Label: InsideOut Music
Release date: 17.01.2020
Production: Del Fuvio Brothers (Derek Sherinian & Mike Portnoy)
Album length: 58.41 min
Genre: Progressive Metal
Rating: 9.0 / 10
Sons Of Apollo are a supergroup cruising the boundless fields of progressive metal, a lineup of supergiant virtuoso Hercules types: Mike Portnoy (drums), Derek Sherinian (keyboards), Ron »Bumblefoot« Thal (guitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), with vocals donated by one of the most respected and recognizable voices out there, especially in AOR and melodic rock: Jeff Scott Soto. Two years ago this crew pushed out their studio debut. A tour followed, and on it Sons Of Apollo, as an entity, definitely grew.
The band even released a live document from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, which was a bit premature, but the opportunity came up, and they filled the gap in their own repertoire with versions of some progressive rock and metal favorites. Thanks to the hugely successful shows and the general excitement that greeted the release of that excellent debut, the band decided to keep going. So Portnoy and Sherinian got together in the studio and started writing new material. Ron »Bumblefoot« Thal jumped into the process very early too, the songs came together in just three weeks, and the whole album was recorded in two months, with each member of the quintet tracking at home in their own studio.
Truly unbelievable, but that’s how it goes when you’re dealing with musicians like these. Simple as that. They’re far too experienced and seasoned to turn out an artistic dud. One thing is clear, though. What this crew has is something special and unique, and it works. It works across the board. It’ll appeal to Dream Theater fans, but it’s considerably, considerably different. Above all, it’ll please everyone who knows that Dream Theater’s evolution stalled long ago, while the freshness and difference they miss so much is now being delivered by the new Sons Of Apollo. Above all, the production is far punchier, fatter and livelier. It has an incredible groove. Given Portnoy’s drumming style, it’s obvious that some riffs will be broken up and rhythmically loaded with tricks that hark back to Portnoy’s old days, but Thal is nowhere near Petrucci, just as Sheehan isn’t Myung and, thankfully, Sherinian isn’t Rudess.
There’s almost an hour of music here, yet it never feels dry for a second. The album flies by and keeps the listener on edge the whole way. Goodbye Divinity, the opener, is a logical pick for the punchy lead single and album kickoff. The build-up of atmosphere into a chorus crescendo is exactly what this track internalizes so well, and that’s why it rightfully earns its spot as the album’s opening catalyst (the song’s working title was Blood Orchid, and it’s built on one of Sherinian’s solos that he used to play at the band’s live shows). Wither to Black was written by Ron Thal, and because it reminded the band of a cross between Rush and Soundgarden, it was originally called Rushgarden. Asphyxiation is again a Sherinian composition and counts as one of the darkest, and also most metal-possessed, points on the album. The ballad Desolate July was written as a tribute to the late bassist David Z, who played with Jeff in his band S.O.T.O. and in Trans Siberian Orchestra, and was best known as a member of Adrenaline Mob. As is well known, he died in a nightliner crash while Adrenaline Mob were out on tour. King Of Delusion opens with a perfectly dark and theatrical neoclassical intro before taking off into the gloomy depths of white-hot riffing, built on Portnoy’s brilliantly fractured rhythmic textures.
The production is excellent, modern, crushing. Sherinian has once again shone as an exceptional composer, and he proves it again on this album with incredible insight. The guitar, full of avalanche-like and massively pumped-up riffs, and the keyboards blend into an incredibly successful union, a constant dialogue of brilliant contemplation between Thal and Sherinian running through the album, and that gives it its own atmosphere, its own drive, its own theater, its own stance. The album comes across as pretty dark throughout. »MMXX« feels more relaxed than its predecessor, which was feeling out the ground for a good landing of the new musical vessel. On »MMXX« Sons Of Apollo have truly taken off with full creative power and performing vehemence! They’ve found a refined balance of everything, and at every moment of its running time the album keeps thrilling by reconciling technical complexity with melodic catchiness! Sherinian tries a much wider palette of keyboard sounds on the album, the arrangements are put together far more concisely, and the band doesn’t crash into endless seas of notes and »shred« the compactness of the compositions. He very cleverly places the solo escapes, full of bravura and breathtaking escapades, in spots where the songs’ compactness isn’t threatened.
Sons Of Apollo do of course deliver moments where they’re bursting with power and ultrasonic showmanship, but on the other hand they contrast and calm those parts really well with musical passages or a change of rhythm that tames the frenzy. That way the atmosphere keeps rolling dynamically. Probably the album’s real peak is the closer New World Today, the most ambitious and most progressive track, where the band, despite a loose structure that constantly leaves plenty of room for solo wizardry, still stays thematically tight and compact. Jeff’s vocal performance included.
When you compare the new album with its predecessor, one thing is clear. Sons Of Apollo have grown as a band. The songs feel far more detailed, defined and, for all their progressive looseness, tighter too. Whether this is the creative zenith of the prog-metal Apollos or not, time will tell, but artistically the new album outdoes and builds on its predecessor. It radiates tremendous maturity. Considering how fast it was made, that’s hard to believe, but like I said. Behind the compositions is a crew of five brilliant musicians with a ton of mileage who are in the form of their lives when it comes to creativity. And when that kind of energy pours into perfect chemistry that actually works, it has to be let loose. And Sons Of Apollo know that very well.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
01. Goodbye Divinity (7:16)
02. Wither To Black (4:48)
03. Asphyxiation (5:09)
04. Desolate July (6:11)
05. King Of Delusion (8:49)
06. Fall To Ascend (5:07)
07. Resurrection Day (5:51)
08. New World Today (16:38)
Line-up:
Jeff Scott Soto – vocals
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal – guitar, backing vocals
Derek Sherinian – keyboards, backing vocals
Billy Sheehan – bass, backing vocals
Mike Portnoy – drums, backing vocals
