After Sons Of Apollo released their debut "Psychotic Symphony" two years ago, they went on a world tour with over 100 live shows in 28 countries. This has brought the band together, as you can clearly hear on the second album, as drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboarder Derek Sherinian never tire of emphasizing
The probably first prog metal milestone of 2020, in roman numerals "MMXX", which then became the album title, developed shortly after the completion of the debut - in the mind of Derek Sherinian. "I actually always write down ideas, compose, record. That's how it was this time too. I continued writing practically right after the work on our first album was finished," says the American with Armenian roots. The pieces "Asphyxiation" and "Desolate July" come from this early phase. However, guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses) had not been idle either, and so in early January 2019 they met at Mike Portnoy's house with home studio in Pennsylvania to lay the groundwork for the new album.
While Bumblefoot was still "the new guy" during the writing process for the debut - Sherinian and Portnoy had already worked together on Dream Theater and shortly before the Sons of Apollo were founded in an instrumental project, so they were a well-rehearsed team - the whole thing went very harmoniously this time. The music was ready within three weeks. "We got to know each other well, not least on the tour. You can hear that, I think. We knew exactly what we wanted when we wrote it," says Sherinian. Although he admits that he didn't have a particular theme in mind when writing the songs. "I write what I feel. We all do it that way. And then make sure that it works. I can't really say what a particular song is about. You'd have to ask our singer, Jeff Scott Soto. He's in charge of the lyrics."
