Sons of Apollo Reveal ‘MMXX’ Album Details, New Video for ‘Goodbye Divinity’
Turn it up! Sons of Apollo are back with a second album ready to rock your world. The band recently announced that MMXX (pronounced 20/20) will arrive on Jan. 17 via InsideOut Music / Sony, and now they've unleashed the first taste of new music from the disc, a driving rocker named "Goodbye Divinity."
The track is a driving rocker filled with plenty of flourishes throughout the listening journey, as you might expect from the all-star crew. Drummer Mike Portnoy says of the song, “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.”
Portnoy returns, as does his musical partners Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Billy Sheehan and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. Portnoy and Sherinian, going under the moniker The Del Fuvio Brothers, produced the album, which will be issued as a standard CD, with a limited two-CD package (including instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), a two-LP/CD package and digital format options also available. Get your pre-orders in here.
Speaking further about the new album, Portnoy says, “Stylistically, we have followed the same path as the debut, 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.”
Portnoy, Sherinian and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal all took part in the writing process. “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.”
As you might expect with some of the band's proggy influences, there are some epic tracks on the album, including the 16-minute album closer "New World Today." “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,” says Portnoy.
“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.”
Take a listen to "Goodbye Divinity" below and check out the album's artwork and track listing. The band will also be hitting the road in early 2020 and dates can be found below with ticketing info available here.
Sons of Apollo, "Goodbye Divinity"
Sons of Apollo, MMXX Artwork + Track Listing
1. Goodbye Divinity (7:16)
2. Wither To Black (4:48)
3. Asphyxiation (5:09)
4. Desolate July (6:11)
5. King Of Delusion (8:49)
6. Fall To Ascend (5:07)
7. Resurrection Day (5:51)
8. New World Today (16:38)
Sons of Apollo North America 2020 Tour
Jan. 23 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Crest Theater
Jan. 24 - Pomona, Calif. @ The Glass House
Jan. 25 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Roxy
Jan. 26 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
Jan. 28 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ The State Room
Jan. 29 - Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Theater
Jan. 31 - St. Charles, Ill. @ Arcada Theater
Feb. 1 - Battle Creek, Mich. @ The Music Factory
Feb. 2 - Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club
Feb. 3 - Montreal Quebec @ Corona Theater
Feb. 5 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
Feb. 6 - New York, N.Y. @ Gramercy Theater
Feb. 7 - Jim Thorpe, Pa. @ Penn’s Peak
Feb. 8 - Englewood, N.J. @ Bergen PAC
Sons of Apollo Europe 2020 Tour
Feb. 29 - Germany @ TBA
March 2 - Drammen, Norway @ Union Scene
March 3 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Traedgarn
March 5 - Kyiv, Ukraine @ N.A.U Theatre
March 7 - Moscow, Russia @ RED
March 8 - St Petersburg, Russia @ Aurora
March 10 - Pratteln, Switzerland @ Z7
March 11 - Milan, Italy @ Live Club
March 13 - Bilbao, Spain @ Santana 27
March 14 - Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz 2
March 15 - Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera
March 17 - France @ TBA
March 18 - France @ TBA
March 19 - London, U.K. @ Islington Assembly Hall
March 20 - Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Prognosis Festival
March 22 - Show Brno, Czech Republic @ Sono
March 24 - Kosice, Slovakia @ Colosseum
March 25 - Budapest, Hungary @ Barba Negra