SONS OF APOLLO LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘GOODBYE DIVINITY’; FIRST SINGLE FROM ‘MMXX’

SONS OF APOLLO–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)–are ready to ring in the new decade with a sonic boom with their second studio album, 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.

Today they launch the Vicente Cordero-directed video for the albums lead single ‘Goodbye Divinity’. Watch it now here: 


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

SONS OF APOLLO RETURN WITH NEW ALBUM MMXX 17TH JANUARY

SONS OF APOLLO – 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)–are ready to ring in the new decade with a sonic boom with their second studio album, 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. Pre-orders for all formats will be available starting November 15th, which will include an instant download of the album’s first single, ‘Goodbye Divinity,’ on iTunes and Amazon.

A teaser trailer was released on Inside Out’s official YouTube page here


“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.”

The lyrics were written by Soto, who also came up with the melody lines with input from Sherinian. “While Jeff was left to come up with the words on his own, as the melody lines are part of the music, it made sense for me to be involved with that part,” says the keyboard player.

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.”

Here’s the track listing for MMXX:
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)


The album title was inspired by a simple chronological fact. “This will be released in mid-January 2020,” says Portnoy. “That means it will be one of the first releases in what is a new decade. So I came up with the idea of calling it ‘2020,” except having it written in the Latin form of ‘MMXX’.”

And the album’s artwork has been created by Thomas Ewerhard (who was responsible for the cover design of ‘PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY’), which inevitably reflects the title.

As Portnoy explains, “For the first record, we had a mythological feel. This time around though, there’s a much more futuristic style to what we’ve got. It has a very 21st century appeal. And the band crest is more polished, cleaned up and a lot more modern than last time, when it had an old fashioned look.”

“Each member of this band has their own signature sound on their instrument,” adds Sherinian. “And when you put all of this together what you get is a wonderful five-headed beast. It makes this a sonically special band, which is definitely what comes across on ‘MMXX’. You can hear odd time signatures and amazingly crazy performances here. Overall, we’ve been satisfyingly more adventurous this time than we were before, and I know people are sure to love what we’ve done.”

In touring news, the band’s headlining ‘MMXX World Tour’ will launch January 24th in Pomona, CA, USA and will take them around the world throughout the new year. They have also just announced European tour dates for March 2020, and you can find those below:
Europe 2020
Mon 2nd March Drammen, Norway Union Scene

Tue 3rd March Gothenburg, Sweden Traedgarn

Thu 5th March Kyiv, Ukraine N.A.U Theatre

Sat 7th March Moscow, Russia RED

Sun 9th March St Petersburg, Russia Aurora

Tue 10th March Pratteln, Switzerland Z7

Wed 11th March Milan, Italy Live Club

Fri 13th March Bilbao, Spain Santana 27

Sat 14th March Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz 2

Sun 15th March Madrid, Spain La Riviera

Thu 19th March London, U.K. Islington Assembly Hall

Fri 20th March Eindhoven, Netherlands Prognosis Festival

Sun 22nd March Show Brno, Czech Republic Sono

Tue 24th March Kosice, Slovakia Colosseum

Wed 25th March Budapest, Hungary Barba Negra

BE PROG! MY FRIEND FESTIVAL ADD PLINI TO THE LINE-UP FOR 2018

Named as the ‘Event of the Year’ at this year’s Progressive Music Awards, Barcelona based festival Be Prog! My Friend recently announced that Sons of Apollo and Pain of Salvation will play in 2018. Today they have now revealed that Australian virtuoso Plini will join the line-up for next year. The festival organisers comment:

Plini the Australian guitar master, is coming to Be Prog! after a recent successful headline tour to promote his album ‘Handmade Cities’. Despite his youth, Plini is now recognized as one Australia’s most important acts within the progressive scene. Albums like ‘The End of Everything’ and ‘Sweet Nothings’ are fine examples of what this talented young musician is able to do and his fresh and dynamic stage show will dazzle the audience at next year’s festival’

Plini himself adds, ‘Barcelona is one of my favourite cities in the world to visit, let alone perform in, so it’s going to be an absolute treat to get to play in such a beautiful setting as a part of what will surely be an epic lineup. Can’t wait!’

Be Prog! My Friend which has played host to the likes of Opeth, Steven Wilson, Anathema, Devin Townsend, TesseracT, The Pineapple Thief, Magma, Agent Fresco, Camel, Meshuggah, Katatonia, Riverside, Ulver, Animals as Leaders, Ihsahn, Alcest, Jethro Tull and Marillion will take place on 29th and 30th June next year.

Tickets are on sale now priced at 130 Euros.

‘And so Prog finds itself in love with Barcelona, the delightful weather and everything that Be Prog! My Friend has to offer’ – Prog Magazine

‘The leading festival for progressive music in Spain, showcased avant-garde music in a magnificent location’ – The Independent

‘Set in the hazy sunlit square of Barcelona’s historic and quite stunning Poble Espanyol, it certainly beats the sodden mud of the British festival season’ – Total Guitar Magazine

‘If nothing else, it proves that prog is alive and kicking. Especially in Catalonia’ – Classic Rock Magazine

http://www.beprogmyfriend.com/

facebook.com/beprogmyfriend 

Be Prog! My Friend takes place in the heart of Barcelona and with an airport only 12km away, regular, cheap flights make it an easy festival to get and from the UK. Bands will start playing from mid/late afternoon each day which will also mean visitors have plenty of time to explore the stunning city of Barcelona while they are there.

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com

Barcelona based festival Be Prog! My Friend to return in 2018 with Sons of Apollo and Pain of Salvation

Named as the ‘Event of the Year’ at this year’s Progressive Music Awards, Barcelona based festival Be Prog! My Friend is set to return in 2018 for its 5th edition. Having played host to the likes of Opeth, Steven Wilson, Anathema, Devin Townsend, TesseracT, The Pineapple Thief, Magma, Agent Fresco, Camel, Meshuggah, Katatonia, Riverside, Ulver, Animals as Leaders, Ihsahn, Alcest, Jethro Tull and Marillion the festival will take place on 29th and 30th June next year.

Held in the beautiful open air surroundings of Poble Espanyol – a huge stone built architectural museum – the site is one of the most important and striking landmarks of tourism in Barcelona. Whilst by day the Catalonian hotspot may play host to some of Barcelona’s most interesting historical articles, by the end of June it will instead play host to some of the world’s finest progressive artists. The first two bands to be confirmed for next year’s festival are Sons of Apollo and Pain of Salvation.

The festival organisers comment:

‘We are very pleased to share with you the first two bands for the 5th Be Prog! My Friend festival. Sons of Apollo are a supergroup featuring Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Billy Sheehan and Jeff Scott Soto who have joined forces to create this amazing project. This is the first European show they’ve announced. They will release ‘Psychotic Symphony’ next month but if you have listened to their song “Coming Home” you know that this is a supergroup who can create brilliant music to back it up. This is really a very special opportunity to see all these names on the same stage. Joining them are Pain of Salvation who recently released their colossal album ‘In The Passing Light Of Day’ which has made them a must see in the progressive world. Seeing them live is simply a blast so for the festival next year we needed to have them play. 

A limited number of 200 tickets are on sale now priced at 100 Euros before rising to the final price of 130 Euros.

‘And so Prog finds itself in love with Barcelona, the delightful weather and everything that Be Prog! My Friend has to offer’ – Prog Magazine

‘The leading festival for progressive music in Spain, showcased avant-garde music in a magnificent location’ – The Independent

‘Set in the hazy sunlit square of Barcelona’s historic and quite stunning Poble Espanyol, it certainly beats the sodden mud of the British festival season’ – Total Guitar Magazine

‘If nothing else, it proves that prog is alive and kicking. Especially in Catalonia’ – Classic Rock Magazine

http://www.beprogmyfriend.com/

facebook.com/beprogmyfriend 

Be Prog! My Friend takes place in the heart of Barcelona and with an airport only 12km away, regular, cheap flights make it an easy festival to get and from the UK. Bands will start playing from mid/late afternoon each day which will also mean visitors have plenty of time to explore the stunning city of Barcelona while they are there.

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com