Have you ever felt like you've run a marathon, yet never left your favorite easy chair?... well, that's the sensation I got after delving into Psychotic Symphony from the tour de force known as Sons Of Apollo.
Consisting of Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Winery Dogs), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, all world...), Billy Sheehan (DLR, Mr. Big, Winery Dogs), Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GNR, That Metal Show theme), and Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie, Journey, W.E.T., Talisman), Sons Of Apollo display a unique amalgamation of progressive leanings coupled with solid melodies. A good portion of those melodic leanings can be attributed to the inclusion of Jeff Scott Soto as vocalist. Long ignored by mainstream listeners, JSS has proven to be quite the vocal chameleon in his 30+ years in the rock scene.
"God Of The Sun" starts off with an interesting middle-eastern theme, before kicking into a double-bass, staccato guitar/keyboard main riff. After a healthy progressive leaning introduction, the song turns into an interesting Deep Purple influenced verse section. The chorus is quite catchy, given weight by the grounded Soto vocals his fans will remember from early Yngwie albums. The slow middle section adds a fascinating change that seques into what many will term the "Dream Theater" portion. I hesitate to label anything this band does as derivative of their past endeavors simply because I expect them to. It's Portnoy & Sherinian for Christ's sake! If anyone can do it, they've earned the right.
2nd single "Coming Home" is basically a straight ahead rock track, with an amazing keyboard intro. The main riff is loose & fluid. What this song does is let Jeff shine, showcasing his forceful, anthemic vocals.. Interestingly, it's really on this song when long time Sheehan fans will hear that he's changed his signature sound & given it a beefier, spacious bottom end.
We've reached the first single "Signs Of The Time", and it's here we really get a complete vision of what SOA is: Progressive leanings, heavy melodies, virtuosic musicianship. There's much here to digest between the classic metal vocals & odd time signatures. Sherinian, especially, shines on this track, weaving keyboard lines in & out of the various sections. Thal's guitar breakdown around the 4 minute mark shows an impressive use of notes & space, a hallmark of modern prog rock. This was a solid choice for the initial release as it houses nearly all the elements the separate players bring.
"Labyrinth"... Wow, what does one say?... From the opening ethereal keyboard passage, through the verse & chorus, there's a clear epic feeling that this song will be a journey. Again, it's interesting to note how Portnoy's choice of Jeff Scott Soto as vocalist somehow changes how one would think these songs would be presented otherwise. There's a foundation that Soto brings in his metal register that separates this prog from some of the others; It's clearly not in the Marillion/DT/Porcupine Tree milieu, but those MUSICAL elements are there. It makes for an interesting dichotomy that keeps the songs grounded in classic hard rock.
"Alive" begins with a riff lush with chords many would equate to mid-90's grunge, until JSS starts to sing a classic hard rock vocal in his lower register. This track would most closely resemble something off JSS' solo band SOTO material. Slick, spacious arrangement, letting the melody control the song. A nice mid-tempo change after Labyrinth & the cacophony of craziness to follow...
The opening riff just got finished & I'm already exhausted... "Lost In Oblivion" is a frenetic tour de force. There's Nu-Metal nods, progressive elements, happy fun time signature craziness... It isn't until the chorus when one feels there's a direction to the song, and I think that's by design considering the title. I always feel a little on edge when this track comes on, as it's hard to reconcile many of the parts as whole.
"Figaro's Whore" is a sweet little Sherinian diddy that leads into one of my personal standout tracks.
This song is literally my "Divine Addiction"... From the distorted opening keyboard, to the guitar doubled main riff, one can't help to feel a Deep Purple/Kashmir connection. What really makes this track stand out is the vocal prowess of JSS. One listen to that chorus not only sets the toes a tappin', but if you're not air drumming, you may want to check your pulse! When Soto heeds all that "It's begging you, begging you to stay" there's SO much power in the delivery you wonder if maybe you wronged him personally at some point. I would call this the song that Blackmore forgot to write. Exquisite, memorable, and certainly one I will come back to often.
Finishing off this excursion is a 10+ minute instrumental "Opus Maximus". Now those familiar with Dream Theater will see an obvious parallel here, as the two main forces in SOA are Mike Portnoy & Derek Sherinian, That being said, Bumblefoot more than holds his own on the guitar front & I challenge any Billy Sheehan fan to realize this is actually him on these tracks without knowing. The Ron Thal/Billy Sheehan duo musically will be the ones scrutinized on this release & I can tell you they both play amazing. In fact, it almost seems as if they play off each other quite a bit, which in turn lets Portnoy & Sherinian shine in their places.
As a listening experience, Psychotic Symphony challenges, yet rarely strays from the melodic/progressive genre they surely are targeting, There are enough metal elements to satiate those that need a fix of double bass & down stroke picking. I know the guys are dedicated to this as a BAND & not a project, with a full 2018 planned on the tour front. I, for one, will be supporting them in that conquest, because, dammit, how often does one get to see world class musical gods together at their finest?!
