{"id":55634,"date":"2017-10-06T20:04:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T01:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=55634"},"modified":"2017-10-06T20:04:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-07T01:04:02","slug":"sons-of-apollo-psychotic-symphony-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2017\/sons-of-apollo-psychotic-symphony-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sons of Apollo | Psychotic Symphony"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The term \u201csupergroup\u201d gets tossed around a lot within the music industry, but here on Sons of Apollo\u2019s Psychotic Symphony<\/em>, the term \u201csupergroup\u201d in every sense of the word fits the band to an absolute T. On vocals Jeff Scott Soto (Journey, Eyes, Talisman, Axel Rudi Pell,); on guitar, Ron \u201cBumblefoot\u201d Thal (Guns N\u2019 Roses, Lita Ford, Art of Anarchy,); on bass Billy Sheehan (Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, UFO, David Lee Roth,); on keyboards, Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Black Country Communion,); and on drums Mike Portnoy (Flying Colors, Dream Theater, Winery Dogs, Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold.) <\/p>\n

But let\u2019s start by talking about the band itself. When you have the music world\u2019s best come together, the result is an absolute Godsend, and on this, the individual talent of all five come together in one incredible showing. Throughout this release, each member of Sons of Apollo is allowed more than ample time to show what they\u2019ve got. It almost seemed as if this is an album to show the world just how enormously gifted each of these band members really are, and what bringing together such a talented pool can accomplish. <\/p>\n

So now let\u2019s talk about the songs. The music is extremely structured, planned with methodological exactness, with shifting chord progressions, and irregular drumming. Overall it is loud and intense, extreme and passionate as hell. Released on the Inside Out label, Sons of Apollo is part Progressive Metal, part Symphonic, part Doom, part Melodic Rock, part Hard Rock, part Classic Rock, and upon the opening track coming within earshot, an instant reach for the volume knob was made and it only went uphill from there. Here the best parts of Redemption, Pagan\u2019s Mind, Threshold, and Pyramaze, with even the Classic Rock and Progressive keyboards of Uriah Heep tossed in for good measure all come together. <\/p>\n

Think of just how great the members of Sons of Apollo are, as you hear the unbelievable guitar, keyboards, drums, bass and vocals of the CD highlight, the simply killer opening track, can\u2019t turn up it loud enough \u201cGod of the Sun.\u201d Here is a track that shines in every way possible. Keyboard and guitar solos are extensive; with huge vocals that carry this song straight into the stratosphere. A bit of Myrath or Orphaned Land can be heard on \u201cGod of the Sun\u201d as this song has a Middle Eastern flair, but still, it is heavy with melody and finesse. <\/p>\n

Listen as well to the guitars of \u201cComing Home,\u201d the heavy \u2013 Redemption heavy \u2013 \u201cSigns of the Time,\u201d and the to-die-for keyboards of \u201cLabyrinth,\u201d and \u201cLost in Oblivion.\u201d The short instrumental \u201cFigaro\u2019s Whore\u201d is a pure symphony made up entirely of majestic, regal, creepy, and spacey keyboards, and \u201cDivine Addiction\u201d could be heard on any Uriah Heep album. <\/p>\n

Closing Psychotic Symphony<\/em> is the downtrodden, gloomy almost Black Sabbath vibe of the instrumental \u201cOpus Maximus,\u201d a song where the bass guitar of Billy Sheehan comes alive. <\/p>\n

When hearing people like Soto, Thal, Sheehan, Sherinian, and Portnoy by themselves, it is a \u201cwow\u201d factor, but when hearing them as an ensemble it becomes a \u201choly shit\u201d factor. Because of the talents of the band members alone, and how amazing these songs sound when coming from people who are deserving of the \u201cwow\u201d factor, a 9\/10 is entirely fair. Of course worthless American radio will ignore this release and once again fail to do just what it is that radio is supposed to do (support bands and play their music) but for fans who want to hear just what a group of people like those who make up Sons of Apollo can produce, you need to hear this.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, Melodic Rock, Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band Members:
\nJeff Scott Soto \u2013 vocals
\nRon \u201cBumblefoot\u201d Thal \u2013 guitars
\nBilly Sheehan \u2013 bass
\nDerek Sherinian \u2013 keyboards
\nMike Portnoy \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. God of the Sun
\n2. Coming Home
\n3. Signs of the Time
\n4. Labyrinth
\n5. Alive
\n6. Lost in Oblivion
\n7. Figaro\u2019s Whore
\n8. Divine Addiction
\n9. Opus Maximus <\/p>\n

Label: Inside Out Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.sonsofapollo.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 9 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Franco Cerchiari – Sr. Columnist — The term \u201csupergroup\u201d gets tossed around a lot within the music industry, but here on Sons of Apollo\u2019s Psychotic Symphony, the term \u201csupergroup\u201d in every sense of the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":55637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15128],"tags":[10880,4228,1103,13729,185,2901,2932,1098,13728,11931,13727,1100],"class_list":{"0":"post-55634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2017","8":"tag-billy-sheehan","9":"tag-derek-sherinian","10":"tag-hard-rock","11":"tag-inside-out-records","12":"tag-jeff-scott-soto","13":"tag-melodic-rock","14":"tag-mike-portnoy","15":"tag-progressive-metal","16":"tag-psychotic-symphony","17":"tag-ron-thal","18":"tag-sons-of-apollo","19":"tag-symphonic-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}