''Psychotic Symphony'' is the debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
Sons of Apollo
Sons of Apollo is an American progressive metal supergroup formed in 2017 and composed of drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan, keyboardist Derek Sherinian, vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, and guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.
History
Sherinia ...
. It was released on October 20, 2017.
The album was produced by drummer
Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...
and keyboardist
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...
under the name "The Del Fuvio Brothers" a nickname they adopted during their time together in
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
.
All band members were involved in the creation of the songs. Portnoy and Sherinian were the main songwriters.
The album was released as CD, digital download, vinyl and a special edition containing a bonus disc with instrumental versions of the songs and an alternate mix of "Opus Maximus."
The band began touring to promote the album in early 2018.
Concept and recording
The band kept their sound as simple as possible. When Soto tried out more sophisticated ideas the band decided to keep things simple and straight.
The album's overall sound has both the virtuosity of progressive metal and the straightforwardness of classic rock.
When Portnoy and Sherinian started the band they thought it would go in a direction similar to Dream Theater only to realize it would end up completely different.
Psychotic Symphony is influenced by:
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
("Divine Addiction"),
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
("Coming Home") and
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
When asked about it being a progressive rock album Bumblefoot said:
The album's title is taken off a line from the track "Lost in Oblivion".
When asked about the artwork, Sherinian explained: "
..credit goes to Mike Portnoy. He was in charge of the cover art. He had a vision of doing a strong press, clean press and then his symbolism - the eagle and the lion and then you can see all the headstocks of Billy and Bumblefoot."
Originally, the cover was to have two lions facing each other (each representing Portnoy and Sherinian) but the keyboardist suggested they replace his lion with an eagle.
The album recording took ten days. Bumblefoot, Sherinian, and Portnoy began work initially with Sheehan and Soto joining the band halfway into the recording sessions due to touring commitments.
Most of the lyrics were written by Soto with some song titles were suggested by Sherinian.
Song information
"God of the Sun", was mostly written by Sherinian and was the first track to be recorded since it was the only song that was already sketched before the album sessions.
It contains Sherinian's favorite keyboard solo in the album.
"Coming Home" illustrates how Sons of Apollo is a contemporary progressive metal band influenced by classic rock bands.
A promotional video of the track was released on September 15, 2017, and shot at Ocean Studios. The video shows all five members in a circle performing the song live in studio. According to Portnoy: "'Coming Home' feels like the Sons of Apollo Grand Entrance--almost like a fighter entering the ring. I knew this had to be the first video and first time people see us playing together."
The lyrics were mostly written by Soto.
The riff at the chorus was inspired by the main bass riff on
Digital Underground
Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour.
Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty Hu ...
's "
The Humpty Dance
"The Humpty Dance" is a song by the American rap group Digital Underground from their debut album '' Sex Packets''. Released as the second single from the album in January 1990, it reached No. 11 on the pop chart, No. 7 on the R&B chart, and No. ...
."
"Signs of the Time" was the first song written by the band together.
It was the first to be revealed to the public on August 11, 2017. The track opens with Bumblefoot, Sheehan and Portnoy playing a riff
followed by verses written by Portnoy and sung in unison with Soto. The chorus lines were written by Soto and sung by Soto, Bumblefoot and Portnoy.
The lyrics describe Soto "taking a closer look at the world."
The song's riff was given the working title "Korntera" by Bumblefoot because it sounded like a mixture of
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 ...
and
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...
. Sherinian saw it as a modern-day
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
song.
"Labyrinth" is Portnoy's personal favorite on the album and features unusual time signatures and orchestrations.
"Alive" was suggested by Soto and the band's response to it was so positive they barely changed the song.
Portnoy stated that the song was composed by all the instrumentalists and had its lyrics and melodies written by Soto.
The band envisioned the song as a potential radio hit.
"Lost in Oblivion" was written around a Bumblefoot riff. Portnoy pointed it out as "one of the hardest patterns I've ever had to cop."
The song was the subject of a promotional video directed by
Vicente Cordero and released simultaneously with the album.
"Figaro's Whore" is a short keyboard instrumental track that serves as a prelude to "Divine Addiction" and was compared by Portnoy to Van Halen's "
Eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often ...
." According to Sherinian "the title comes from the fact that there's one part where I start shredding and when it starts going down low like: 'Fig-aro, fig-aro, figaro, figaro, figaro' –reminding me of ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
.'' 'Whore' was added simply because it's a fun word to say". The use of the word "whore" in the title led to the track being labeled with an explicit lyrics warning on digital retailers, despite it having no lyrics at all. Sherinian and Portnoy noted the oddity of such a label on an entirely instrumental song.
"Divine Addiction" talks about
sex addiction
According to proponents of the concept, sexual addiction, also known as sex addiction, is a state characterized by compulsive participation or engagement in sexual activity, particularly sexual intercourse, despite negative consequences. The con ...
from the first-person perspective of a girl.
The ending track "Opus Maximus" is an instrumental
that the band composed "section by section" with "no destination."
It was a process that probably took two days according to Sherinian.
Track listing
Critical reception
''
Loudersound
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form a ...
''
's Fraser Lewry reviewed the album positively—stating that the band "is very much the sum of its parts. The musicians are as good as you'd expect, especially Portnoy, who almost seems to drag the rest of the band along with him, and Thal, whose playing veers from ugly metallic crunch to stunningly fluid solo.. (the album is) fierce, loud, bewildering, brilliantly performed and monstrously entertaining".
In a less favorable review for ''Metal Injection'', Jordan Blum felt the album was competent overall but lacked originality. He said the album was "filled with in-your-face intricacy, uninspired lyricism, and raucous vocals,
..packed with impressive performances from start to finish, as well as a few standout moments; however, it also fails to go beyond mere sufficiency in every respect, resulting in a forgettable effort that’s lazily innocuous and overwhelmingly familiar."
Personnel
;Sons of Apollo
*
Jeff Scott Soto
Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also sa ...
– lead vocals
*
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Ronald Jay Blumenthal (born September 25, 1969), better known by his stage name Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal or just simply as Bumblefoot, is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He adopted his nickname from the bacterial infection of the s ...
– guitar, backing vocals
*
Billy Sheehan
William Sheehan (born March 19, 1953) is an American musician. He is best known for playing the bass guitar with acts such as Talas, Steve Vai, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Niacin, and The Winery Dogs. He is also known for his "lead bass" playing ...
– bass
*
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...
– keyboards, string
arrangement
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
s on "God of the Sun" and "Labyrinth"
*
Mike Portnoy
Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departur ...
– drums, backing vocals
;Additional Musicians
*
Ashwin Batish -
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
and
chant
A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...
ing
* Keshav Batish - Tabla
* Artyom Manukyan -
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
* Armand Melnbardis -
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
* Kiara Perico -
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
* Enrico Cacace - additional orchestration
;Production
* Mike Portnoy - production
*Derek Sherinian - production
*Jerry Guidroz -
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
* Greg Foeller - assistant engineering
* Corey Mast, Brent Woods, Simone Sello, Thomas Cuce - additional engineering
* Jay Ruston - mixing
* Paul Logus -
mastering
* Thomas Ewerhard - artwork and
cover illustration
* Hristo Shindov - photography
References
{{Authority control
2017 debut albums
Sons of Apollo albums
Inside Out Music albums