MMXX

Sons Of Apollo are back with more instrumentally dense progressive metal. Derik Sherinian and Mike Portnoy have their influence written all over this music, but with MMXX – their second effort – there is a sense that melody and song structure make a greater impact. More cohesive as a group coming off their live performances last year, these songs flow well, and Jeff Scott Soto’s voice just “feels” a more natural fit this time around. That said, there is no denying the overly indulgent nature of the music. Fans of ‘90s progressive metal will rejoice as this music represents – in some ways – the direction most fans of early Dream Theater wished the band would progress.There is a greater diversity as well this time around – immediately apparent from the first 4 tracks. Sherinian’s keys play an even greater role – with some epic moments like the opening, middle and closing segments to “King Of Delusion,” and Portnoy has dialed back the speed and technicality for a more ‘70’s prog style which perfectly complements the retro-progressive songwriting going on here. This song is absolutely killer – simultaneously showcasing both technical and creative skills. “Fall To Ascend” follows – easily one of the heaviest tracks – with plenty of power, speed, melody and crunch. I love that Portnoy is spreading melody around the kit instead of just attempting to power/speed his way through these songs. Thal “Bumblefoot” is a master on these songs – technically brilliant, his guitar leads and solos simply shred. And Sheehan’s bass guitar is killer as well – just listen to some of the middle sections of “Resurrection Day.” I love the creativity on the epic track “New World Today.” The opening segment is essentially a Thal guitar solo accompanied by some very cool synths. But then the song builds into a juggernaut of prog rock/metal power and passion.The second CD contains the instrumental mixes (as if the vocals are irrelevant to prog shred) with the highlights being the a cappella excerpts. Just listen to these tracks if you doubt Soto’s ability to deliver vocally – his voice just commands. Despite the heavy reverb, these tracks are captivating – his performance on “Desolate July” probably my favorite. There is an error in my CD booklet – the song titles in the lyric section are missing to the first five songs – but otherwise the triple gate digi is typical of most of these multi-CD releases of late from Inside Out.Sons Of Apollo have more than adequately answered the call – these songs represent significant improvements over the debut. My only hesitation with this band? There is still a gap between the vocal/melodic metal side of the music and the technical wizardry, but with MMXX they have closed that gap quite significantly when compared to the debut.

Sons of Apollo are a progressive metal supergroup consisting of Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (guitar), Derek Sherenian (keyboards), Billy Sheenan (bass), and Mike Portnoy (drums). They released their debut album "Psychotic Symphony" in 2017. While their debut garnered a lot of acclaim, I found the album to be solid but uninspired and derivative throughout. There was definitely potential within the band so I hoped that their sophomore release would deliver where I felt the debut was lacking in multiple areas.The band released their second album "MMXX" on January 17, 2020. While sonically speaking it sounds very similar to their debut, I immediately noticed a large improvement in songwriting, arrangements, and band chemistry which makes "MMXX" a terrific follow up release. There is also more variety in the tracks themselves.Standout tracks for me are "King of Delusion" which features some very nice classical piano flourishes, "Fall to Ascend" which features an unrelenting pace, and the epic closing track "New World Today" which clocks in just shy of 16 minutes in length. There is not a weak track on this release in my opinion and the band overall sound much more in synch and comfortable with each other this time out. Jeff Scott Soto in particular delivers a superb vocal performance that sounds more nuanced and expressive on "MMXX". My only slight quibble is that the lyrics can get just a wee bit hokey at times but that is to be expected with progressive music in general.If you were a huge fan of Sons of Apollo's debut, then I think you will be mightily impressed with their sophomore release "MMXX". If you were like me and felt underwhelmed by the debut, "MMXX" should prove to be a nice improvement in all categories.Highly recommended! (The 2 disc limited edition CD release contains instrumental and a capella mixes of the album on disc 2 by the way.)

From the first song this CD kicks you in the face...in a good way. This is heavy, powerful and melodic. Jeff Scott Soto is as impressive vocally as any musician you put him with. I hadn't listened to much of Ron Thal until SOA but he is amazing. Some bands with this much talent just don't work out but this is fantastic music and musicianship at its best.

The music is pretty sweet for a prog metal. If you're a fan of Portnoy, you'll probably enjoy this. The pressing is great sounding too, very clear and open sound stage. First copy came w/ sticker stating there was a CD included (which there wasn't). 2nd copy, the sticker is missing w/ no CD. you're paying $35+ for this album, when you can pay about $28+ $4 shipping to get the "European" version that comes with a CD. This is not the first time Amazon has done tricky changes in what they're selling.

This band doesent get enough credit.Mike portnoy percussion is phenomenal.Guitar solos are crisp, not to disappoint.This band is some members from Dream theater, without the (in my opinion) annoying vocals of James Labrie.

The only bad thing about this was that I did not receive the CD that was stated to be included with the purchase of the LP. Working to resolve this right now, but as far as the album itself, DAMN!!!!

In a real world, SOA would be huge! Simply amazing album. Even better than the first one which was crazy awesome!

I am a huge fan of Mike Portnoy and was excited to hear about this project. In fact, I am also a big fan of Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian. After hearing "Alive", I thought this would be a great album. It failed to meet my expectations on every level. It's like Dream Theater gone bad, with terrible sound quality and a bad mix. Not recommended. I so wanted to like this CD.

Sons of Apollo legen mit "MMXX" ihr zweites Studio Album vor und können sich dabei im Vergleich zu ihrem sehr gutem Debutalbum "Psychotic Symphony" noch deutlich steigern. Das Line-Up ist unverändert: Neben den beiden Ex-Dream Theater Mitgliedern Mike Portnoy (Drums) und Derek Sherinian (Keyboards) kommen noch Ron Thal (Guitars), Billy Sheehan (Bass) und Jeff Scoto Soto (Vocals) hinzu.Wie die Überschrift besagt, wird auf beiden Alben eine Symbiose aus Prog Metal und erdigem Hard Rock mit Deep Purple/Rainbow Anleihen geboten. Dazu passt, dass die Stimme von Jeff Scoto Soto zu 1/3 an Russel Allen von Symphony X und zu 2/3 an Graham Bonnet (einer der Rainbow Sänger) erinnert. Den jüngeren Lesern sei gesagt, dass Rainbow die Band von Ritchie Blackmore (Gitarrist von Deep Purple) war und mit Bonnet Ende der 70er Jahre die Hits "All Night Long" und "Since You Been Gone" hatte.Erwähnenswert ist auch die Tatsache, dass Derek Sherinian ausschließlich analoge Keyboards verwendet und dabei gerne zur legendären Hammond Orgel greift. Trotz dieser Tatsachen klingen SOA keineswegs verstaubt, sondern gerade auf diesem Album energetisch und frisch.Um es ganz klar zu sagen: Wer darauf hofft, bei den Alben von SOA reinen Prog Metal geliefert zu bekommen, liegt nur zu einem Teil richtig. Die Alben sind quasi zweigeteilt: Die langen Stücke bieten zweifelsohne Prog Metal a la Dream Theater ("Opus Maximus" vom 1. Album ist z.B. eine 11-minütige instrumentale "Frickelorgie"), die kürzeren, meist im 5 - 6 Minutenbereich angesiedelten Songs dagegen sind eher klassische Hard Rock Songs mit "proggigen" Solis.Wirkte diese Mischung auf dem Debutalbum noch ein wenig unausgegoren, so kommt das neue Album umso homogener daher. Dazu versprühen die Musiker eine unglaubliche Spielfreude, so dass die 59 Minuten wie im Flug vorbei gehen. Absoluter Höhepunkt des Albums ist das 16minütige "A New World Today", das als einziger Track auf das Strophe/Refrain Muster verzichtet und dass das Prog Herz wirklich höher schlagen lässt. Hier wird alles geboten: Epische Songstrukturen, fantastische Instrumentalteile, schöne Melodien, Tempi Wechsel und tolle Solis. Dieser Track wäre auf jedem DT Album ein absolutes Highlight!!Mitreißend ist auch das knapp 9minütige "King Of Delusion", auf dem es richtig fette Gitarrenriffs und Double Bass Attacken zu hören gibt (Minute 1 -4 + 6 -9), dazu ist es enorm abwechslungsreich.Ebenfalls noch hauptsächlich proggig ist der Opener "Goodbye Divinity".Aber auch die restlichen 5 Songs, die eher klassischen Hard Rock bieten (allerdings mit furiosen Instrumentalteilen) können in jeglicher Hinsicht überzeugen: Sei es das unglaublich rasante "Fall To Ascension" (was für eine Power!!), die wunderschöne Power Ballade "Desolate July" oder das von tollen Soli strotzende "Resurrection Day": Sons of Apollo zeigen, dass auch 5 - 6 Minuten kurze Songs ein Hörerlebnis sein können.Noch ein Wort zum Sänger: Wirkte er auf "Psychotic Symphony" noch ein wenig wie ein Fremdkörper, kann er mich auf diesem Album regelrecht begeistern.Fazit: Sons Of Apollo haben ein vor Power und Spielfreude nur so strotzendes Album erschaffen, dass einen knapp 60 Minuten lang perfekt unterhält und (für mich) keine einzige Schwachstelle aufweist. Ich erspare mir jeden Vergleich mit DT, denn Sons Of Apollo haben ihre eigene musikalische Nische gefunden.

This album is massive, my first impression after a few spins is they did better than the first one, if at all possible. JSS' vocals particularly standout, and Bumblefoot's guitars just explode all over the place. It is not fair not to say the same about the rest of the band. I don't know what to write to explain how powerful this album is. Just buy and listen, and catch them on tour if you can. Must have.

More metal than the first offering - which is a mixed blessing strangely. Musically, I love the harder edge, but vocally it becomes a bit repetitive without the broader diversity of soundscapes. Still, a solid prog metal outing with some epic talent as you'd expect.

This is solid follow up to the excellent 1st album. I don't think the songs are as strong but that maybe that this one will take a few more plays.One star taken off for the dreadful lyrics.

You get a hell of a lot of fantastic music for the price