They’ve been teasing their formation and the arrival of new music for months, and now the wait is nearly over! BPMD – the new heavy metal juggernaut featuring icons Bobby Blitz (Overkill) on vocals, drummer Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs, Sons of Apollo), bassist Mark Menghi (Metal Allegiance) and guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-lence, ex-Machine Head) – is pleased to announce that they have signed a worldwide contract with Napalm Records, joining the label’s growing roster of premier talent.
The members of BPMD first came together in the summer of 2019 with one goal in mind: to pay homage to some of their favorite classic rock tunes, give them their own heavy twist, and to have a blast doing it. We all could use a bit of fun, and that’s what BPMD is here to provide – a party on wax performed by some of the greatest musical talents in the world!
BPMD will officially announce the release of this music – arriving in the form of their first full-length album – very soon. Stay tuned for more details and music, coming soon!
BPMD bassist Mark Menghi says: “We’re super excited about our first BPMD record. Last summer, I was inspired and came up with this crazy idea and here we are, not even a year later, and it’ll see the light of day in these very trying times. The planet needs something to feel good about, and I 100% whole-heartedly believe these tunes will do the trick. Buckle up and make way for BPMD…”
BPMD frontman Bobby Blitz drops a few more hints: “The BPMD sessions were very fun. They took us all back to our roots and even pre-roots. As it developed, we all realized it was something special, as did Napalm Records, with one listen!”
BPMD will make their performance debut at Bulldozer Bash 5 in Old Bridge, NJ on Saturday, May 30! The event, which will take place at Old Bridge Elks Lodge, is a benefit show to raise funds for the Old Bridge Militia Foundation, a 100% non-profit 501 C3 charity foundation. Show details will be announced soon, but for now, visit https://oldbridgemilitia.org.
Keep your eyes (and ears) at the ready – new music from BPMD is just around the corner.
Just recently, all-stars VIVALDI METAL PROJECT and its mastermind, Mistheria, announced the second All Star Album, which will feature a larger cast of world-class musicians than ever before!
Today, the drum legend MIKE PORTNOY himself joined the line-up! Watch below his announcement video:
Also watch the interview with Mike, conducted by Vivaldi Metal Project’s violinist Abigail Stahlschmidt.
Vivaldi Metal Project’s crowd-funding campaign page for the new album is officially live at https://gogetfunding.com/vmp2.
Vivaldi Metal Project’s mastermind Mistheria stated:
“I invite you to join us as we begin the creation of our NEW All-Star album, which will feature a larger cast of world-class musicians than ever before!
Throughout the campaign we will give you the opportunity to meet many of our artists, as we post weekly sneak-peek videos and exclusive previews from the making of our new album!
As with our previous album, this new album will showcase many incredible instrumentalists, vocalists, choirs, and orchestras from all across the globe. We are so excited to share this musical journey with you, and we want to thank you for your continued support; it truly means everything!
Starting today, you can help make this shared dream a reality. Visit https://gogetfunding.com/vmp2 to choose your perk, and to help support the creation of our next album.
You can choose from the many perks available, and will receive a gift of your choosing for your generous contribution. Let’s this new, exciting adventure begin!
Thank You! Mistheria & Vivaldi Metal Project team”
The new Vivaldi Metal Project album will not only feature classical masterworks by Vivaldi, but the works of other great composers such as Chopin, Mozart, Bach, Fauré, Schubert, Saint-Saens, Dvorak, Beethoven, Albinoni, Paganini, and more.
While based on classical themes, these songs will be largely composed of original material, representative of Vivaldi Metal Project’s symphonic-metal style.
As on the band’s previous album “The Four Seasons”, all songs will include vocalists, band, orchestra and choir, as well as a featured cast of internationally-recognized metal and classical artists.
Steel Drum Orchestra, PAN ROCKS is headed to the studio this Fall to record its tribute to RUSH. Modern Prog-Rock drum legend Mike Portnoy (Sons Of Apollo, Winery Dogs) will handle the drumming duties.
“I am excited to take part in this unique musical experience, which is unlike anything I have done yet in my career,” says Mike Portnoy. “And, it is always an honor to pay tribute to one of my biggest inspirations, my hero and friend, Mr. Neil Peart.”
PAN ROCKS is a 50 to 100 plus piece steel drum orchestra, founded by rock steelpannist Tracy Thornton. The RUSH recording is a follow up to the 2017 Pan Rocks Project, LA which featured the music of Led Zeppelin, KISS, and Jane’s Addiction, all performed by the steel drum orchestra and a band consisting of Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Sons Of Apollo), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction, Pornofor Pyros) , Tracii Guns (L .A .Guns), and Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grand Funk Railroad).
Thornton has once again called on Matt Starr (Mr. Big, Ace Frehley) to produce the new project. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help Tracy realize his vision for this amazing project,” says Starr. “Hearing 50 steel pan drummers play RUSH is just mind blowing. I can’t wait for everyone else experience it.”
The PAN ROCKS Orchestra is made up of steel pannists from around the world. “I’m excited to have the opportunity tocelebrate the music of RUSH, the band that inspired me to become a musician in the first place,” said Tracy Thornton. Regarding the future of the project, Thornton says, “My goal is to keep pushing the boundaries and highlighting the capabilities of steelpan instrument in the rock and roll genre, and reach more music enthusiasts. Ultimately, we are working towards a touring show with both Western and traditional Trinidadian Carnival elements.”
The recording will once again take place at Ocean Studios Burbank in Los Angeles. The project will be mixed by Smiley Sean (APC, Mötley Crüe), and mastered by Grammy Award Winning Mastering Engineer Dave Collins (Metallica, The Police).
Jimmy Kay from Canada’s The Metal Voice recently spoke to, Sons of Apollo, Metal Allegiance and former Dream Theater Drummer Mike Portnoy at The NAMM Show 2018 on January 26 2018 at the Tascam and Nuclear Blast Booth. Portnoy talked about the formation of the Metal Allegiance, Sons of Apollo shows and his 18-year-old son Max Portnoy following his dad’s footsteps as a drummer.
Watch the interview here:
When asked for some background on the Metal Allegiance for the fans who are unfamiliar
“It started many years ago as a bunch of friends, me and the guys from Testament, Megadeth, Pantera and Anthrax, we are all buddies for so many years. We are all still Metal fans we still love Kiss, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, so we started doing these shows where we started jamming for fun, playing covers and after a few years, a few of us the core four, David Ellefson, myself, Alex Skolnick from Testament and Mark Menghi who is the mastermind behind it. The four of us decided let’s make an album of original music we did that with the first album a couple of years ago, great experience and now we have a second album coming out at the beginning of the summer. The Album is done and it will be out June 1018.”
When asked if Sons of Apollo is a real band in the traditional sense
I think Sons of Apollo will be very similar to the Winery Dogs. Winery Dogs went on the road for years playing hundreds of shows really building up the fan base as a band. Sons of Apollo will have the same work ethic. Everything I do there is a fine line between a project and a band, it’s just a title. To me everything I do is a band; it is just a question of how much we can work together. We are committed to it in Sons of Apollo and we are going to spend all of 2018 on the road together.”
When asked why he has decided to go back to the Prog Style with Sons of Apollo after leaving Dream Theater
“I never abandoned it, it is always going to be a part of me, and it is just after leaving Dream Theater I wanted to try different styles, different sounds. Metal Allegiance is Thrash and Winery Dogs is more Classic rock. That style of music that Dream Theater does is always going to be a part of me. It was Derek Sherinian that was nudging at me let us do it. Then, we did it. Once we started writing it went beyond the Dream Theater world, now it is sort of a hard rock, Metal progressive thing and Jeff Scott Soto brings a whole lot of soulful anchor to the whole thing.”
When asked if he would ever consider doing a Sons of Apollo, Dream theater special night
“It is not out of the question, it might be weird for me to be opening for the band that I formed and built for 25 years. However, I never say never. “
SONS OF APOLLO’s debut album, “Psychotic Symphony”, was released October 20 by InsideOut Music.
Last week saw the announcement of SONS OF APOLLO, the highly anticipated new band featuring 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). Their debut album ‘Psychotic Symphony’ is due for release on 20th October 2017 via InsideOutMusic / Sony, and now they are pleased to reveal their first track titled ‘Signs of the Time’.
Listen now here:
Mike comments: “Signs Of The Time was the very first thing myself, Derek & Bumblefoot wrote when we got together to begin writing for Sons Of Apollo in March of this year.
It starts with this heavy, brutal Bumbleriff (initally coined “Korntera”), then goes into a cool verse with a 2-Pt vocal melody that I wrote sung by Jeff and myself…which eventually opens up to a HUGE vocal hook in the chorus that Jeff wrote (sung in 3-Pt harmony by Jeff, myself and Bumblefoot)
The middle section riffs are a few things that Derek brought in and show why he is the most BADASS keyboard player in the biz (playing the keys like a guitar player on fire!) and then we have the long extended breakdown and guitar solo which shows why Bumblefoot is one of today’s greatest GUITAR HEROES! This album is going to get him the recognition he truly deserves and this particular guitar solo is one of the tastiest, most insane solos I’ve EVER heard…
So all in all, this song has a little bit of everything that makes Sons Of Apollo so special…great heavy riffs, amazing solos with individual instrumental virtuosity and a big, catchy chorus with more hooks than a tackle box!!
I figured this would be a great “first taste” to introduce the world to this amazing new supergroup…and there’s a whole lot more of different musical styles and twist & turns still to come all throughout the album…”
The debut album, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY is now available to pre-order on 2CD Mediabook (featuring a second disc of instrumental mixes), Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD, Standard Jewelcase CD & digital download. Pre-order now here: http://smarturl.it/SonsOfApolloPS
The full track-listing is as follows:
1. God of The Sun
2. Coming Home
3. Signs of the Time
4. Labyrinth
5. Alive
6. Lost In Oblivion
7. Figaro’s Whore
8. Divine Addiction
9. Opus Maximus
An album teaser can be seen on InsideOutMusic’s YouTube page here:
PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” which is the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater.
SONS OF APOLLO got together very organically, as Portnoy explains: “Derek and I reunited shortly after I left Dream Theater in 2010 and we put together an all-instrumental touring band with he and I, Billy Sheehan, and Tony MacAlpine. That was my first time working with Derek since the ’90s when he was in Dream Theater and it was just great to be working with him again. Ever since that tour, which was really just a one-off live thing, he has been nudging me to start a real, original, full-time band. The timing just had never been right, because I had too many other things on my plate. Long story short, the time was finally right to take the bait and put together a band.”
“Mike and I work at a relentless pace in the studio,” continues Sherinian. “The music is modern, but we have an old school soul. What is unique about SONS OF APOLLO is that we have true rock n’ roll swagger along with the virtuosity– a lethal combination!”
But what to call the next great supergroup? “Derek was mainly the one behind the name,” says Portnoy. “I have a list that I keep on my phone of about a hundred different band names, which I constantly have to refer to every time I have a new band every year (laughs). So, I pulled up the list and Apollo was one of the names on the list. It was a word that both of us really liked. We started fiddling with different variations of the word. One of the original band names we were working with was Apollo Creed, the character from the ‘Rocky’ movies, but after lots of different discussions on different variations, Derek suggested SONS OF APOLLO and it seemed to stick. Apollo is the God of Music so with that in mind it seemed like a fitting name.”
Mike Portnoy, Derek Sherinian and Billy Sheehan previously toured together in 2012 and 2013 as PSMS (along with guitarist Tony MacAlpine), playing all instrumental versions from each of their previously recorded music. SONS OF APOLLO is the next logical progression by adding a vocalist and creating all-original material. The band incorporates the progressive style and individual technical prowess that Portnoy & Sherinian shared together in Dream Theater combined with the swagger and groove of Van Halen, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
“I have known Mike and Derek for a long time, so when they came to me with Sons of Apollo, I jumped on this straight away,” says Thomas Waber, Label Manager/A&R International of InsideOutMusic. “However, the album they ended up recording exceeded my already high expectations by a long mile! We couldn’t be happier about it!”
SONS OF APOLLO will hit the road in 2018 for their first worldwide tour.
“This is a real band,” Portnoy declares. “This is going to pick up for me and Billy where The Winery Dogs left off, in terms of this being the next logical full-time thing for us. I’m not saying The Winery Dogs have broken up, because we haven’t, we’re just on a break. SONS OF APOLLO is absolutely going to be a full-time band and we plan on touring all over the world all throughout 2018 and, honestly, it is the priority for all five of us.”
Sherinian agrees, “We will go on a worldwide crusade in 2018 to bring SONS OF APOLLO to as many people as possible. Apollo was the God of Music, and we are his mighty offspring!”
Rising young metallers NEXT TO NONE released their second album ‘Phases’ through InsideOutMusic in Europe and EMP Label Group in North America on July 7, 2017. This comes off the back of the band’s first ever European tour alongside label-mates Haken, as well as dates supporting Mike Portnoy’s much anticipated Shattered Fortress show. The band is currently on the road with labelmates Doll Skin.
The band’s video for their single “The Apple”, can be seen here:
The band comments: “Our new album incorporates many different styles from metal to prog. The Apple shows the heavier side of the band while still having a melodic chorus.”
Phases Track Listing:
1. 31
2. Answer Me
3. The Apple
4. Beg
5. Alone
6. Kek
7. Clarity
8. Pause
9. Mr Mime
10. Isolation
11. Denial
12. The Wanderer
The full list of upcoming tour dates alongside Doll Skin are as follows:
8/9 – El Paso TX – Low Brow Palace
8/10- Albuquerque, NM- The Jam Spot
8/11 – Tucson AZ – Loadhouse
8/12- Las Vegas, NV- Dive Bar
8/16 – Portland OR – Rock Hard PDX
8/17 – Seattle WA – Chop Suey
8/18 – Lewiston ID – 3rd Wheel
8/20 – Colordo Springs CO – Sunshine Studios
8/22- Omaha, NE- Shamrocks
8/24 – Jackson MN – Ellefson Coffee Co.
8/25 – Mankato MN – Whats Up Lounge
8/26 – Chippewa Falls WI – EveryBuddys Bar
8/27 – Oshkosh WI – Burning Soul Studio
8//28 – Baraboo WI – Private Event
8/29 – Ft Atkinson WI – Hijynx
Formed in 2012, and based in Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, the foursome released their well-received debut ‘A Light In The Dark’ during 2015 on InsideOut. But if this set a template for the band’s style, then this has now been excitingly stretched.
“We actually began to write songs for the new record as soon as we finished the first one,” explains drummer Max Portnoy. As previously, this involved the duo of Portnoy and vocalist/keyboard player Thomas Cuce collaborating in this part of the process. And, also to some extent mirroring ‘A Light In The Dark’, there’s a partial concept here. “On the previous album we had six tracks which were lyrically linked. But it did not stretch throughout all the
songs. This time, we have four tracks which deal with the idea of grief. However, that isn’t reflected on the entire record.”
The new 12-track album (including two short instrumental passages) marks the recording debut of new guitarist Derrick Schneider who replaced Ryland Holland last year, (the line-up is completed by bassist Kris Rank). “Ryland wanted to go to college, and is now going to Berklee College Of Music, whereas the rest of us wanted to be in the band full-time. So, there was no way that he could carry on with us. And we were very lucky to find someone immediately to take over. He was recommended to us by Bumblefoot (the ex-Guns N Roses guitarist who guested on the first record) and he was the only guy we tried out that fit perfectly. Musically and personally he fit straight in with us. One of the things he does so well is shred on guitar but he also has great voice and plays very heavy which has made a difference to our style and sound.”
Although the album was mixed by the Grammy nominated Adam “Nolly” Getgood (Periphery), the band have produced themselves this time, a decision Portnoy insists has been of immeasurable help. “It’s a collective production, with all of the band having their say. We had strong ideas as to how we wanted this album to turn out, and if we’d brought in an outside producer, then this could have changed. So, it was best for us to stick together and follow our own vision.” The recording process started early last October, with the drum parts being recorded at Neal Morse’s Radiant Studios in Nashville; these sessions were engineered by Jerry Guidroz. “We then spent about four months at Thomas’ home studio (Battery Powered Studios) doing the rest of the work; Thomas was the engineer for those sessions. We were in there every day until 3am. I don’t know how Kris coped, because he was going to school after we’d finished in the studio and getting just a couple of hours’ sleep.
Portnoy believes Next To None have become a sharper and more challenging band with ‘Phases’. “I suppose you could say that we’ve done here is do more of everything we did before, but the greater experience we now have has helped us become better at what we want to do. This time around, there are no guests featured, as was the case on ‘A Light In The Dark’, and as it’s just the four of us you are getting more of what we want to express to everyone, musically and lyrically.”
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