Mike Portnoy 'glad' he wasn't asked to join Rush
He also heaps praise on Anika Nilles
Last updated 20th Jan 2026
Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy has lavished Rush’s touring drummer Anika Nilles with praise and expressed relief that he never got asked to step into the late-great Neil Peart’s shoes.
Last October, Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee broke the huge news that they were reviving Rush for the gargantuan Fifty Something Tour across North America, with German drummer Anika Nilles joining them alongside more to be announced musicians.
The 58-date Fifty Something Tour is due to commence with a four-night residency at Los Angeles Kia Forum in early June, with the last confirmed shows taking place at Vancouver Rogers Arena on 15th and 17th December. No UK or European shows have been announced yet.
In a new interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, keen Rush aficionado Mike Portnoy was asked if he’s looking forward to seeing the Canadian rock legends this year.
"It's extremely exciting. I, as a fan, can't wait to see how they do this and what it's going to be like,” Portnoy enthused.
“Neil Peart was not only one of my biggest drum heroes, but he was somebody that I was honoured to become friends within the last decade or so of his life. So, yeah, as a fan of the band and as a friend of Neil's, I'm very happy to see them doing this, and I can't wait to hear what they do."
Although Portnoy says he’s never seen Anika Nilles performing live, he’s been impressed with what he’s seen online.
He says: “As soon as the (Rush) announcement was made, I started pulling up videos on YouTube and saw her playing with Jeff Beck and doing the jazz fusion kind of stuff she does. She's obviously a tremendous drummer, so I'm really curious to see how it sounds."
Asked how many times he was asked if he was joining Rush prior to last October’s announcement, Portnoy said: "Before they their return, it's a question that I would get asked in almost every single interview for the last decade: 'Would you ever play with Geddy and Alex? Would you ever?' Of course. Those guys are my heroes.
“But in all honesty, I'm kind of glad that they didn't even ask me, because that would be way too much pressure, way too much pressure. So, it's much better this way. I get to enjoy it like a fan."
The 20 greatest rock songs of all time:
20) AC/DC - Highway to Hell (1979)
At Number 20 on Planet Rock's countdown of the 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time is AC/DC's Bon Scott-era classic 'Highway to Hell'. Incredibly, the 1979 hard rock anthem is AC/DC's 18th song to feature on the Top 500.
19) Deep Purple - Child in Time (1970)
Deep Purple's sprawling 1970 masterpiece 'Child in Time' is Number 19 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The multi-layered 10-minute opus is the perfect showcase for Ian Gillan's astonishing pipes, with guitar titan Ritchie Blackmore and late-great organist Jon Lord also sharing centre stage.
18) Black Sabbath - War Pigs (1970)
Black Sabbath's anti-war anthem 'War Pigs' is at Number 18 on our countdown of the 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. A towering heavy metal tour-de-force that's powered by Geezer Butler's hard-hitting and powerful lyrics, 'War Pigs' is undoubtedly one of Sabbath's finest moments in their fabled career.
See the full Top 500, as voted by Planet Rock listeners, below 👇
17) Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
Metallica's enduring thrash classic 'Master of Puppets' is at Number 17 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The title track of Metallica's third album – and last to feature the late-great Cliff Burton – has enjoyed a fresh wave of popularity in recent years thanks to its inclusion in Stranger Things.
16) AC/DC - Back in Black (1980)
AC/DC's hard rock juggernaut 'Back in Black' is at Number 16 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The title track of AC/DC's all-conquering seventh studio record – and the second best-selling album of all time – the omnipotent 'Back in Black' is instantly recognisable from those opening crunching riffs.
15) Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name (1982)
Iron Maiden's 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' is at Number 15 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. Penned by bassist and sole constant member Steve Harris, 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' brings Iron Maiden's landmark 1982 album 'The Number of the Beast' to an emphatic close. It's widely - and rightfully - regarded as one of the greatest metal songs ever.
14) Metallica - Enter Sandman (1991)
Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' is at Number 14 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The opening track of Metallica's self-titled fifth record - aka The Black Album, 'Enter Sandman' fuses nightmarish lyrics with monumental metal music to devastating effect.
13) Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (1972)
Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' is at Number 13 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The 'Machine Head' track was written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice about the fire that ravaged the Montreux Casino on Saturday 4th December 1971, and it's powered by Blackmore's famous riff.
12) Black Sabbath – Paranoid (1970)
Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' is at Number 12 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. One of the most famous metal songs in history, 1970 classic 'Paranoid' was fittingly the last track Black Sabbath ever performed live at their final Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park in July 2025.
11) Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell (1977)
The late-great Meat Loaf is at Number 11 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The title track of Meat Loaf's blockbuster Jim Steinman-penned debut album, 'Bat Out of Hell' helped propel a 30-year-old Michael Lee Aday into global superstardom.
10) AC/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie (1977)
AC/DC are at Number 10 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown with the truly tremendous 'Whole Lotta Rosie'. Lifted from 1977's 'Let There Be Rock' album, 'Whole Lotta Rosie' details an amorous relationship late-great frontman Bon Scott had with a voluptuous woman in Tasmania.
9) Guns N’ Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine (1987)
Guns N' Roses' tenth song on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown is the band's ubiquitous anthem 'Sweet Child o' Mine' at Number 9. One of the many zeniths on Guns N' Roses' barnstorming debut album 'Appetite for Destruction', 'Sweet Child o' Mine' is enduringly popular and it's no surprise our listeners voted it into the Top 10.
8) Alter Bridge – Blackbird (2007)
Arguably the crowning glory of Alter Bridge's illustrious career so far, eight-minute masterpiece 'Blackbird' is at Number 8 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. 'Blackbird' combines poignant lyrics about Myles Kennedy's friend Mark Morse, who died as the song was being written, with impeccable musicianship and transcendental guitar solos from Kennedy and Mark Tremonti.
7) AC/DC – Thunderstruck (1990)
Testament to AC/DC's musical magnificence, 'Thunderstruck' is the band's 21st entry in Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown at the lofty position of Number 7. Powered by scintillating riffs from Angus and Malcolm Young, rabble-rousing chants, screeching vocals from Brian Johnson and muscular rhythms from Chris Slade and Cliff Williams, 'Thunderstruck' is the sound of AC/DC at their most electrifying and one of the standout moments of the post-Bon Scott era.
6) Led Zeppelin – Kashmir (1975)
A song that's so immense it has you thumbing the thesaurus for suitable superlatives, Led Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' is at Number 6 in Planet Rock's countdown of the 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time. Timeless, formidable, startling and brimming with majesty, more than 50 years after it was released 'Kashmir' sounds as vital as ever. In fact, it's no surprise that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin regard 'Kashmir' as a career zenith.
5) Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird (1974)
Lynyrd Skynyrd are at Number 5 on our 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown with 'Free Bird'. Penned by the much-missed Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, 'Free Bird' is the band's signature song and truly one of the finest tracks in rock history. Delivered in Van Zant's trademark southern rock drawl, the track opens with him singing "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?", hinting at a man unable to settle down. Just past the midway point, 'Free Bird' morphs into a crescendo of glorious guitar solos and frenetic instrumentation – a life-affirming aural onslaught that still sounds as fresh now as it did over half a century ago.
4) Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (1979)
David Gilmour's transcendental playing on Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' was voted the greatest guitar solo ever by Planet Rock listeners six years ago, and the song is rightfully in the upper echelons of our 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown at Number 4. Penned by Roger Waters and David Gilmour, 'Comfortably Numb' is one of the defining moments of their songwriting partnership, yet such was the friction between the two during the recording process (and beyond) that Gilmour later noted it represents "the last embers of mine and Roger's ability to work collaboratively together."
3) Rainbow – Stargazer (1976)
Rainbow's 'Stargazer' takes the coveted Number 3 slot on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown. The standout song from Rainbow's legendary 'Rising' album, 'Stargazer' sees the inimitable, late-great Ronnie James Dio narrate the ominous story of a wizard whose attempt to fly by constructing a tower to the stars leads to the enslavement of countless people. A musically complex, powerful and majestic heavy metal tour-de-force, 'Stargazer' flaunts the imperious talents of the respective Rainbow band members, from Dio's astonishing pipes to Cozy Powell's titanic drums to Ritchie Blackmore's mercurial guitar playing. Nothing short of a masterpiece.
2) Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven (1971)
Narrowly missing out on the top spot by just a handful of votes, Led Zeppelin are at Number 2 on Planet Rock's 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time countdown with 'Stairway to Heaven'. Not only considered one of Led Zeppelin's finest songs in their short career but also one of the greatest songs of all time, 'Stairway to Heaven' is so entrenched in rock n' roll folklore it's certain to retain its enduring appeal for many, many decades to come. Every second of the song is iconic; from the opening, Renaissance-tinged finger-picked guitars and recorders to Jimmy Page's legendary solo, and right through to Robert Plant's ultimate, plaintive "and she's buying the stairway to heaven" refrain.
1) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
Queen's 1975 rock epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has officially been crowned the Greatest Rock Song all Time ahead of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'. Multi-layered and ambitious in musical scope, the Freddie Mercury penned six-minute suite that is 'Bohemian Rhapsody' has topped the charts twice in the UK, and it's been introduced to new generations of fans via 1992's Wayne's World and the 2018 Queen biopic of the same name, Bohemian Rhapsody. It's also only one of a handful of songs to surpass 2 billion views on YouTube.