Review of Sons of Apollo's “MMXX” (Album)

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Anselm Anderson, our guest music reviewer, is back with his fourth review. Thank God his specialty's hard rock, because we love to keep our ear-to-the-ground on new hardcore music.

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MMXX

Sons of Apollo

(Album Review)

The Sons of Apollo are the progressive metal supergroup, which is comprised of drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), bassist Derek Sherinian (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big), guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns ‘N’ Roses), and frontman Jeff Scott Soto (Journey). They recently completed work for their second album MMXX, due for release in January via Inside Out Music/Sony Records. This will be the band’s follow up to last year’s Psychotic Symphony. The album will be produced by Portnoy and Sherinian, collectively known as The Fuvio Brothers. The band promises something similar to the first album, but feel they know each other a lot better now, and that this is reflected in the work.

The first single “Goodbye Divinity,” is a stylistic track that showcases the band’s musicianship. The opening prelude is a slow tempo start with the echoes of Sherinian’s cosmic mellotron, soaring across melody lines, like an eagle searching the skies. Portnoy then intervenes with the heavy pounding of drums before the onset is completed through aural lines of bass and electric guitar. This intro helps set the mood with classical and psychedelic influences. The tempo then picks up its intensity, as the drums kick-in once more for Soto to sing. The complex time signature and irregular beats add an edge that builds to a climax. Soto roars with emotion, as he declares “I still remember all the misery/ Blind eyes couldn’t see.”

The music builds to a powerful chorus, where the band joins in on backing tracks. This has an overall feel of a tighter chemistry in comparison to the band’s first album. They feel like they are exploring their musical influences in more depth with an extensive interlude that feels like some divine dual guitar work . Portnoy has always been a skillful drummer that continues to contribute his payload through fierce drumming, whilst Sherinian conducts the music via his mellotron like an errant composer.

MMXX will be released on January 20, 2020 via InsideOut/Sony Records.

"Goodbye Divinity" video

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More about our GUEST Music Reviewer:

My name is Anselm Anderson and I am a freelance publisher from the North-West of England, United Kingdom.

My passions are writing and playing music with ambitions on becoming Music journalist. I currently host my own blog entitled Rockstarblogs that reviews the best in unsigned music. My other experiences are writing for several other musical publications including The Old School Project, Neon Music and RockChicMe. I enjoy playing guitar and studying music. I also host a weekly rock show online called Rockstarclassics that looks at the stories behind the most legendary bands around.

My favourite genre is all things rock, metal and soul, so expect an insight into some of the best in new metal and rock tracks.

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