Poll

How would you rate psycotic Symphony on a scale from 1 to 10?

10 (highest)
8 (3.4%)
9
13 (5.6%)
8
23 (9.9%)
7
43 (18.5%)
6
33 (14.2%)
5
32 (13.8%)
4
24 (10.3%)
3
14 (6%)
2
7 (3%)
1 (lowest)
7 (3%)
0. Their online behaviour ruined it (won't listen)
28 (12.1%)

Total Members Voted: 229

Author Topic: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)  (Read 464283 times)

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Offline rumborak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3395 on: February 13, 2018, 03:33:25 PM »
Regarding the DT cover songs, this must be really weird for Billy. How many DT songs has he played live now in PSMS, TWD and SOA?
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Online cramx3

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3396 on: February 13, 2018, 03:40:01 PM »
Regarding the DT cover songs, this must be really weird for Billy. How many DT songs has he played live now in PSMS, TWD and SOA?

Does BIlly even care?  Guy just seems to go with the flow.

Online TAC

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3397 on: February 13, 2018, 03:44:37 PM »
I keep coming into this thread hoping to be inspired to give a fuck about SOA. I just can't.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Anxiety35

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3398 on: February 13, 2018, 03:48:43 PM »
I have to say the videos fro the Orlando show are night & day difference for me in comparison to the cruise videos.

Orlando is much better. More energy from the band. They look like they will get better as the tour goes on. Looked like a good crowd too.

Still think Ron Thal is amazing and is the highlight of this band.

Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3399 on: February 13, 2018, 04:13:26 PM »
Ron Thal is the star of this band. Him playing a fretless guitar is one of the main reasons, while also playing a fretted in a different tuning. And also singing background vocals.

I'm interested in where this band will go from here? When they expect to record another album? They could gain some exposure, if they tour more. Just doing a handful of dates seems like a slow start.
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Offline IDontNotDoThings

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3400 on: February 13, 2018, 05:07:27 PM »
I keep coming into this thread hoping to be inspired to give a fuck about SOA. I just can't.

:iagree:
ドリームシアターはあまり好きではありませんが、ペンと紙を持っていたので、なんてこった。

Offline bill1971

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3401 on: February 13, 2018, 05:14:04 PM »
I keep coming into this thread hoping to be inspired to give a fuck about SOA. I just can't.

:iagree:

Me too and I ask myself why I do keep coming back. I think if there wasn't the ex DT connection I wouldn't give the band a second thought. I think if Thal, Sheehan and Soto formed a band with Virgil and some random keyboard player I wouldn't keep coming back. Taking NOTHING away from their skill level.

Offline pcs90

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3402 on: February 13, 2018, 05:29:18 PM »
I think if Thal, Sheehan and Soto formed a band with Virgil and some random keyboard player I wouldn't keep coming back. Taking NOTHING away from their skill level.
I think the music would be a lot more interesting as a result, though.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3403 on: February 13, 2018, 05:31:43 PM »
I am never a fan of tweaking someone else's album cover for your own live presentation, like when DT it when they covered full albums.  Seems disrespectful, unless the band itself gave your permission.

Offline Kocak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3404 on: February 13, 2018, 06:07:15 PM »
Long time lurker here.
Took the plunge and made an account.

I've read most of the comments on this thread while I waited for my account to get approved - would like to contribute my own two cents regarding this album and band.

On March 1st, I'll be marking my 10th year in the audio industry, I've worked on a number of albums, live shows and other productions - including a couple with MP himself. I discovered heavier styles of music with Train of Thought when it came out and never looked back.

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

I have a number of problems with this album with the first one being, I think when you go into a studio and write songs with the mentality of "throw everything on the wall and see what sticks", it devalues the album. An album needs time to mature and refine. It's not an easy thing to write an album, however, we have seen MP tweet regularly about how he and *insert band* have banged out an album in a week. It's not a criterion of success to have written and recorded an album in a week, substance is what matters.

In the studio, it's obvious when a musician has prepared properly for a session - even more so when they have neglected it. There's a dangerous line between perfection and "That'll do." and some musicians tend to get rather comfortable within the boundaries of "That'll do.".

MP closed down his own forum because he was unhappy with all the negativity surrounding the hype for SOA. You can't expect fans to jump on everything you do when you fail to reviatlise over the years and the gourmet meals you serve become slightly better microwave meals. This album does exactly that and serves up more of the same.

There are some interesting moments, but I sense the same old formula over and over again.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3405 on: February 13, 2018, 06:10:10 PM »
Good first post!

Welcome to the forum. :tup :tup

Offline ytserush

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3406 on: February 13, 2018, 07:03:15 PM »

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.


He's compensating for the shift in the music industry with the marketing. He seems to think he's pretty good at it but he doesn't realize that a loyal part of his fan base isn't on social media.

As far as practicing (or lack of) goes, he's never kept that a secret. What you see is what you get.  I think is still as capable as being musical as ever, he gave up on technique a long time ago if he even bothered with it at all.

As you know albums don't make money anymore so I would think it wouldn't make much economic sense to spend much time on them if you are as busy as he likes to keep himself.

Oddly enough, your opinion of surrounding himself with good musicians is the exact opinion I had when Derek started Planet X post-Dream Theater (Which is my favorite work by him, but appears to be the outlier since he doesn't seem to enjoy doing that kind of thing very much.)

Online TAC

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3407 on: February 13, 2018, 07:04:02 PM »
Yeah Kocak, that makes a lot of sense.

That probably explains why there is no life to this album for me. I like how you drew the line between Mike the drummer and Mike the brand. You totally nailed it.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol

Offline Lethean

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3408 on: February 13, 2018, 07:22:43 PM »
Long time lurker here.
Took the plunge and made an account.

I've read most of the comments on this thread while I waited for my account to get approved - would like to contribute my own two cents regarding this album and band.

On March 1st, I'll be marking my 10th year in the audio industry, I've worked on a number of albums, live shows and other productions - including a couple with MP himself. I discovered heavier styles of music with Train of Thought when it came out and never looked back.

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

I have a number of problems with this album with the first one being, I think when you go into a studio and write songs with the mentality of "throw everything on the wall and see what sticks", it devalues the album. An album needs time to mature and refine. It's not an easy thing to write an album, however, we have seen MP tweet regularly about how he and *insert band* have banged out an album in a week. It's not a criterion of success to have written and recorded an album in a week, substance is what matters.

In the studio, it's obvious when a musician has prepared properly for a session - even more so when they have neglected it. There's a dangerous line between perfection and "That'll do." and some musicians tend to get rather comfortable within the boundaries of "That'll do.".

MP closed down his own forum because he was unhappy with all the negativity surrounding the hype for SOA. You can't expect fans to jump on everything you do when you fail to reviatlise over the years and the gourmet meals you serve become slightly better microwave meals. This album does exactly that and serves up more of the same.

There are some interesting moments, but I sense the same old formula over and over again.
This is an interesting post and definitely gives some food for thought.  I agree with a lot of it, but have a different perspective on some of it as well.   I'm not a drummer or an audio person, and to my "normal person on the street" ears, MP hasn't developed an inability to play.  I get the criticism that he's become predictable, especially from drummers who really pay attention to that sort of thing and who are looking for some innovation.  So to use the meal analogy - I wouldn't say his drumming has gone from a gourmet meal to a microwave meal.  I still like to watch him play.  I still enjoy the drumming that he does, even if it doesn't change much.  The gourmet meal probably hasn't changed much over the years either - so you might get sick of it, but it hasn't gone from a gourmet meal to a microwave one just because of that. 

On the other hand, if you're talking about the music itself, yeah, I'm with you.  For my tastes, DT albums are gourmet meals, Flying Colors is a damn good meal, and Adrenaline Mob was a microwave meal, and so is Sons of Apollo. I also agree with TAC that there's no life in the album, and maybe putting more time and effort into it would have yielded a different result.

As for the MP marketing brand - I don't see why he couldn't do both.  Market himself, stay connected to his fans, etc, but put just a little more time into making quality music. 

Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3409 on: February 13, 2018, 07:23:32 PM »
I really liked their "Lines In The Sand" cover. The singer hits all those notes Labrie can't anymore. It sounds better.

Offline Kocak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3410 on: February 13, 2018, 07:50:09 PM »

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.


He's compensating for the shift in the music industry with the marketing. He seems to think he's pretty good at it but he doesn't realize that a loyal part of his fan base isn't on social media.

As far as practicing (or lack of) goes, he's never kept that a secret. What you see is what you get.  I think is still as capable as being musical as ever, he gave up on technique a long time ago if he even bothered with it at all.

As you know albums don't make money anymore so I would think it wouldn't make much economic sense to spend much time on them if you are as busy as he likes to keep himself.

Oddly enough, your opinion of surrounding himself with good musicians is the exact opinion I had when Derek started Planet X post-Dream Theater (Which is my favorite work by him, but appears to be the outlier since he doesn't seem to enjoy doing that kind of thing very much.)

Thank you for your comment.

The whole "spending time on what makes economic sense" thing is a closed loop I'm afraid. Another aspect of this approach is that if you don't give fans something to drool over, fans are going to opt out of your concerts and concerts are the main source of income for musicians these days.

I'm aware that he has made no secret of not practicing anymore, I've read several interviews of him stating it, it's why I alluded to it in my original post. However, I've seen countless drummers perform in a live setting and in the studio, multiple times over and what I can say is that there's a difference between adding new flare to your performance as a musician and still being capable of what you used to do 20 years ago. It's the intersection of creativity and technical capability that separates the great from the "That'll do.".

There's also a difference between making X amount of money from 10X projects and making that same amount of money from one project. I totally understand that it's a matter of choice, but alluding to your comment about the shift in the music industry, with the amount of choice that is available to the listener today, it is possible to have a main focus and maintain your life. Otherwise it just becomes, "Oh look, another project from.." and how many of those have we seen since September 2011? When it launched, The Winery Dogs was a "main focus" for all involved and suddenly, that disappears and we have 2018 as the Year of the Apollo.

But you are indeed right, what you see is what you get. It is also true that when fans don't like it, their money and attention is what MP does not get.

Long time lurker here.
Took the plunge and made an account.

I've read most of the comments on this thread while I waited for my account to get approved - would like to contribute my own two cents regarding this album and band.

On March 1st, I'll be marking my 10th year in the audio industry, I've worked on a number of albums, live shows and other productions - including a couple with MP himself. I discovered heavier styles of music with Train of Thought when it came out and never looked back.

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

I have a number of problems with this album with the first one being, I think when you go into a studio and write songs with the mentality of "throw everything on the wall and see what sticks", it devalues the album. An album needs time to mature and refine. It's not an easy thing to write an album, however, we have seen MP tweet regularly about how he and *insert band* have banged out an album in a week. It's not a criterion of success to have written and recorded an album in a week, substance is what matters.

In the studio, it's obvious when a musician has prepared properly for a session - even more so when they have neglected it. There's a dangerous line between perfection and "That'll do." and some musicians tend to get rather comfortable within the boundaries of "That'll do.".

MP closed down his own forum because he was unhappy with all the negativity surrounding the hype for SOA. You can't expect fans to jump on everything you do when you fail to reviatlise over the years and the gourmet meals you serve become slightly better microwave meals. This album does exactly that and serves up more of the same.

There are some interesting moments, but I sense the same old formula over and over again.
This is an interesting post and definitely gives some food for thought.  I agree with a lot of it, but have a different perspective on some of it as well.   I'm not a drummer or an audio person, and to my "normal person on the street" ears, MP hasn't developed an inability to play.  I get the criticism that he's become predictable, especially from drummers who really pay attention to that sort of thing and who are looking for some innovation.  So to use the meal analogy - I wouldn't say his drumming has gone from a gourmet meal to a microwave meal.  I still like to watch him play.  I still enjoy the drumming that he does, even if it doesn't change much.  The gourmet meal probably hasn't changed much over the years either - so you might get sick of it, but it hasn't gone from a gourmet meal to a microwave one just because of that. 

On the other hand, if you're talking about the music itself, yeah, I'm with you.  For my tastes, DT albums are gourmet meals, Flying Colors is a damn good meal, and Adrenaline Mob was a microwave meal, and so is Sons of Apollo. I also agree with TAC that there's no life in the album, and maybe putting more time and effort into it would have yielded a different result.

As for the MP marketing brand - I don't see why he couldn't do both.  Market himself, stay connected to his fans, etc, but put just a little more time into making quality music. 

Thank you very much for your comment, indeed.

I accept that I have failed to clarify what I specifically meant by saying "his inability to play". His technical ability has lost it's edge over the years and he has become predictable. Can you imagine the SOA lineup with the likes of Marco Minnemann or Gavin Harrison? Technique is not just a way to show off, it also provides a musicians body with the ability to execute a musical vision. Over the years, I went from paying attention to the individual musical ability to caring more about a musical piece as a whole - so I guess I was alluding to the music itself and how MP fits into what's going on around him. I am not a fan of overplaying, nor have I ever been, so I don't expect MP to defy gravity in any shape or form.

About MP as a brand, I think people who are willing to spend the money on his output are more concerned with his abilities as a musician rather than his image. I for one, could not care less about what he posts on social media or his latest photoshoot with *insert photographer name*.

When I look at myself as an Audio Engineer, I know that there is a lot of competition in the industry and I think that I cannot expect people to pick me over a colleague if I ever become stalled or lose my creative edge. It's about continuous development, not about becoming the McDonalds of music. (To continue the food analogy.)

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3411 on: February 13, 2018, 08:20:45 PM »
His live playing is still really good, but I read quite a few reviews of the Shattered Fortress shows where his playing was described as "sloppy."  It's almost like he thought, "I played that stuff so many times before that I barely need to practice it."  Some like to chalk it up to, "he never plays his stuff live like he did in the studio," but that to me is an excuse for "he didn't practice enough and had to wing it."  And yeah, he probably can play the vast majority of his stuff from memory, but when everyone else in the band is on top of their game and you are a little sloppy at times, it can be a bit distracting. 

As for his brand, that is a good point. I am not sure anyone else had used that word before, but some of us have alluded to how he thinks everyone part of "Team Mike" should not only buy anything he releases, but praise it.  He was clearly frustrated when a lot of his online fans didn't run out to buy The Similitude of a Dream (which they should have, cause that is awesome), and I have to think that he is frustrated by the lukewarm reception (at best) of Sons of Apollo.  I am sure playing in the tinny tiny venues they are this spring is not what he envisioned.

Offline gzarruk

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3412 on: February 13, 2018, 09:00:20 PM »
Long time lurker here.
Took the plunge and made an account.

I've read most of the comments on this thread while I waited for my account to get approved - would like to contribute my own two cents regarding this album and band.

On March 1st, I'll be marking my 10th year in the audio industry, I've worked on a number of albums, live shows and other productions - including a couple with MP himself. I discovered heavier styles of music with Train of Thought when it came out and never looked back.

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

I have a number of problems with this album with the first one being, I think when you go into a studio and write songs with the mentality of "throw everything on the wall and see what sticks", it devalues the album. An album needs time to mature and refine. It's not an easy thing to write an album, however, we have seen MP tweet regularly about how he and *insert band* have banged out an album in a week. It's not a criterion of success to have written and recorded an album in a week, substance is what matters.

In the studio, it's obvious when a musician has prepared properly for a session - even more so when they have neglected it. There's a dangerous line between perfection and "That'll do." and some musicians tend to get rather comfortable within the boundaries of "That'll do.".

MP closed down his own forum because he was unhappy with all the negativity surrounding the hype for SOA. You can't expect fans to jump on everything you do when you fail to reviatlise over the years and the gourmet meals you serve become slightly better microwave meals. This album does exactly that and serves up more of the same.

There are some interesting moments, but I sense the same old formula over and over again.

Great post, Kocak. I think you nailed it, specially on the MP the drummer vs MP the brand comparison. Like many others have said here, the big issue is that Mike "I can juggle 86 bands at the time" Portnoy has a mindset of "more projects projects with the MP name on them are always the answer". In my opinion, he has has saturated the already small markets he is in to a point where people just don't care for all the stuff anymore and only real diehard fans buy everything he releases.

This quantity over quality mentality might not be hurting his profit in the short term, but he's definitely hurting his image as a serious musician with the rest of the "customers" who aren't MP fanboys, in the long term.
It sounds like, "ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk." Instead of the more pleasing kick drum sound of, "gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk."

Offline gzarruk

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3413 on: February 13, 2018, 09:01:24 PM »
I really liked their "Lines In The Sand" cover. The singer hits all those notes Labrie can't anymore. It sounds better.

Ironically, Ron is the one singing the high parts, not Soto.
It sounds like, "ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk." Instead of the more pleasing kick drum sound of, "gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk."

Offline Kocak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3414 on: February 13, 2018, 09:31:39 PM »

Great post, Kocak. I think you nailed it, specially on the MP the drummer vs MP the brand comparison. Like many others have said here, the big issue is that Mike "I can juggle 86 bands at the time" Portnoy has a mindset of "more projects projects with the MP name on them are always the answer". In my opinion, he has has saturated the already small markets he is in to a point where people just don't care for all the stuff anymore and only real diehard fans buy everything he releases.

This quantity over quality mentality might not be hurting his profit in the short term, but he's definitely hurting his image as a serious musician with the rest of the "customers" who aren't MP fanboys, in the long term.

Thank you for your comment.

Precisely what I meant, no one can juggle 86 things at once and even if 2 of those things happen to be good, they'll get lost within all the generated noise. Sons of Apollo needed more time to mature before being let out to the world.

His live playing is still really good, but I read quite a few reviews of the Shattered Fortress shows where his playing was described as "sloppy."  It's almost like he thought, "I played that stuff so many times before that I barely need to practice it."  Some like to chalk it up to, "he never plays his stuff live like he did in the studio," but that to me is an excuse for "he didn't practice enough and had to wing it."  And yeah, he probably can play the vast majority of his stuff from memory, but when everyone else in the band is on top of their game and you are a little sloppy at times, it can be a bit distracting. 

As for his brand, that is a good point. I am not sure anyone else had used that word before, but some of us have alluded to how he thinks everyone part of "Team Mike" should not only buy anything he releases, but praise it.  He was clearly frustrated when a lot of his online fans didn't run out to buy The Similitude of a Dream (which they should have, cause that is awesome), and I have to think that he is frustrated by the lukewarm reception (at best) of Sons of Apollo.  I am sure playing in the tinny tiny venues they are this spring is not what he envisioned.

Thank you for your post.

As far as the first paragraph is concerned, I think that's where technique comes in, the upkeep of it provides a musician with a framework to play anything because it constitutes the fundamental building block of one's musical vocabulary.

As I mentioned above, if you throw many things at a wall to see what sticks, the good things will get lost amongst all the noise, with the NMB album being one of these things.

Offline bill1971

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3415 on: February 13, 2018, 10:47:06 PM »
Long time lurker here.
Took the plunge and made an account.

I've read most of the comments on this thread while I waited for my account to get approved - would like to contribute my own two cents regarding this album and band.

On March 1st, I'll be marking my 10th year in the audio industry, I've worked on a number of albums, live shows and other productions - including a couple with MP himself. I discovered heavier styles of music with Train of Thought when it came out and never looked back.

In my opinion, over the years, Mike Portnoy's focus has shifted from MP as a drummer to MP as a brand, as such, he has stopped practicing regularly, has put more emphasis on the marketing aspect of his work. Post-DT, he has largely been the least instrumentally capable member of the bands that he has been in. His strategy has been to surround himself with rather capable musicians to compensate for his own inability to play.

I have a number of problems with this album with the first one being, I think when you go into a studio and write songs with the mentality of "throw everything on the wall and see what sticks", it devalues the album. An album needs time to mature and refine. It's not an easy thing to write an album, however, we have seen MP tweet regularly about how he and *insert band* have banged out an album in a week. It's not a criterion of success to have written and recorded an album in a week, substance is what matters.

In the studio, it's obvious when a musician has prepared properly for a session - even more so when they have neglected it. There's a dangerous line between perfection and "That'll do." and some musicians tend to get rather comfortable within the boundaries of "That'll do.".

MP closed down his own forum because he was unhappy with all the negativity surrounding the hype for SOA. You can't expect fans to jump on everything you do when you fail to reviatlise over the years and the gourmet meals you serve become slightly better microwave meals. This album does exactly that and serves up more of the same.

There are some interesting moments, but I sense the same old formula over and over again.

Well said.

Offline the keyboard wizard

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3416 on: February 14, 2018, 01:57:32 AM »
Here's a review of the Orlando gig :
https://blogofapollo.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/review-in-english-making-history-in-orlando-02-11-2018/

Blog of Apollo?


Why does every review for this band only come from intense fan boys?

FYI, Blog of Apollo is a blog that I created to publish articles only dedicated to the band. I used to do it on the blog of Your Majesty (the French chapter of DT World) but as SOA expressed many times their will to be dissociated from Dream Theater, I didn't want Your Majesty to be a true promotional medium for SOA and I created Blog of Apollo. So of course, Blog of Apollo is more like an unofficial fan club of SOA and so the reviews are from fans of SOA who are less likely to bash the band. I think too that in France, we are not really involved with the petty "one way" war that happens between SOA (well Derek mainly) and DT, we are more focused on the music (because most of the French don't read the forums/tweets/posts in English because they can't understand them ;) ). So I think that the big controversy does not affect the French fans and that's why we are more enthusiastic and less polluted by all that drama (of course we are not all blind fanboys and many expressed the same criticism expressed here).
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Offline MinistroRaven

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3417 on: February 14, 2018, 06:08:54 AM »
.@bumblefoot discusses the making of 'Psychotic Symphony,' Sons Of Apollo's hard-rocking debut, with GW. Read the full interview here https://bit.ly/2El22nc

Offline OpenYourEyes311

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3418 on: February 14, 2018, 06:56:06 AM »
Here's a review of the Orlando gig :
https://blogofapollo.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/review-in-english-making-history-in-orlando-02-11-2018/

Blog of Apollo?


Why does every review for this band only come from intense fan boys?

FYI, Blog of Apollo is a blog that I created to publish articles only dedicated to the band. I used to do it on the blog of Your Majesty (the French chapter of DT World) but as SOA expressed many times their will to be dissociated from Dream Theater, I didn't want Your Majesty to be a true promotional medium for SOA and I created Blog of Apollo. So of course, Blog of Apollo is more like an unofficial fan club of SOA and so the reviews are from fans of SOA who are less likely to bash the band. I think too that in France, we are not really involved with the petty "one way" war that happens between SOA (well Derek mainly) and DT, we are more focused on the music (because most of the French don't read the forums/tweets/posts in English because they can't understand them ;) ). So I think that the big controversy does not affect the French fans and that's why we are more enthusiastic and less polluted by all that drama (of course we are not all blind fanboys and many expressed the same criticism expressed here).

re: the bold part above...

then why play Dream Theater songs at your concerts?
I don't want MP playing with DT unless they were making a drummer change. If they let MM go and bring back MP, then fine, but no guest appearance please.
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Online mikeyd23

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3419 on: February 14, 2018, 07:27:57 AM »
As you know albums don't make money anymore so I would think it wouldn't make much economic sense to spend much time on them if you are as busy as he likes to keep himself.

Dear lord, please don't tell me you actually feel this way about albums.

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3420 on: February 14, 2018, 07:29:28 AM »
Albums might not sell, but a great album, even downloaded, makes you wanna go and see the band live!
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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3421 on: February 14, 2018, 07:34:36 AM »
I think that's missing the point completely. If the only reason prog-metal band is making an album is a money-related reason, I've got some bad news for them, they might be in the wrong business.

An album is their art. They should put out the most artistically satisfying art that they can. To justify not spending much time on an album because albums don't sell as well anymore is crazy to me. With that logic, why is MP even a drummer anymore? He should probably just not spend time playing the drums anymore because not as many people are buying the records and going to the shows. Maybe he should switch careers and be a mailman or something  :lol

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3422 on: February 14, 2018, 07:45:21 AM »
You know what, no matter what Portnoy and his project have this insane ability to generate discussion here. This thread was started in September and has more posts than the latest Rush thread started in 2012. I think from 2017 through now there are plenty of albums that the forum as a whole probably enjoyed more than this, yet few, if any, came close to the level of discussion that this album got. Even the Steven Wilson thread, which commands many die hard forum fans and has seen two major album releases, world tours, and various spats of PT discussion has fewer posts than this thread.

I'm not sure if this leaves me in awe or makes me want to punch my computer, but certainly a case of any press is good press, it seems.
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Offline RodrigoAltaf

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3423 on: February 14, 2018, 07:54:23 AM »
Regarding the DT cover songs, this must be really weird for Billy. How many DT songs has he played live now in PSMS, TWD and SOA?

Zero DT songs in TWD, and 2,5 songs in PSMS and SOA: the intro of ACOS, LITS and Just Let Me Breathe. That's not much.

Offline gzarruk

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3424 on: February 14, 2018, 08:13:41 AM »
Regarding the DT cover songs, this must be really weird for Billy. How many DT songs has he played live now in PSMS, TWD and SOA?

Zero DT songs in TWD, and 2,5 songs in PSMS and SOA: the intro of ACOS, LITS and Just Let Me Breathe. That's not much.

They did play a couple more DT songs on PNAS2014, though. They played Hell’s Kitchen, LITS, BMS and Anna Lee, iirc.
It sounds like, "ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk, ruk." Instead of the more pleasing kick drum sound of, "gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk, gzarruk."

Offline rumborak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3425 on: February 14, 2018, 08:17:07 AM »
In comparison, how many Mr Big songs have they played?
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Offline ChuckSteak

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3426 on: February 14, 2018, 08:33:21 AM »
Two of the members of SOA were formerly in DT, so I don't understand what the hell the problem is if they play a DT song (especially one from the album where Sherinian played). They can play whatever they want. Why make a problem out of it?


You know what, no matter what Portnoy and his project have this insane ability to generate discussion here. This thread was started in September and has more posts than the latest Rush thread started in 2012. I think from 2017 through now there are plenty of albums that the forum as a whole probably enjoyed more than this, yet few, if any, came close to the level of discussion that this album got. Even the Steven Wilson thread, which commands many die hard forum fans and has seen two major album releases, world tours, and various spats of PT discussion has fewer posts than this thread.

I'm not sure if this leaves me in awe or makes me want to punch my computer, but certainly a case of any press is good press, it seems.
This. If people don't enjoy an album and yet keep coming to this topic just to say something negative or complain, I don't understand that. Normally when you don't enjoy something, you leave it and move on with your life. It doesn't seem to be the case here.

Offline bosk1

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3427 on: February 14, 2018, 08:38:14 AM »
Two of the members of SOA were formerly in DT, so I don't understand what the hell the problem is if they play a DT song (especially one from the album where Sherinian played). They can play whatever they want. Why make a problem out of it?

Exactly.  For once, I completely agree with you.

If people don't enjoy an album and yet keep coming to this topic just to say something negative or complain, I don't understand that.

Oh, crap.  Now I see.  Somebody hacked Chuck's account.
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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3428 on: February 14, 2018, 08:45:51 AM »
The two band leaders of SOA are two ex-members of Dream Theater,. Those guys both played and wrote an album and EP together. As everyone here knows, DT has a huge fan base that makes up a large part of the SOA fan base. It only makes sense that they should incorporate a song or two from those releases in the set, at least for now.

They can play whatever they want. I know that if they ever play by me and don't do something from FII, I'll be pretty disappointed. Not only do I love that album, but DT almost ignores it these days, particularly the deep tracks and b-sides (Anna Lee, Just Let Me Breathe, etc.). And while I am not a big fan of JLMB, it'd be nice to hear it again, regardless.

All these folks yapping about what DS said about DT, and how it turned them off from SOA, etc...have you noticed all that nonsense has subsided now? DS probably realized he made a mistake, MP said something to him, and off they go. People fuck up from time to time. It happens. Just go enjoy the music.

SOA's debut album is OK. It didn't blow me away, and I'm not quite sure I like the makeup of the group. But having not heard any live clips yet on YouTube, I will go see them live in a heartbeat if they are anywhere near me. I am sure the live performance will be amazing.
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Offline bill1971

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Re: Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)
« Reply #3429 on: February 14, 2018, 08:46:01 AM »
Two of the members of SOA were formerly in DT, so I don't understand what the hell the problem is if they play a DT song (especially one from the album where Sherinian played). They can play whatever they want. Why make a problem out of it?


You know what, no matter what Portnoy and his project have this insane ability to generate discussion here. This thread was started in September and has more posts than the latest Rush thread started in 2012. I think from 2017 through now there are plenty of albums that the forum as a whole probably enjoyed more than this, yet few, if any, came close to the level of discussion that this album got. Even the Steven Wilson thread, which commands many die hard forum fans and has seen two major album releases, world tours, and various spats of PT discussion has fewer posts than this thread.

I'm not sure if this leaves me in awe or makes me want to punch my computer, but certainly a case of any press is good press, it seems.
This. If people don't enjoy an album and yet keep coming to this topic just to say something negative or complain, I don't understand that. Normally when you don't enjoy something, you leave it and move on with your life. It doesn't seem to be the case here.

For one, I think you're right. It's like the 6000 anti The Last Jedi Youtube videos out there.
I think with this band the way DS and MP came out attacking a band we all hold dear. Also DS attacking Rudess. It felt more personal for some reason. So I think people are reacting to that arrogance.

Although I haven't seen it from the band in a while. That being said, I don't look at their twitter or Facebook page and am unaware until someone here posts something.