Sons of Apollo - Derek Sherinian Interview

Good Afternoon everyone!

I'm curious to see if anyone has heard of the new band "Sons of Apollo" , feautring Derek Sherinian, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, Jeff Scott Soto and Ron Thal ("Bumblefoot")

If you haven't checked them out already, dig in on this interview with Derek!

CRR Interview - Derek Sherinian – To the Moon — and Beyond!

please comment and let me know what you think of the band and their sound!

 

Just checked out their video. Really dig what I’m hearing and I think I’m going to preorder the album. I’m surprised more people are not commenting on this new group?

 

This is prog metal with real swagger and balls! Killer album with some incredible playing and great songwriting!

 

Listening to their album right now. It's really good stuff if nothing groundbreaking. Certainly better than anything Dream Theater has done in about 10+ years. Hopefully they will stick with it and continue making records.

 

Here is a link to the track samples on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Psychotic-...qid=1508611285&sr=1-1&keywords=sons+of+apollo

 

I'm currently waiting for my gold vinyl version to arrive. Coming Home was the pick of the pre-release videos for me.

 

Could not disagree more. This songs like a poor man's Dream Theater, but without the songwriting. Directionless hard rock with no memorable melodies. I wasn't expecting a lot out of this anyway, but this is more bland than I expected. Having those good players doesn't mean a lot without songs, and this record doesn't have them, IMO.

 

Well it's not necessarily MILES ahead of DT, but I appreciate that it's not as cringey and awkward as stuff like Prophets of War, The Count of Tuscany or the entirety of the Astonishing. I like it better than anything since Six Degrees but that's just one guys opinion. Also influenced by the fact that I'm a huge Bumblefoot fan. And Jeff kills the vocals too.

 

Not to turn this into a Dream Theater vs Sons of Apollo thing (which is no contest), but I love all three albums they've done with Mangini, including The Astonishing (even if it is a bit too long). The last few albums with Portnoy were pretty uninspired, so the change was needed and has resulted in the band kicking ass again.

As for this Sons... stuff, I think the singer is a total miss for this project; his voice does nada for me. And the songs all sound like they were written in 10 minutes and just put to tape without any self-editing. Heck, even God of the Sun has numerous transitions that are downright painful (and that seems to be the one song most like from it). Reviews on this overall haven't been that good the last couple days (unless you ask Sherinian or Portnoy :lol), and I'll be surprised to see this band last that long.

 

Glad I came upon this post. I visited Derek's site a few weeks ago and haven't seen anything new there for a while. More of a billboard for his services. Now it appears the domain is parked. I was bummed when he left DT since I really liked the emotion in his playing and he stepped it up when going solo.

I'll have to check out the audio tracks on YouTube and see if its to my liking.

 

The vinyl is on three sides - anyone have this and can comment on the sound quality?

The 2CD version is very nicely done - good sound and great packaging (digibook, in depth booklet with studio diary and pictures). The promo campaign in youtube is great also.

 

DT is a copycat since 20 years. SoA are great musicians, but they are poor songwriters. But the album is better than the last 5 DT studio records. I rate this album 6/10.

 

To be fair I don't think they are poor songwriters. They just kinda threw these songs together while jamming and didn't give them enough thought. That's why I'm hoping they will take more time writing a potential follow up album. Also the writing could be more original. Did anyone else notice the overt nods to ELP and Focus on "Opus Maximus"?

 

Does anyone compare the vinyl an cd mastering ?

 

On my third listen to this today, and it's absolutely exceeded my expectations. And since Dream Theater comparisons are inevitable...i'll say it's the best Dream Theater album in 15 years.

 

I really like it. The front half of the album hit me immediately. The second half has grown on me tremendously over the weekend with multiple listens. "God Of The Sun" is the highlight for me. If we are comparing it to Dream Theater, I will say I like it more than anything they've done since A Dramatic Turn of Events. I think the songwriting is there as opposed to a previous post. Some of the sounds remind me of "Falling Into Infinity" which I know many DT fans don't care for but I like a ton of stuff on that album too. Musically it's far surpassed my expectations. Lyrically there is nothing groundbreaking, but lyrics/vocals, always seem to get in the way of this style of music for me. The chorus of "Signs Of The Time" reminds me of Elefante era Kansas and that's not a bad thing to me. Happy to have it.

 

I'm on my 5th listen now and I'm super impressed with this album. I don't understand how someone could interpret these songs as thrown together or half assed, this is prog metal with serious attitude, swagger and emotion! Derek's aggressive keyboard sounds are second to none, Ron's guitars are insane, Mike's drumming is incredibly technical without sounding antiseptic, Billy is in the pocket and has a killer bass tone that is way different from his norm and Jeff's vocals are powerful and melodic without the usual prog metal cheese trappings of other bands! Sorry for the run on sentence but this is the kind of prog metal I've been waiting for. If you are remotely interested in the genre or any of the players involved in this record, get it now!

 

Arrived today and played loud (sorry next door!!). Great album, but seems odd to include an instrumental version of an album that includes two instrumentals

 

Funny that I finally saw this thread for the first time maybe an hour after I saw it as a recommendation on Amazon. Looks intriguing.

 

I'm putting in an order for the vinyl based on the feedback I've heard so far, namely that this sounds like FII-era DT and that was my favorite of their albums. I'm not very knowledgeable of Thal's work, but every other band member is someone whose prior work I've enjoyed a great deal.

But I have to disagree that the Portnoy-Mangini switch 'reinvigorated' the band. For one album, maybe. Octavarium was a great album IMO, and Systematic Chaos has fleeting moments, but BC&SL was a mess, and Portnoy's influence was about equal on all three. ADTOE was a great album, but not necessarily redemption on that. Since then have been two totally lackluster albums with the worst drum sounds in DTs catalog, surpassing even I&W.

PS. Also included with that order, since it is coming from the store that the SoA website directed me to, are a half-dozen other prog albums I have been meaning to get. Shh... don't tell my wife!

 

Sherinian was the only real hard rock keyboardist they've ever had. He always had killer keyboard sounds and a style that played up their classic rock influences. I'd take him over Kevin Moore's dated synths or Rudess' "I went to Juliard!" classical showoff stuff any day. I really liked Derek's solo albums, but I'm really happy to see him take some of that style and put it in the context of a traditional band again.

Whether the songs click with you or not is entirely up to the individual, but I can't imagine any fans of Dream Theater in the mid/late 90's not at least enjoying a few tracks on this record.

 

Recommended this album in the prog thread. I love it. I am a Dream Theater fan and always loved Sherinian. I think he kept that band grounded and was a good counterbalance to the other guys. Hearing his signature keyboard sound on that opening track gave me chills....And always loved the Deep Purple influence he shows (Divine Addiction)

It's great to hear him and Portnoy together again in the studio. JSSoto complements this band perfectly. I had no idea Bumblefoot could play guitar like this.

Good stuff for prog metal fans or fans of any of these musicians

 

Agree. Although I would say Train of Thought instead of Six Degrees.

Other than Scenes From A Memory I have just grown tired of Rudess

 

Couldn't disagree more (other than about the last two Portnoy DT albums) but hey, to each their own

 

I rather like the album and the band so far, its far better than Winery Dogs, sorry that was a mess of a project band. Much bigger Sherinian fan than a Rudess fan, and agree that after Scenes I really lost interest in Rudess. All his wannabe synth/guitar solos are a bore, his contribution in LTE is much better than what he does for DT.

Portnoy seems to be uncomfortable after an album or two with these project bands.......Can't imagine the guys wants badly to go back to DT, another thread LOL!!