Sons Of Apollo World Domination Progressive Metal

SONS OF APOLLO play The Glass House Jan. 24, Roxy Theater Jan. 25; photo Hristo Shindov

SONS OF APOLLO play The Glass House Jan. 24, Roxy Theater Jan. 25; photo Hristo Shindov

Progressive metal band Sons Of Apollo is coming to California as part of their current tour promoting their aptly named album MMXX, or 2020 to those who prefer contemporary numbers, which was released on Jan. 17. Concertgoers can catch the supergroup at the Glass House in Pomona Jan. 24, Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles Jan. 25 and the Fillmore in San Francisco Jan. 26.

“They’re going to get a very talented group of musicians doing their best to take over the world as far as what we’re doing musically,” states Jeff Scott Soto, lead vocalist for the band and who grew up in SoCal.

Soto, in addition to having been associated with groups like Journey and Talisman, has been a part of Sons of Apollo since its inception in 2017. Rounding out the band are four other equally recognizable veteran metal musicians: Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian, Billy Sheehan and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.

2020 marks the first time Sons of Apollo have played together live in quite a while due to each member devoting themselves to other various projects and of course creating MMXX: their second album.

Soto promises though their inability to play live is penance they intend to pay off in 2020 in an effort he hopes will be “groundbreaking.”

“When we take breaks like this in-between records, it’s interesting once we get the cavalry back together. But I’m sure, because we now have some history together in touring, it’s going to come together.”

Though a relatively new supergroup, Sons of Apollo has already gathered quite a noted appreciation among music lovers not just for its star-laden lineup but also for its very loud and passionate music that is best described as progressive metal.

“For all intents and purposes, people see us as a prog band,” Soto said. “We do fit into that category of Dream Theater and PSMS from which the band originated. It’s kind of lumped into the prog world because of the musicality side of things.”

As Sons of Apollo is a supergroup, Soto says he and the other members are all equally tasked with thinking up the typically heavy progressive songs they create. Soto does his best to produce his own contributions while also trying not to rudely inject his ideas for songs and styles onto his other bandmates.

“I would never dabble. I would never step into a room when they’re writing a song and say, ‘hey! Why don’t you guys use this chord or play this lick instead?’ Because these guys are masters of their trade and I respect them as much as they respect my end of coming up with melodies and coming up with lyrics, etc.”

Once completed, the creator of the song shares the results around with the rest of the band who are then allowed to provide suggestions. When this process is done and there is a mutual agreement, the song is made.

While recording in the studio is simple, Soto says it’s more fulfilling and challenging to play it live.

“It’s as exciting as much as it is nerve wracking. For those guys, they have the technical. For me, again, I pretty much conform to what I do and how I do it within the context of where I’m singing. But those guys have all the technical side of the music.”

Although Soto is merely tasked with giving vocals to songs, he says that the true burden of responsibility is placed on his other bandmates who have to handle the group’s instruments. He says they are the ones who ensure the songs Sons of Apollo makes are pulled off properly.

“It’s exciting but it’s nerve wracking watching them because the slightest little hiccup in a song can turn into a train wreck because there’s so many time changes and signatures within the context of certain songs. If one person throws it off it can actually throw a whole monkey wrench into the machine.”

However, Soto assures that the band will do their utmost to avoid that when playing their three shows in California and beyond.

“I think it’s going to be fantastic! All three shows! The entire tour! The entire year!”

Sons of Apollo’s current tour, which currently lasts until April, will not only see the group tour North America but also Europe and South America. Soto hopes that, should the five men garner enough attention during that time, they will hopefully extend the tour a little longer.

Soto says that is the 2020 goal of Sons of Apollo: a musical world domination.

“That’s the bottom line – we’re hitting ’em with what we’re doing and make ’em want more and from there we’re hoping that they’re gonna want more.”