PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY

Here's another supergroup of talented musicians who got together from the desire of Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian who are almost like old brothers in need to make another album under this "modest" new band name "Sons of Apollo". The album starts with the opening track "God of the Sun" who will not please those who are against every band that does a copy of Dream Theater. The time signatures are almost the same as the "god" of Prog Metal and the guitar sound almost like Mr. Petrucci. The typical sound of Derek Sherinian keyboards can be heard throughout this album and in the song "Divine Addiction" there is a reference to John Lord with the Hammond organ. The drum playing of Mike Portnoy is not at rest as the guitar playing of "Bumblefoot" with some guitar solos. As for the vocals of Jeff Scott Soto, he doesn't have the greatest voice, but it seems to work here. The music is not always progressive, there is some classic hard rock music but it's always pretty intense. The most enjoyable songs are the more complex ones with a long instrumental break like "Labyrinth" who got a nice atmosphere with that ELP and UK keyboards sound and impressive playing of Derek, and as for the last epic song "Opus Maximus", this is an instrumental "tour de force" that sound like Liquid Tension Experiment. Here each musician shows their technique in a very fast tempo before slowing things down with a guitar solo.

You can either love this album and see as a masterpiece or hate it. I don't think it's a classic, but it's a very good album of Progressive Metal. 3.6 stars.

The family tree of Dream Theater projects is overwhelming as over the years each member has contributed a dizzying amount of collaborations to other projects. Very much is that the case with Mike Portnoy who left one the pioneers of progressive metal in 2010 and has since barely stood still for a second with his many bands such as The Winery Dogs, Flying Colors, Metal Allegiance and his countless Neal Morse projects as well as touring with countless other groups ranging from Twisted Sister to Avenged Sevenfold. In short, the man has remained quite busy but somehow has eschewed the progressive metal scene. That is until the newly founded SONS OF APOLLO entered the scene. Considered a supergroup for great reason, the newly formed band unleash their debut album PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY and shows Portnoy retracing his footsteps back to the Dream Theater heyday with healthy doses of the multitude of other prog metal bands that followed in their wake.

Once again Portnoy joins up with the equally prolific and ex-Dream Theater superstar Derek Sherinian, who together are the primary architects of the band as songwriters-in-chief and progenitors of an entirely new band that they claim to be the real thing and not a mere one off studio project. Also invited to the mix is the outstanding bassist Billy Sheehan who has worked with such greats as David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Mr. BIg, Talas and also The Winery Dogs. The group is filled out with vocalist Jeff Scott Solo who got his start on the first two Yngwie Malmsteen albums but also sung for Journey, W.E.T. and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And finally, the reason i even bothered to check out this SONS OF APOLLO album at all is one of my favorite guitarists on the scene Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal who in addition to having crafted some of the most diverse and creative solo albums has played with Guns N Roses as well as Art of Anarchy. He has also been a fairly prolific producer on the indy underground scene with such artists as Evoken.

Progressive metal has become a bit predictable over the years and although a few bands like Ayreon, Between The Buried And Me, Opeth and Mastodon have found new ways to express themselves within the genre, more often than not the genre is littered with technically gifted musicians retreading already heavily trodden musical pastures and in that regard SONS OF APOLLO marches on in an almost identical trajectory. Yes, the near hour long listening experience is chock full of complex compositions gussied up with heavy guitar riffs, outstanding solos, rich keyboard atmospheric constructs and percussive technical wizardry of stunning virtuosity but guess what. This is the best album Symphony X never made and that's exactly the problem with PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY in a nutshell and made all the more sad by the fact that this a veritable who's who in the top ranks of musical creative and technical musical expression. Only the expression part is missing.

Back to Bumblefoot. This is a guy who put his heart and soul into his first five albums where every track had more ideas stuffed into them than most bands muster up in a career and while the other members in this musical cast have had more 'normal' careers, they still have had their fingers in many pies and have exemplified a number of styles in the process. PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY on the other hand is a woefully uninspired by-the-numbers prog metal more in the vein of Symphony X at their most progressive (think 'V') although there are some bursts into symphonic based prog rock moments when Sheridan lets loose on the keyboards. Likewise Bumblefoot dishes out some of his classic squealing guitar solos between the cracks but the problem arises from the compositions themselves as the different suites that make up the tracks sound as if they were lifted verbatim from albums such as 'The Odyssey' or classic Symphony X around the turn of millennium.

Don't get me wrong, this is quite the listenable album and one that is well delivered, divinely produced and dripping with technically challenging workouts with some nods to classic hard rock, however the whole thing comes across as woefully achronistic as if it's a long lost album from the early 2000s that has only now emerged. Add to that, the insipid lyrics and been-there-done-that overall stylistic approach. Yep. Another clone band has emerged made all the more painful by the excellent talent on board. Perhaps these guys have been so busy in their respective projects that somebody forgot to tell them that this stuff is rather overdone at this point in progressive metal history. In short, if you simply can't get enough of the Symphony X style and need to hear a modern day Starcastle does Yes version of progressive metal, by all means check this out, however for yours truly, there are too many other innovative musical gems out there to check out and when i hear this i simply want to push STOP and immediately throw in Symphony X's 'The Divine Wings Of Tragedy' instead. Not a good sign.

Sons of Apollo are playing my home town soon. I don't live in a city with an Enormo-Dome so I was gobsmacked to learn that they will be performing 10 minutes walk from my front door. I was thus inspired to submit my first review for a couple of years now. It goes without saying that their album 'Psychotic Symphony' has been getting major rotation, so that I could pretend I know what the hell I'm talking about. Everyone knows about the Dream Theater connection within the band, but I have to go on record by saying that EVERYONE in this band pulls their weight. Mike Portnoy is a drumming god, Derek Sherinian is an awesome keyboard player, Billy Sheehan likewise a fabulous musician and Jeff Scott Soto has an amazing voice. I'm not going to disrespect the current DT singer, but I think Jeff has more of a vocal presence and authority. Not that I want James LaBrie replaced or anything, but I think if you merged SOA and DT then James might be one of the casualties. The real surprise for me was Bumblefoot. He blew me away and can fire out salvos of blistering solos, and then have moments of melodic genius.

The album opens with 'God of the Sun' and builds slowly with a Far Eastern vibe. It soon goes into Prog Metal overdrive and reminds me of Symphony X. I actually got into Symphony X before Dream Theater, and only became aware of DT when Symphony X supported them back in the day, around 10 years ago. I came away from that gig, wondering how I had missed out on DT for so long. This opening track is an epic, featuring a battle between Apollo and the encroaching darkness. No prizes for guessing who wins. Sort of wins. It's a cycle of sunlight and darkness out there, unless I've missed a memo.

'Coming Home' is a catchy Nickelback-esque track which opens with a recurring keyboard riff which burrows into your skull. Guilty pleasure confession - I like Nickelback, so I don't mind seeing similarities, particularly in the vocals. I obviously mean Nickelback in Prog-mode to the max. We then have a few bars near the end that reminds me of The Who, the guitar especially. This is a rock album isn't it?

'Signs of the Time' opens with Billy Sheehan's bass thudding away at the back of your cranium. It is another catchy number but less commercial than 'Coming Home'. Is commercial a dirty word? Should the music always be challenging and difficult to get into? This was apparently the first song written by the band when they got together and it features some jaw-droppingly phenomenal guitar from Bumblefoot.

'Labyrinth' opens with a string ensemble. Soto's voice sounds a little hoarse to me. I'm sure that was what he was aiming. The throat lozenges kick in and he quickly resumes normal service. I love his vocals, I really do. I hope that band stick around for a while as he deserves more recognition. I can hear some ELP keyboard influences around the 3 minutes mark (and later on) which then goes via Patrick Moraz into DT territory. Another excellent track, and later on Jon Lord makes an appearance (sort of). I love keyboards and synthesisers in bands, always have. Derek Sherinian is up there with the best of them.

'Alive' is the catchiest track on the album. For some reason it reminds me of the DT song 'Forsaken'. Both songs are now back to back on my latest Spotify playlist. The song features my favourite Bumblefoot moment - a breathtakingly beautiful solo around the 3 and a half minute mark. Just so damn gorgeous it is.

'Lost in Oblivion' opens with a synth-siren and is another memorable song. Rocks along and reminds me of Rainbow meets Symphony X. Jeff Scott Soto is a revelation on this song and throughout the album. He really anchors the band with his commanding vocals.

'Figaro's Whore' is an instrumental which conjures up Jon Lord just in time for his influence to be plastered all over the next track, 'Divine Addiction'. Ladies and gentlemen, on Hammond Organ I give you the ghost of Mr Jon Lord. I loved Jon in Deep Purple and Whitesnake. He was in my top 5 players and Derek Sherinian pays homage to him in sections of this track. It's perfectly fine to have influences - we all know what we like. I like Sons of Apollo.

'Opus Maximus' is an Opus Maximus. It is where the band remind you that they can play extremely well. Jeff Scott Soto gets to go for a pint at the bar. When this band play in my home town I can meet him at the bar and buy him a pint and say "You guys raaaawk man!" and other rockismic cliches.

Sons of Apollo are the new prog-metal super group with some truly renowned musicians.

Is no surprise that technically this album is just superb. Everything sounds just fantastic and the vocals from Soto are also awesome. Thal is a beast, Sheehan sounds incredible, Portnoy is so good as ever and Sherinian lacks maybe a bit of personality as keyboardist in my opinion, but he sounds fine.

But the problem is the songwriting here... There is a pair of really good songs like Coming Home and Opus Maximus, but the soul is missing. This music sounds like typical prog metal with glimpses of Dream Theater, Symphony X and Shadow Gallery, but it brings nothing new to the horizon. Just typical prog metal with no surprises.

That makes that after a few listens, the interest in this music starts to dismiss... And the feeling is that Psychotic Symphony is fine, but just that.

Best Tracks: God of the Sun (good opener), Coming Home (great riff) and Opus Maximus (the most complex and symphonic track of the album)

Conclusion: great musicians, tons of virtuosic playing, but lack of soul and true awesome songwriting. If you are into standard prog-metal, you will surely have a good time.

But if you are looking for something really exciting or new, just look somewhere else.

My rating: ***

Sons of Apollo is one of the manifold Mike Portnoy-led projects following the charismatic drummer's departure from Dream Theater in 2010, ideally a supergroup conceived by him and fellow former DT keyboard player Derek Sherinian as an outlet for their heavier musings and as some form of return to the progressive metal world. The duo is joined by Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal on guitars, Billy Sheehan on the bass (and MP bandmate in The Winery Dogs, a great modern hard rock band), and Jeff Scott Soto as the singer. Unsurprisingly the music of Sons of Apollo is complex and heavy, with a very strong classic rock edge, described by the band members simply as "progressive rock". And while such a collective is able to cause a lot of excitement, the promise and the expectation is quite fairly said, lived up to by the actual music on their debut album titled 'Psychotic Symphony'.

As mentioned before, the band's music is a mixture of progressive metal with hard rock writing, the result of which is a satisfactory collection of songs that would be able to excite anyone interested in this kind of music (which resembles what Deep Purple would attempt to compose if they were pretending to be Dream Theater). Initially impressive and memorable, repeated listens seem to wear out some of the songs (and riffs), however, which ultimately render the album a bit too predictable and one that may be seen as mediocre when compared to the music Portnoy and Sherinian have been involved in over the years. Still, one could not dismiss the fact that the entire thing is consistent, engaging, powerful and technically impressive, with some great highlights in the face of 'Signs of the Time', 'Alive', 'Lost in Oblivion', or the straightforward hard-rocker 'Divine Addiction'. Furthermore, the album is framed by two mini-epics, the closing one of which is entirely instrumental, which is a fine way for the band to honor their progressive backgrounds and interests.