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 +
CD package, and on all digital formats. Pre-orders for all formats will be
available starting November 15th, which will include an instant download of the
album’s first single, “Goodbye Divinity,” on iTunes and Amazon.
“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.”
