SONS OF APOLLO Launch Video For “Goodbye Divinity”

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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 and CD package, and on all digital formats.

 

They launched the Vicente Cordero-directed video for the album’s 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.

 

U.S. fans can pre-save the album on streaming services and be in with a chance of winning digital subscriptions to Modern Drummer and Bass Player magazines, a signed REMO drumhead, and two tickets to an upcoming U.S. tour date. Head here to enter.

 

“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.”

 

There are eight tracks on MMXX, with variations in length totaling 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.”

MMXX Track List:

Goodbye Divinity (7:16)
Wither To Black (4:48)
Asphyxiation (5:09)
Desolate July (6:11)
King Of Delusion (8:49)
Fall To Ascend (5:07)
Resurrection Day (5:51)
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 23rd in Sacramento, CA, 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:

 

North America 2020

Thu 1/23 – Sacramento, CA – Crest Theater
Fri 1/24 – Pomona, CA – The Glass House
Sat 1/25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
Sun 1/26 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Tue 1/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
Wed 1/29 – Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater
Fri 1/31 – St. Charles, IL – Arcada Theater
Sat 2/1 – Battle Creek, MI – The Music Factory
Sun 2/2 – Toronto, ONT. – Mod Club
Mon 2/3 – Montreal QUE. – Corona Theater
Wed 2/5 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Thu 2/6 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
Fri 2/7 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak
Sat 2/8 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen PAC
 

Europe 2020

Sat 2/29 – Germany – TBA
Mon 3/2 – Drammen, Norway – Union Scene
Tue 3/3 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Traedgarn
Thu 3/5 – Kyiv, Ukraine N.A.U – Theatre
Sat 3/7 – Moscow, Russia – RED
Sun 3/8 – St Petersburg, Russia – Aurora
Tue 3/10 – Pratteln, Switzerland – Z7
Wed 3/11 – Milan, Italy – Live Club
Fri 3/13 – Bilbao, Spain – Santana 27
Sat 3/14 – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz 2
Sun 3/15 – Madrid, Spain La – Riviera
Tue 3/17 – France – TBA
Wed 3/18 – France – TBA
Thu 3/19 – London, U.K. Islington – Assembly Hall
Fri 3/20 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Prognosis Festival
Sun 3/22 – Show Brno, Czech Republic – Sono
Tue 3/24 – Kosice, Slovakia – Colosseum
Wed 3/25 – Budapest, Hungary – Barba Negra

 

 

SONS OF APOLLO have certainly enriched the music sphere since their formation in 2017. It says much that the huge talent involved immediately combined with a cohesive and recognizable individual stance on their #1 debut album, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY, acknowledged as one of the finest releases in ’17. Praised by Loudwire as an “…impressive debut disc,” it was released October 20, 2017 via InsideOutMusic/Sony. It debuted on Billboard’s “Heatseeker” chart at #1, as well as at #10 on the “Rock Chart,” and #33 on the “Top Current Albums” chart.

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