MMXX

I gave Sons Of Apollo a royal dressing down for fucking around with nu-metal motifs on their debut ‘Psychotic Symphony’, and wanted to see if they’d gotten their shit together for their 2020 follow up ‘MMXX’, as they could be a truly excellent prog metal band if they wanted to. They are some of the most talented dudes in the business, and they’ve got no reason to try and please the young’uns with clunky nu-metal riffs when their core audience is obviously older prog guys, and with album opener ‘God Of The Sun’, they proved they could write seriously kick-ass prog metal when they tried. But most of that album was a waste of talent and time, so what about the second one? Well, they haven’t sorted out the problems I asked them to, but they’ve at least made a record that’s more palatable with ‘MMXX’.

A big part of it is the production. They use a much smoother guitar tone on this, so the heavy parts don’t sound like an android having a seizure. They’ve also swapped the nu-metal bollocks for groove metal riffs, which isn’t much of a fair trade, but they are nowhere near as offensive as they were on ‘Psychotic Symphony’. Jeff Scott Soto hasn’t gone back to his Malmsteen wailing, and actually sounds even bluesier here, but they’ve made it work by writing songs that are quite slithery and bluesy anyway, so it at least sounds more cohesive. One thing I do like about Sons Of Apollo is that unlike most supergroups, they are a real band, and you can tell because they have actual band unity that you don’t get from swapping files back and forth. These guys can play this shit together, and occasionally they produce stirring, intelligent music that blows your mind when you think about how technical some of these sections are, but the songs still suck. Opener ‘Goodbye Divinity’ isn’t such a bad way to start things off, even if Soto sings the most hackneyed hard rock shit all over it. Derek Sherinian is still the most interesting member of this band, because he at least dresses things up with unusual sounds, so even the groovy parts have intricate things going on behind them. ‘Desolate July’ is much better than a lot of later Dream Theater ballads, and Mike Portnoy has a drumming style that is immediately identifiable, and he plays extremely well throughout tunes like ‘Fall To Ascend’, throwing a lot of curveballs into the mix, despite Bumblefoot’s crass groove riffs that only seem to end when they start doing some tricky prog-power shit like they do in the mid-section of that tune.

As with the debut the most exciting parts are when the musicians start showing off, and there are tons of guitar/keyboard trade offs on this, and they are all cool as hell. They sound a lot like modern Dream Theater and Symphony X, but they rule nonetheless. I would’ve been much happier if the whole record was one big instrumental jerk off, to be honest. I don’t like the fact that this record is full of bluesy hard rock songs with groove metal riffs and showy mid-sections, but they chop up the structure sometimes like with ‘Resurrection Day’ which starts with some cool guitar/keyboard interplay before going back into a hard rock verse. Fifteen-minute closer ‘New World Today’ is the best tune here. It doesn’t feel that long, and it delivers all Sons Of Apollo have to offer in one big gulp. There are a lot of decent moments in that song, and it hangs together well as a prog epic. I guess this band will never ditch the modern groove element, as they think it will appeal to the younger audience when all it does is irritate the older one, who just wants this to be ‘Images And Words’ when instead it’s ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’ crossed with Adrenaline Mob. A more cohesive effort from Portnoy and co, but there’s nothing here to rival ‘God Of The Sun’. Not even close.

Following the 2017 debut “Psychotic Symphony”, the new decade finds progressive outfit Sons of Apollo revealing their sophomore outing in the aptly titled “MMXX”. For those unaware, this band is a great example of what happens when legends come together to make legendary music a.k.a. that fancy thing called a "Supergroup". Not only it brought back together early Dream Theater members Derek Sherinian and Mike Portnoy, but the band is fronted by singer Jeff Scott Soto, who apart of his eponymous band “S.O.T.O.” provides vocals for Trans-Siberian orchestra and has worked with the infamous Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his earliest material. The band is completed by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar and Billy Sheehan on bass. Now considering that when most of these distinguished gentlemen were in their prime time I was not even conceived yet, I’m not that much of a connoisseur of their oldest works, although you can’t be a prog nerd without having heard your decent share of Yngwie shredding and early DT elegance. Still, what this new entity does so gloriously is breathing new life into these legends, and while I was initially weary of the potential pitfall of rehashed ideas, I’m delighted that the band has created an original sound that smoothly blends the old with the new.

One cannot talk about Sons of Apollo without spotlighting the strong Dream Theater influence, and of course that means if you’re a progger, you get the advantage of familiarity going in this record. Portnoy’s sorely missed grooves are in full swing here and the overall structures of the songs as well as the rhythm patterns are chock full of classic prog flavors. But if you heard the debut this is no news. What MMXX does better is engaging the listener. From the get go, “Goodbye Divinity” hits you with infectious keyboard melodies and strong groovy riffs, and one of the best prog choruses to emerge lately. The songs revolve around verse-chorus structures with extended bridge sections of soloing madness and experimental riffing with almost a jam-session feel. The style is also heavier, with almost a biker vibe emerging from the beefy guitar and bass tones, complemented by Portnoy’s heavy hitting work. I really like the gritty texture and catchy head-bang feel of their grooves.

Riffwise the album is a treasure trove, and solo-wise, it’s chock-full of sick leads on guitar, keys and even bass. Bumblefoot’s guitar style brings an expressive weeping guitar feel, benefitting of great tremolo and vibratos that also lines up well with many of the pitch bending keyboard effects. The keys are also very multifaceted, bringing a good dose of classic style rock organ sounds, as well as alien effects and deep penetrating piano tones. I did get a fair share of Deep Purple/Doors from the keyboard and also one aspect of SoA that so far I didn’t see anybody talk about. Albeit more prominent on the debut, I felt that the band had a bit of a middle eastern feel coming from the keyboard melodies and sometimes from the vocals and drums. That’s brought back to life on the new album too, though less obvious. Last but not least we could not skip Soto’s perfectly matched vocals. Classic in style, not too over the top but very flexible and expressive, the man molds around the instrumental effortlessly.

Standout moments are a dime a dozen, almost to the extent where they no longer stand-out. Some of my personal favorites are the mathy Dance of Eternity/Haken-esque rhythm structures in the bridge of “Fall to Ascend”, the intro and bridge to “King of Delusion” and the album’s ballad in “Desolate July”, a tribute to Dave Z of Adrenaline Mob. This one deserves a special mention, as it’s not only a very personal song to the band, but super expressive and the most emotionally charged on the record, with Soto and Portnoy singing together on the chorus. And at last, proggers rejoice for we have a 15 minute epic. The album’s closer “New World Today” brings together all of the musical fragrances on the album, kicking off with a subdued intro of keyboard and flowery guitar leads that flows into a grand story-like soundscape gradually bringing back the beef. Then of course follows the bridge part, the most extended array of soloing on the album before ending the song and the whole album on a strong and glorious climax.

“MMXX” is the logical next step from “Psychotic Symphony” and a noticeable step up. For fans of progressive music, heavy or light, old or new, techy or classy, Sons of Apollo fits in anywhere and should not be missed. Available now through InsideOut Records.

Enjoy!

Originally written for The Metal Observer: http://www.metal-observer.com/3.o/review/sons-of-apollo-mmxx/