Sons of Apollo (feat. Portnoy & Sherinian)

[MinistroRaven]

SONS OF APOLLO – ‘Live With The Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ trailer; pre-orders start

SONS OF APOLLO--former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force) — are pleased to announce the release of ‘Live With The Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ on the 30th August 2019.
 
‘Live With The Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ documents the band’s remarkable one-off performance at the Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria alongside a full orchestra & choir, playing tracks from their debut album ‘Psychotic Symphony’ as well as a selection of tracks by legendary bands. It will be available as a limited deluxe 3CD + DVD + Blu-Ray Artbook, Special Edition 3CD + DVD Digipak, Standalone Blu-Ray & Digital Album.
 
You can now watch a trailer for release here: https://youtu.be/pw2wz-7cEp0
 
Pre-orders for all formats are now available here: https://soa.lnk.to/LiveWithThePlovdivPsychoticSymphony
 
Mike Portnoy comments: “I’ve released several dozen live albums through the years with about a dozen different bands, but I have to say that this live release from Sons Of Apollo may indeed be the most special one of them all!! Everything was aligned that evening: an absolutely beautiful Roman amphitheatre and a perfectly gorgeous summer evening, one set of SOA material and one set of specially chosen cover songs, and to top it all off being joined by a symphony orchestra and choir…it was a magical evening for everybody in attendance and now we can share it with the rest of the world immortalized in this incredible live package.
 
This package will serve as a nice souvenir to capture the band’s first year on tour and should tide over all of our fans while we complete work on our sophomore studio release that will coming in Jan 2020"
 
The track-listing is as follows:
CD 1:
1. God Of The Sun
2. Signs Of The Time
3. Divine Addiction
4. That Metal Show Theme 
5. Just Let Me Breathe
6. Billy Sheehan Bass Solo
7. Lost In Oblivion
8. Jeff Scott Soto Solo Spot (The Prophet’s Song / Save Me)
9. Alive
10. The Pink Panther Theme
11. Opus Maximus
 
CD 2:
1. Kashmir
2. Gates Of Babylon
3. Labyrinth
4. Dream On
5. Diary Of A Madman
6. Comfortably Numb
7. The Show Must Go On
8. Hell’s Kitchen
9. Derek Sherinian Keyboard Solo
10. Lines In The Sand
 
CD 3:
1. Bumblefoot Guitar Spot
2. And The Cradle Will Rock
3. Coming Home
 
https://youtu.be/pw2wz-7cEp0

[cramx3]

Trailer looks and sounds good

[bosk1]

Yeah, I'll get this. 

[Grappler]

Looks awesome...I'm excited for it since I didn't see the band live.

[Samsara]

It was a GREAT show. Amazon also has the big set (on physical media) up for pre-order now. 37.99 USD.

p.s. just watched the trailer and agree about the vocals in the mix. It seems really off. If this is the vocal mix of the release, I may have to cancel my order. It did not sound good (I listened with headphones).

[KevShmev]

 
Mike Portnoy comments: “I’ve released several dozen live albums through the years with about a dozen different bands, but I have to say that this live release from Sons Of Apollo may indeed be the most special one of them all!!

Mike Portnoy: Taking hyperbole to the next level since the invention of the internet!!

[Grappler]

It was a GREAT show. Amazon also has the big set (on physical media) up for pre-order now. 37.99 USD.

p.s. just watched the trailer and agree about the vocals in the mix. It seems really off. If this is the vocal mix of the release, I may have to cancel my order. It did not sound good (I listened with headphones).

I felt like the guitars were lacking in punch.  The studio album has a killer guitar sound, and they were very thin in that trailer.

[cramx3]

I liked the sound because it sounded raw and live, I don't want the same sound as the album.  I do think Jeff sounded a little rough but it also sounded legit and not studio magic.  I'm cool with that, we still have the studio album.

[goo-goo]

It was a GREAT show. Amazon also has the big set (on physical media) up for pre-order now. 37.99 USD.

p.s. just watched the trailer and agree about the vocals in the mix. It seems really off. If this is the vocal mix of the release, I may have to cancel my order. It did not sound good (I listened with headphones).

There are "two" big sets: one of them is the artbook and the other one is a digipack. Both have the 3CD/1DVD/1BR media. I think the 37.99 is the digipack version.

Digipack: https://www.lasercd.com/cd/live-plovdiv-psychotic-symphony-3cddvdblu-ray-preorder
Artbook: https://www.lasercd.com/cd/live-plovdiv-psychotic-symphony-artbook-preorder

[JayOctavarium]

I liked the sound because it sounded raw and live, I don't want the same sound as the album.  I do think Jeff sounded a little rough but it also sounded legit and not studio magic.  I'm cool with that, we still have the studio album.

this

[Kocak]

 
Mike Portnoy comments: “I’ve released several dozen live albums through the years with about a dozen different bands, but I have to say that this live release from Sons Of Apollo may indeed be the most special one of them all!!

Mike Portnoy: Taking hyperbole to the next level since the invention of the internet!!

Regardless of the musician it's coming from, I really dislike these kinds of statements.
Another version of this is: "This is our best effort to date."

[Stadler]

Only topped by the "the songs are good, but the production sucks!" about older albums.  I bet you could find 10 interviews with both Gene Simmons and Joe Perry where they celebrate the songs, but knock "the production". 

[Adami]

I’ll still probably check it out but that trailer only made me question my initial reaction which was to buy it.

[JLa]

Regardless of the musician it's coming from, I really dislike these kinds of statements.
Another version of this is: "This is our best effort to date."

What do you want them to say? "Oh, this new one is alright, but you know, the previous one was better!"

[Stadler]

Regardless of the musician it's coming from, I really dislike these kinds of statements.
Another version of this is: "This is our best effort to date."

What do you want them to say? "Oh, this new one is alright, but you know, the previous one was better!"

Neither.  Would you say either one about your kid?   "Well, our first was special, but we had five years of sex building up to it.  The second kid was a rush job, we were on tour, and it just happened.   But we decided to take our time with the third, candles, toys, essential oils, and I think it shows.  But really, this fourth kid, my god, is she special.  I couldn't be prouder of this kid."

[JLa]

So, they should say all their records are equally amazing?

[Evermind]

I guess maybe just let the audience decide if it's amazing or not.

[MirrorMask]

I believe Janick Gers, anyway it was a Maiden guy, said "you never say it's your best album period, but that it's your best album that you could do at the time", something that captures the frame of mind of the band in the moment it was recorded.

If I were a musician, I'd make a vacation analogy: "Last year you went to San Francisco, the Golden Gate, the colorful houses, the trams, the roads going up and down... cool! but this year you have the chance to go to New York, the Big Apple, Manhattan, Central Park, the skyscrapers... what are you excited the most about, seeing a new amazing city or going back to San Francisco once again? same for us! three years ago we were focused on doing the X kind of album, but right now we wanted to do an Y kind of album, so this is the album we believe in at this moment! then I don't know where our muse will take us next time around!"

[cramx3]

It's a lot easier to say it's the best thing since sliced bread 

honestly, I just overlook these things.  It's people giving stock responses which happens when you get famous and asked the same question over and over again.

[Orbert]

Say you're proud of it, say you're happy with how it turned out, that you're excited about it, that you can't wait for people to hear it, any of those things.  But as soon as you say "This is the best thing we've ever done!" then by definition you're saying that everything else thus far is inferior. 

There will always be new fans, people checking you out for the first time.  If they listen to it and don't like it, and it's supposedly the best thing you've ever done, then there's no point in bothering with any of the older stuff.  You yourself have said it's inferior.  So don't do that.  Leave it up to the listener.

[Cool Chris]

It's a lot easier to say it's the best thing since sliced bread 

As much as a love sandwiches, is sliced bread really the benchmark of human achievement?

[Adami]

It's a lot easier to say it's the best thing since sliced bread 

As much as a love sandwiches, is sliced bread really the benchmark of human achievement?

No, it's not. Especially since the benchmark of human achievement is Betty White, who predates sliced bread and was not bested by that invention.

[Anxiety35]

Instead of saying it's the best thing you've ever done, etc., why not say that it's your current favorite or that this is something that you're really excited about? That way, it doesn't undermine any of your previous work and it doesn't sound like marketing 101.

For example:
"We're really thrilled about this live release. It was fun to perform and being able to share it with fans is awesome."

[Adami]

Yea, MP has some issues with this, but honestly the person I see doing this to an extreme degree is Corey Taylor.

"So Corey, how is the new Stone Sour album?"
"Oh my god man, it is going to BLOW YOUR MINDS! This is not just the best Stone Sour album, but maybe the best album made by humans. When you listen to it, it will change your life. You will not be the same person as you were before. You may walk away a different gender, different ethnicity, different age. Hell, you might not even be human after you listen to it. It is seriously the biggest game changer to ever happen in the history of earth!"

[Spiritus]

Yea, MP has some issues with this, but honestly the person I see doing this to an extreme degree is Corey Taylor.

"So Corey, how is the new Stone Sour album?"
"Oh my god man, it is going to BLOW YOUR MINDS! This is not just the best Stone Sour album, but maybe the best album made by humans. When you listen to it, it will change your life. You will not be the same person as you were before. You may walk away a different gender, different ethnicity, different age. Hell, you might not even be human after you listen to it. It is seriously the biggest game changer to ever happen in the history of earth!"

Uggh, that guy. I literally just scrolled down blabbermouth 2min ago and yup,  there he is again. He really loves the sound of his own voice and probably sniffs his own farts believing they are better than sliced bread..  ahmm sorry.  I just can't stand that guy.

[Anguyen92]

I think in all fairness to Corey Taylor, sites like Blabbermouth and Ultimate-Guitar really loves the sound of his own voice which is why they ask him questions about anything.  Even questions not relating to his own bands, but other bands.  Yet, Corey still answers it anyway and Blabbermouth and the likes reaps those clicks.

[TAC]

It's a lot easier to say it's the best thing since sliced bread 

As much as a love sandwiches, is sliced bread really the benchmark of human achievement?

No, it's not. Especially since the benchmark of human achievement is Betty White, who predates sliced bread and was not bested by that invention.

She is crusty though.

[Adami]

Yea, MP has some issues with this, but honestly the person I see doing this to an extreme degree is Corey Taylor.

"So Corey, how is the new Stone Sour album?"
"Oh my god man, it is going to BLOW YOUR MINDS! This is not just the best Stone Sour album, but maybe the best album made by humans. When you listen to it, it will change your life. You will not be the same person as you were before. You may walk away a different gender, different ethnicity, different age. Hell, you might not even be human after you listen to it. It is seriously the biggest game changer to ever happen in the history of earth!"

Uggh, that guy. I literally just scrolled down blabbermouth 2min ago and yup,  there he is again. He really loves the sound of his own voice and probably sniffs his own farts believing they are better than sliced bread..  ahmm sorry.  I just can't stand that guy.

I really love his singing. Slipknot and Stone Sour have incredible vocals. I just don’t pay much attention to him off stage.

[SystematicThought]

I'll take MP's "best live album I've ever done" comments over his (usually not accurate) "This new album is like A Change of Seasons, The Glass Prison, Octavarium, Learning To Live, and Pull Me Under all on one album" descriptions. That was his description of Black Clouds and Silver Linings, and it doesn't live up to that other than song lengths. He did that with a Neal Morse album recently too with band comparisons, and they're never really like the descriptions. I don't know why, those hype comments just kind of get an eye roll from me.

[MirrorMask]

I think he assumed more the vibe. Yeah, it was still an outlandish comparison, but probably he meant that A Rite of Passage was catchy like PMU, The Count of Tuscany was an epic with at least a dreamy, spacey section like Octavarium, Nightmare was an heavy long epic like ACoS can be loosely described, Best of Times had that I&W vibe like Learning to Live and well, Shattered Fortress of course reminds of The Glass Prison.

[gzarruk]

I think he assumed more the vibe. Yeah, it was still an outlandish comparison, but probably he meant that A Rite of Passage was catchy like PMU, The Count of Tuscany was an epic with at least a dreamy, spacey section like Octavarium, Nightmare was an heavy long epic like ACoS can be loosely described, Best of Times had that I&W vibe like Learning to Live and well, Shattered Fortress of course reminds of The Glass Prison.

Still, Mike has a history of over hyping every new thing he comes up with. Remember that SOA was going to be the best progressive metal band mankind has ever known? Or that TSOAD was the best album of their careers and was going to top charts everywhere? Or that AMOB were the new revelation in heavy metal? It's one thing to stand 100% behind your music/art because you're proud of it, and I fully support that, but it's a very different thing to say that this new ______ (fill blank space) is the best thing you've ever done, only to say the same exact thing once the next one comes.

[Adami]

I think he assumed more the vibe. Yeah, it was still an outlandish comparison, but probably he meant that A Rite of Passage was catchy like PMU, The Count of Tuscany was an epic with at least a dreamy, spacey section like Octavarium, Nightmare was an heavy long epic like ACoS can be loosely described, Best of Times had that I&W vibe like Learning to Live and well, Shattered Fortress of course reminds of The Glass Prison.

I don't think that matters. He really should know how his comments would be interpreted.

If I compare Smells like Teen Spirit to Enter Sandman, people will think I'm nuts.

It wouldn't matter if all I meant was that they both start with clean guitar before getting heavier, you know?

[Cool Chris]

I'll take MP's "best live album I've ever done" comments over his (usually not accurate) "This new album is like A Change of Seasons, The Glass Prison, Octavarium, Learning To Live, and Pull Me Under all on one album" descriptions. That was his description of Black Clouds and Silver Linings, and it doesn't live up to that other than song lengths. He did that with a Neal Morse album recently too with band comparisons, and they're never really like the descriptions. I don't know why, those hype comments just kind of get an eye roll from me.

Oh god just the other day I was trying to recall that exact quote he made hyping BCaSL. Thanks for posting and reminding me how silly it was.

[Setlist Scotty]

Remember that SOA was going to be the best progressive metal band mankind has ever known?

In all fairness tho, those comments were made *before* they started working on the album. It was what they intended to do, but once they got started, it wasn't exactly the direction they ended up going in, and they admitted that being the case in later interviews.

[gzarruk]

Remember that SOA was going to be the best progressive metal band mankind has ever known?

In all fairness tho, those comments were made *before* they started working on the album. It was what they intended to do, but once they got started, it wasn't exactly the direction they ended up going in, and they admitted that being the case in later interviews.

You're right about the musical direction, but that doesn't change the fact that he was completely overhyping the band. Whether the album was "prog metal" or not, he still set the bar unrealistically high and, obviously, the album didn't live up to that.