from 2010 to 2023 during original drummer Mike Portnoy’s absence from the band.

Content for this summary was derived from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point