(Prog) Flying Colors will enter the studio in December, drummer Mike Portnoy confirms. The former Dream Theater and current Winery Dogs sticksman is set to join keyboardist Neal Morse, guitarist Steve Morse, bassist Dave LaRue and singer Casey McPherson to write the follow-up to 2014's Second Nature later this year.

He tells One On One Mitch Lafon: "We're pencilled in to reconvene in December and begin writing, so that's the plan. We'll start writing at the end of this year, we'll possibly have something out by 2017. We'll see how the process goes when we get under way in December."

Portnoy recently announced he'd perform his 12 Step Suite in full for his 50th birthday at the Cruise To The Edge festival in Florida in October - a concept piece which details his experience with alcoholism. He recalls how his longtime collaborator and friend Morse supported him during his road to recovery in the early 00s following Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory tour. Read more and stream the full interview here.