I just ordered the cd for release day. I think the biggest thing they will have working against them is the band name. They have all those high caliber musicians and all they could come up with is Sons of Apollo??
As someone that has no remaining interest in the band, I can say that I personally find nothing wrong with the name. It's not great but it's not terrible. I mean, I never thought Dream Theater was a great name either.
Even funnier is that if you look at the Cruise to the Edge 2018 banner, they are listed as one of the top acts alongside Steve Hackett and Marillion (just below Yes). How does a band with ZERO PEDIGREE get equal billing as those proven (over numerous DECADES) acts?
Many would argue that Haken has been the top prog act of the 10s, yet they are billed underneath a band that has no proven track record, never done a full length show, etc.
It's almost comical.
I've made this point before, but then it was about MP's Shattered Fortress, this time it's even more ridiculous indeed.
Be Prog, My Friend! (annual prog festival in Barcelona with very good line-ups every year so far) announced SoA together with Pain of Salvation as their first two acts. SoA currently occupies the largest spot (by far) in their Facebook banner.
It boils down to the indiviual band members being well known enough to warrant such publicity. What I think sucks is that this band doesn't even need to prove itself (same thing went for Shattered Fortress, or even his son's band Next to None, who just 'happened' to join Haken on their NA and Europe tours), while all bands started out anew take years or even decades to get to that spot. That said, obviously all the guys in the band have paid their dues. They all started out as smaller artists as well. Having Portnoy/Sherinian be an opening act on a prog festival would be equally flawed. It's a tough tightrope.
I've always thought the same about Next to None, they played in Mexico a month ago with TSF and Haken. There are many excellent bands that have never been able to come to Mexico. I know that in the "real world" it's not just about the music but it's also about who do you know (and not just talking about the music business), but it still sucks for new/not-so-known bands that this happens. Not everybody has the same chance.
Sorry if I'm derailing the thread even more.
I hate to say it but almost all tours have an opening act that has more to do with what the label wants or whether the label has someone whose cousin is in the band or whatever. It's like that in every facet of life including jobs, contracts, etc. Cronyism, nepotism...it rarely has anything to do with who is best for the job. So this is nothing new and in no way unique to Mike Portnoy.
On that same token, he always bragged about handpicking the opening bands and giving up and comers an opportunity so one would think he would chill out with Next to None. I mean, I fault him in no way at all for having his son open for one or maybe two or three tours. Probably time to give someone else a shot now.