Apollo , the ancient Greek and Roman God of music and poetry, has some sons who decided during a gathering to write some hymns. These sons are named after some great musicians nowadays, you could say that Apollo was visionary when it came to naming his sons. They called the collection they put together Psychotic Symphony which could mislead the listeners as it isn’t psychotic at all.
These sons are listening to names like Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater, Winery Dogs, and a million other bands), Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr Big), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey). For progressive fans this may sound as a wet dream and that is exactly what this is. Mike and Derek , also known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers” started this together in the beginning of 2017 and revealed all other members in august. Can we call this a supergroup, yes we can, which such giant names, but it is not always a guarantee for creating outstanding music. Let us see what these Sons Of Apollo have been creating together.
God of The Sun is quite a massive opener which could fit perfectly on a Dream Theater album. Immediately you can hear who in fact created the sound of Dream Theater: the drumming of Mike and keyboard playing of Derek are so recognizable. And together with the warm bluesy voice of Jeff and the incredible guitar playing of Ron (one could wonder what the fuck he was doing at Guns ‘n Roses when you can do this stuff) and not to forget the bass guitar of Billy, the song blows you away. Coming Home continues on this pattern, very structured music with irregular drumming and extensive guitar playing. There are songs on it that are going from Deep Purple-like (Divine Addiction) vibes to even more commercial sounding tunes. Labyrinth and Alive are for example songs that would perfectly be an excellent soundtrack for a movie or something in that reign. These dudes have evolved during time and dare to do some modern tunes as well, tunes which come close to progressive djenty stuff, listen to Lost In Oblivion and Signs Of Time, nice modern up-time stuff overthrown with an organic hard rock feel. As finishing piece they deliver Opus Maximus, an instrumental 10 minute song which doesn’t sound that long and where Billy‘s bass guitar takes a big role.
Well, we can say that Apollo did a good job, his sperm produced quite an offspring, but we shouldn’t give all credit to him, who is the Mum who gave birth to these dudes, it would be nice to know who she is, anybody?? Sons Of Apollo delivers an album that will be an instant classic in the progressive scene. Do not expect over the top musicianship, everything is well balanced and everyone has its own place to do what he is best at. Prog fans will be very happy with this. Portnoy states that this is a real band and they will do extensive touring, like Derek agrees “We will go on a worldwide crusade in 2018 to bring SONS OF APOLLO to as many people as possible. Apollo was the God of Music, and we are his mighty offspring!” We are for sure looking forward to it !!
Label : Inside Out Music
Release Date : 20th October 2017
Track List :
1 God of The Sun
2 Coming Home
3 Signs of The Time
4 Labyrinth
5 Alive
6 Lost In Oblivion
7 Figaro’s Whore
8 Divine Addiction
9 Opus Maximus
SONS OF APOLLO ARE:
Mike Portnoy – drums and vocals
Derek Sherinian – keyboards
Billy Sheehan – bass
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal – guitar and vocals
Jeff Scott Soto – vocals
