Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)

[rumborak]

Lol, now I wonder where you were standing, Stadler. Must have been a few feet away from me.

[King Postwhore]

So you are telling me I was part of the other 50% Rumbo?

[Stadler]

Lol, now I wonder where you were standing, Stadler. Must have been a few feet away from me.

I was almost directly in front of Billy Sheehan.  I had on a blue shirt.  I was with a father and son who had seen Mike like 156 times or some such shit (there was a third guy in their group as well; I didn't know them but met them in line and just sort of hung with them like a mosquito) and right behind two guys that had cool shirts with the band logo of EVERY band Mike played with; apparently they had to get personal permission from him to make them (sounds odd to me; I'm not sure Mike has authority to let someone put the TS or A7X logos on shirts, but that's the lawyer in me talking) who were in the second row.

[radardude65]

I'd be more worried about Jay Jay French coming after me over the TS logo, he's cutthroat over their copyrights...

I enjoyed the album, it's my favorite post-DT project that Portnoy has done.

Traveled to Leipzig last Wednesday (US expat living near Frankfurt) to see them do a headline show (no opener either) cause I didn't want my first time to see them be at a festival gig. 

Guess on venue capacity is about 800-900. Maybe 400 there.  Plenty of room by FOH mix area. 

Whole album played plus the Prophet Song/Save Me vocal solo, both DT songs, Pink Panther theme.  They were late going on.  Don't know if that was the reason they didn't do Cradle Will Rock during the encore.   Only Coming Home was played for the encore. 

Overall the show was fantastic.  Mike and Derek were spot on not over the top. 

I'm a fan of Billy Sheehan (since Talas days)  and he never disappoints.  It was strange to hear his bass tone on the DT songs but it worked for me.  And he manages to use both the necks.  Just an amazing musician.

Jeff was great.  I thought his vocals on the album were too down in the weeds but that wasn't the case live.  I especially liked his singing on Lines In The Sand. He even emulated Dug Pinnick's voice for the parts he sang when the song was recorded.  No way LaBrie pulls that off today.  Jeff has a lot of depth and soul to his voice and I would like to hear him do some other DT tunes.   I think some of the DT/MP fanbase (by T-shirts in the crowd, it was about 40% MP projects shirts) isn't used to a singer drinking and headbanging the way Jeff does.  I didn't have an issue with it at all. 

Bumblefoot is a freak of nature.  If this project implodes I hope that he and Jeff work together again.  They have a good interaction together.  And his high harmonies really complimented Jeff's voice.  Bumblefoot is the one I was most interested in seeing to be honest.  I'd only seen him once before with Axl's GnR.  Anyone who plays a fretless guitar you have to respect lol. 

I see Sons Of Apollo as a straight up rock project with progressive overtones.  I think that's why it clicked with me more than any other MP band/project outside of DT.  If they drop any of the front three (Billy, Jeff or Ron) I don't think it would work for me. 

As to the half filled venues, I'll agree with the facts that it's probably a case of MP fatigue to a point.  The album mix could have been better.  The name can be an issue.  While they are pushing this as their priority this year (and maybe next), which is great since a lot of these projects never tour (I'm looking at you George Lynch...), the track record for MP is to go onto other things is he sees another shiny object in the corner.  Jeff has TSO that ties him up October thru the new year.  Billy might be free as I'm pretty sure Mr Big will be done other than one offs maybe after their run of European shows in August (it's gonna be strange seeing them without Pat Torpey).  If they really want to grow the band in today's music scene they need to tour.  Get a special guest slot with Maiden when they tour the US next year.  Do a package tour of clubs and theaters with some better known bands. 

[Architeuthis]

Agreed with the previous post. Also write a hit song that could get some airplay. They need a Pull Me Under, Tom Sawyer, Don't Stop Believing, Or Roundabout type of song that puts them on the map.

[bosk1]

Agreed with the previous post. Also write a hit song that could get some airplay. They need a Pull Me Under, Tom Sawyer, Don't Stop Believing, Or Roundabout type of song that puts them on the map.

I wouldn't count on seeing anything from them that achieves anywhere near that type of mainstream success or accessibility.  But they do need SOMETHING to get them noticed.  I don't think the empty venues are nearly as much about "MP fatigue" as much as the band simply not being on anyone's radar out in the mainstream.  People just don't know about this band.  They need to get noticed.  Personally, I think festivals and opening slots are their best bet.

[Adami]

Agreed with the previous post. Also write a hit song that could get some airplay. They need a Pull Me Under, Tom Sawyer, Don't Stop Believing, Or Roundabout type of song that puts them on the map.

Those songs were of their time. SoA is of about 15-20 years ago. A hit song just isn’t in their DNA. Best they can do is a song their core audience considers a hit. Which isn’t hard to do but doesn’t do much.

[DragonAttack]

Just being honest.  When I saw this thread pop up after eons of noncomments, it was almost a 'Sons of who?'. 

Sadly, they are so off of my radar.

[Schurftkut]

They're performing close by enough for me to go see them. It was my birthday and my dad bought the vinyl soa album + cds for me, sealed. We went to  a store to exchange it for the Hand Cannot Erase vinyl. (they didn't have Trick of the tail) I like SOA as a live band, and so my dad also got me tickets to their gig in october :-)
 It's kinda funny to me i'm looking forward to seeing 3 other members of the band instead of MP, this being an MP related band.

[ErHaO]

Apparently Sons of Apollo had to cancel their show at Dynamo Metal Fest here due to personal issues (festival takes place july the 14th). Hope everything is alright/turns out alright. Source: https://www.facebook.com/dynamometalfest

Shame, that festival had a great lineup at a low price (actually, it is still worth it from the looks of it, regardless of the replacement they find).

[bosk1]

Well, ANY festival exposure is probably good exposure.  But honestly, they didn't really fit in musically with that lineup, so I don't think it's a huge loss for them.  Hopefully, all is well and this isn't a sign of bigger problems.

[ErHaO]

I actually think they would fit in well. The lineup is: Ghost, Ministry, Annihilator, Overkill, Leprous (and some others). Seems like a good mixture of hard rock, prog, industrial, and some trash. Especially the combo of Sons of Apollo, Ghost, Leprous, and Annihilator seemed good to me. Sons of Apollo definitly shares elements, despite obvious differences in sound.

Obviously there is something amiss. Otherwise you don't cancel a good festival slot so short in advance, but I hope it is nothing serious or lasting. On the other hand, their other shows this week seem to be on track, so that is a good sign.

[Train of Naught]

Lol, even though I don't like this band, I was kind of looking forward to seeing them as the live shows seemed pretty cool. Hope they get a good replacement (people on the Facebook page are suggesting Ghost should extend their live set, but I dearly hope they won't because I can't stand most of their material), since I already have tickets and definitely not missing this.

Gotta admit though, the line-up for Dynamo is very weird, it's basically a bunch of thrash plus Ghost as a headliner (completely different) and now 1 prog band too (Leprous) that doesn't fit in with any of the bands. Wouldn't be surprised if I am among the hundred that are actually looking forward to Leprous the most. Also very hyped for Overkill though, and I've seen Annihilator last year and they have incredible energy.

But yeah, the most concerning for SoA fans is that this cancelation was on very short notice, so there has likely happened something pretty drastic within the band that caused them to cancel this festival.

[ErHaO]

Lol, even though I don't like this band, I was kind of looking forward to seeing them as the live shows seemed pretty cool. Hope they get a good replacement (people on the Facebook page are suggesting Ghost should extend their live set, but I dearly hope they won't because I can't stand most of their material), since I already have tickets and definitely not missing this.

Gotta admit though, the line-up for Dynamo is very weird, it's basically a bunch of thrash plus Ghost as a headliner (completely different) and now 1 prog band too (Leprous) that doesn't fit in with any of the bands. Wouldn't be surprised if I am among the hundred that are actually looking forward to Leprous the most. Also very hyped for Overkill though, and I've seen Annihilator last year and they have incredible energy.

But yeah, the most concerning for SoA fans is that this cancelation was on very short notice, so there has likely happened something pretty drastic within the band that caused them to cancel this festival.

Well, I do agree the lineup is a surprising mix (which to me is good). Looking at the lineup, Leprous is actually the one that sticks out the most to me, especially due to the vocals. And Ghost as well, which isn't even metal to my ears.

That said, diversity of a festival is actually the most desirable for a band like SoA in my opinion, as it exposes your music to people usually not focused on your scene. Fans of DT and other prog bands have likely had some form of exposure to SoA. Looking at YouTube, SoA videos did well. Coming Home is at 1.7 million views. And their other clips, Signs of the Time, Alive, and Lost in Oblivion all are around 500k. Compare that to "popular" newcomer Haken, for example. My point is, I think amongst prog metal fans, Sons of Apollo had good exposure. I could see Trash and especially Hard Rock fans digging Sons of Apollo's approach to Prog metal and the Dynamo crowd will likely mostly consist of those people. Which is why I argue that they fit in well with the lineup.

[cramx3]

Maybe JLB will fill in? 

Sucks they had to cancel, while the line up is mostly thrash, I do believe SOA fits in as it's not exclusively thrash (like Ghost and Leprous).  But that would give them a lot of exposure to new fans playing alongside those bands.  They won't win everyone over, but they had a good opportunity to get new fans.  Hope all is alright.

Must say I am actually pretty excited to see them again in September.  I still think about how good their NYC performance was a couple months ago.  I've seen so many bands since that just can't do what they do.  And this is coming from someone who rated the album a 7 and was very lukewarm up until seeing them with my own eyes.

[axeman90210]

Maybe JLB will fill in? 

Sucks they had to cancel, while the line up is mostly thrash, I do believe SOA fits in as it's not exclusively thrash (like Ghost and Leprous).  But that would give them a lot of exposure to new fans playing alongside those bands.  They won't win everyone over, but they had a good opportunity to get new fans.  Hope all is alright.

Must say I am actually pretty excited to see them again in September.  I still think about how good their NYC performance was a couple months ago.  I've seen so many bands since that just can't do what they do.  And this is coming from someone who rated the album a 7 and was very lukewarm up until seeing them with my own eyes.

Did they announce another run of US dates?

[cramx3]

Maybe JLB will fill in? 

Sucks they had to cancel, while the line up is mostly thrash, I do believe SOA fits in as it's not exclusively thrash (like Ghost and Leprous).  But that would give them a lot of exposure to new fans playing alongside those bands.  They won't win everyone over, but they had a good opportunity to get new fans.  Hope all is alright.

Must say I am actually pretty excited to see them again in September.  I still think about how good their NYC performance was a couple months ago.  I've seen so many bands since that just can't do what they do.  And this is coming from someone who rated the album a 7 and was very lukewarm up until seeing them with my own eyes.

Did they announce another run of US dates?

Nah, that's ProgPower, their only remaining US date on schedule.

[mikeyd23]

Maybe JLB will fill in? 

  Now that...would be hilarious.

[Adami]

Maybe JLB will fill in? 

  Now that...would be hilarious.

It would but it seems VUUR will replace them.

[MirrorMask]

Excellent choice then! Anneke 

[cramx3]

VUUR is great, another prog metal band that debut the same time as SOA

[AngelBack]

All remaining summer tour dates cancelled? 

[Stadler]

Do we know why?

[cramx3]

wtf is going on, missing out on Wacken is pretty bad for a band that could really use that exposure.  They did add more dates in October so it's not like they are calling it quits or something, but something must have happened to cancel so many shows and something more than "Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control" would be nice to know.

[The Walrus]

Is Neal Morse going into the studio? How funny would it be if they were cancelled because Mike is in the studio with another group... lol

[MinistroRaven]

Is Neal Morse going into the studio? How funny would it be if they were cancelled because Mike is in the studio with another group... lol

They were supposed to reconvene in LJuly so, probably

[Stadler]

"Low ticket sales" qualify as "unforeseen circumstances beyond our control", don't they? 

[kaos2900]

Oh boy. Maybe passport issues or personnel issues? Considering the drama surrounding this band I think it would be in their best interests to be as transparent as possible.

[The Walrus]

ProgPower confirmed to me they're still playing that

[cramx3]

"Low ticket sales" qualify as "unforeseen circumstances beyond our control", don't they? 

That could qualify, but these are festival appearances including Wacken, the biggest of them all, I don't think the ticket sales matter for these shows at least in the case for cancelling one bands performance.  I'm more likely to think a scheduling conflict with a member, or an illness, but I feel if it was an illness they usually say so because people are more understanding to that (cough avenged sevenfold cough)

[ErHaO]

Yeah, I wonder what is up? They immediately added new dates for further along the year, which at least indicates they have the intention to keep going. And them cancelling festival appearances suggest it is not due to sales, as that wouldn't make sense? (Dynamo, Wacken, Prog in Park)

[The Walrus]

A little birdy told me Max has left Next To None to focus on Tallah full time and he will be replaced by Mike Portnoy. 

[Nekov]

What the hell? The kid just started and he already has another band?

[TAC]

What the hell? The kid just started and he already has another band?

Runs in the family.














I am just kidding.

[cramx3]

 

JSS tweeted that no one is ill and nothing is wrong, but didn't give an explanation.  Oh well.