Sons Of Apollo, the prog-Metal supergroup which includes former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force)-will release their second studio album in 2020, appropriately titled, MMXX (pronounced: 20/20). Produced by The Del Fuvio Brothers (Portnoy and Sherinian), MMXX will be released on the 17th January 2020 via InsideOutMusic/Sony as a standard CD package, Limited Edition 2 CD package (which includes instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), 2 LP + CD package, and on all digital formats. The album is the followup o the acclaimed debut Psychotic Symphony, one of the rare albums Ghost Cult gave a 10 / 10 grade to. Check out the video for the first single, the Vicente Cordero-directed clip for, ‘Goodbye Divinity’ right now!
Mike Portnoy comments: “From the minute we finished writing ‘Goodbye Divinity,’ I knew we had our album opener and the first release off the album. I even remember posting on social media how excited I was about the song the day I tracked it! The song has an immediacy that grabs you right away: great riffs, flashy playing and hooky vocal melodies. All of the elements that make up the SOA sound. The video was directed by Vicente Cordero who I have now done over 20 music videos with, and its look helps catapult the band from the Greek mythological past of the last album into the 21st century with this new album.”
Pre-orders are available from today, with digital pre-orders on iTunes & Amazon receiving an immediate download of “Goodbye Divinity.” Pre-order now here: https://soa.lnk.to/MMXX
U.S. fans can pre-save the album on streaming services and be in with a chance of winning digital subscriptions to Modern Drummer and Bass Player magazines, a signed REMO drumhead, and two tickets to an upcoming U.S. tour date. Head here to enter: https://soa.lnk.to/Pre-Save
“Stylistically, we have followed the same path as the debut,” outlines drummer Mike Portnoy. “But we feel that it has come out stronger, simply because we know one another better. PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY was the first time the five of us had worked together, so there was bound to be an air of experimentation happening. Now, we can draw on having the experience not only of recording that album, but also of touring together a lot. And now there is clearly a lot more obvious chemistry going on.”
“We did 83 shows on the last tour,” adds keyboardist Derek Sherinian. “And it was so worthwhile, because we came out of it with a stronger bond, and that is certainly reflected in what we wrote.”
The writing process began at the start of the year, as Portnoy, Sherinian and guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal got together. “The three of us were at my home studio in Pennsylvania,” explains Portnoy. “And it took about three weeks to get all the music written. That was a very smooth process. The last time, it certainly must have felt a little weird for Bumblefoot to be writing with Derek and me, because we were strangers to him. Now, we know one another better and that helped things push along.”
“Because we all have our home studios, it meant everyone could record there as and when they had opportunity,” continues Sherinian. “We all had the luxury of being able to take our time to get all the parts done, which was a huge help in the way the album’s come out. I suppose in all, it took about eight months to record everything.”
There are eight tracks on MMXX, with variations in length totalling 60 minutes. “The final song is ‘New World Today, which is 16 minutes long,” says Portnoy. “This one has elements similar to ‘Opus Maximus’ and ‘Labyrinth’ on the previous album. It has some insane, brilliant instrumental moments, which I am sure the fans will love.”
“We wanted to do something epic here, as we did with ‘Opus Maximus’ last time around,” adds Sherinian. “You have to remember that Mike and I come from Dream Theater, where we never bothered about how long a song was. So, for us doing a 16 minute track is not a problem.”
MMXX track listing:
1. Goodbye Divinity (7:16)
2. Wither To Black (4:48)
3. Asphyxiation (5:09)
4. Desolate July (6:11)
5. King Of Delusion (8:49)
6. Fall To Ascend (5:07)
7. Resurrection Day (5:51)
8. New World Today (16:38)
North America 2020
Thu 1/23 Sacramento, CA Crest Theater
Fri 1/24 Pomona, CA The Glass House (https://bit.ly/2H8kNxY)
Sat 1/25 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy (https://bit.ly/2H8aLNb)
Sun 1/26 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore (https://bit.ly/31FYAPj)
Tue 1/28 Salt Lake City, UT The State Room (https://bit.ly/31D8P7e)
Wed 1/29 Denver, CO The Oriental Theater (https://bit.ly/2Z5QC4s)
Fri 1/31 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theater (https://bit.ly/30igOGu)
Sat 2/1 Battle Creek, MI The Music Factory (https://bit.ly/31IwXVQ)
Sun 2/2 Toronto, ONT. Mod Club (https://bit.ly/2Z8OuJ8)
Mon 2/3 Montreal QUE. Corona Theater (https://bit.ly/2KF9eyU)
Wed 2/5 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club (https://bit.ly/2N2rMMx)
Thu 2/6 New York, NY Gramercy Theater (https://livemu.sc/2KHNN1r)
Fri 2/7 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn’s Peak (https://bit.ly/2TLMy4w)
Sat 2/8 Englewood, NJ Bergen PAC (https://bit.ly/31MKyM7)
Europe 2020
Sat 2/29 Germany TBA
Mon 3/2 Drammen, Norway Union Scene
Tue 3/3 Gothenburg, Sweden Traedgarn
Thu 3/5 Kyiv, Ukraine N.A.U Theatre
Sat 3/7 Moscow, Russia RED
Sun 3/8 St Petersburg, Russia Aurora
Tue 3/10 Pratteln, Switzerland Z7
Wed 3/11 Milan, Italy Live Club
Fri 3/13 Bilbao, Spain Santana 27
Sat 3/14 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 2
Sun 3/15 Madrid, Spain La Riviera
Tue 3/17 France TBA
Wed 3/18 France TBA
Thu 3/19 London, U.K. Islington Assembly Hall
Fri 3/20 Eindhoven, Netherlands Prognosis Festival
Sun 3/22 Show Brno, Czech Republic Sono
Tue 3/24 Kosice, Slovakia Colosseum
Wed 3/25 Budapest, Hungary Barba Negra
Sons Of Apollo online:
https://www.sonsofapollo.com
https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfApollo1
https://www.Twitter.com/SonsOfApollo1
https://www.instagram.com/sonsofapollo1
Insideoutmusic Online:
https://www.insideoutmusic.com
https://www.youtube.com/InsideOutMusicTV
https://www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic
https://www.twitter.com/insideouteu