Category: General News

Pure Reason Revolution announce co-headline European tour dates with Gazpacho

Pure Reason Revolution are set to release ‘Eupnea’, their first new studio album in nearly 10 years, on the 3rd of April 2020, and now they are pleased to announce a European co-headlining tour alongside Norwegian art-rockers Gazpacho for late 2020.

The band comments: “To deliver Eupnea’s tracks live will be a challenge but I’m sure rewarding. The tracks breathe new life, they develop; synth lines become guitar parts etc This experimentation is inspiring & feeds new creativity”.

Gazpacho who are currently working on the follow up to their 2018 album ‘Soyuz’ add:

“Gazpacho are happy to announce that we are hitting the roads in Europe this October, for a double-bill tour with the brilliant PRR! Yes! You get 2 concerts for the price of.. well.. one-ish! With a 2020-released album in our pocket we’re looking forward to once again meet the crowd, strengthen bonds and friendships, and of course make new ones. The 2020 tour will include France, Holland, Poland, Germany and the UK from October 16 to October 25.”

Their as yet untitled new album is due for release later this year on Kscope. 

You can find the full list of dates below, tickets go on sale this week.

16.10 Warsaw (PL), Progresja

17.10 Poznan (PL), U Bazyla

18.10 Berlin (DE), Columbia Theater

20.10 Cologne (DE), Die Kantine

22.10 Zwolle (NL), Hedon

23.10 Breda (NL), Mezz

24.10 Paris (FR), Petit Bain

25.10 London (UK), Islington Assembly Hall

Pure Reason Revolution recently released the single ‘New Obsession’. Watch the Thomas Hicks-created video here: https://youtu.be/dNP9z70zms4

Jon Courtney commented of the track: “It begins with the beeps, bleeps & monitors from the hospital apparatus & machines, setting the scene for the album. I had a primitive, more electronic demo before Greg (Jong) arrived in Berlin & at that point it got catapulted into a whole new direction.” 

Jon Courtney and Chloë Alper recently sat down to discuss the new record and how it came together, and you can watch them chat all things ‘Eupnea’ in this brand new interview: https://youtu.be/QaxajIoO7xs

At the end of January they launched the epic 10-minute ‘Silent Genesis’, a track which Jon Courtney co-wrote alongside original PRR member Greg Jong. Listen to the song here: https://youtu.be/5khMXtZ6YjE

‘Eupnea’ features the work of artist Jill Doherty on its front cover, and will be available as a Limited CD Digipak, Gatefold 2LP + CD (with etching on Side D) and as a digital album. Pre-orders are now available for both physical and digital here: https://PureReasonRevolution.lnk.to/Eupnea

The full track-listing is as follows:

1.     New Obsession 05:09

2.     Silent Genesis 10:20

3.     Maelstrom 05:44

4.    Ghosts & Typhoons 08:45

5.     Beyond Our Bodies 04:28

6.     Eupnea 13:23

Of the new album the band commented:

“We stuck to our manifesto of no musical boundaries and the result was ‘Eupnea’. We return to a more progressive sound with ferocious guitars, thunderous drums and the stacked harmonies that give us our signature sound. We’re excited to begin playing it live.”

‘Eupnea’, the long-awaited return from the band, sees them harking back to their earliest days, while rolling in all of the musical experiments and experience they’ve gathered in the intervening years.

The cinematic soundscapes of Hammer and Anvil? Check. The dark atmosphere and synths of Amor Vincit Omnia? Check. The gauzy psych-prog of their debut? Ch-check.

It’s sprawling, with three tracks hitting the 10 minute mark and one notching up against 15 minutes. Sure, track length does not equal ambition, but still, it’s quite the statement of intent.

The band currently have two confirmed Summer festival dates, performing at Night Of The Prog Festival in Germany on the 17th of July, and Ramblin Man Fair in the UK on the 18th of July.

Pure Reason Revolution originally parted ways in November 2011 following touring in support of their 2010 album ‘Hammer and Anvil’. Since then, Jon Courtney started Bullet Height and released their debut album ‘No Atonement’ in 2017, while Chloë Alper began a new band called Tiny Giant as well as playing live with the likes of Charli XCX and James.

The band originally formed back in 2003, releasing their much-loved debut album ‘The Dark Third’ in 2006 via Sony BMG. They went on to release the albums ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ in 2009 and ‘Hammer and Anvil’ in 2010. 

sleepmakeswaves announce ‘these are not your dreams’ EP trilogy release for 2020

Australian instrumental post-rockers sleepmakeswaves have announced new music for 2020, three years since their 2017 release ‘Made of Breath Only.’

The new project, titled ‘these are not your dreams’ will be released on 15 May 2020.

Rather than following a conventional release pattern, new songs will be released as a series of 3 EPs over the next few months, with ‘No Safe Place’ out on Feb 21, ‘Out of Hours’ released on April 17 and ‘Not an Exit’ released May 15. 

Listen to the new single:

The band announced the news to fans with a typically quirky video:

these are not your dreams’ full record released 15 May 2020  

May/June 2020 trilogy tour dates 

Sat 16 May – The Basement, Canberra ACT

Fri 22 May – Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA

Sat 23 May – Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA

Thu 4 June – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD

Fri 5 June – Max Watts, Melbourne VIC

Sat 6 June – Manning Bar, Sydney NSW

Presented by Bird’s Robe & Niche Talent Agency

 Tickets on sale now from sleepmakeswaves.com & venue websites 

Kansas Announce New Album ‘The Absence of Presence’, Out 26th June 2020- European ‘Point of Know Return’ Anniversary Tour Dates Revealed

KANSAS, America’s legendary progressive rock band, will release their highly anticipated new studio album “The Absence of Presence” on 26th June 2020.

The album follows-up 2016’s “The Prelude Implicit,” which debuted at #14 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart. KANSAS has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, and is famous for classic hits such as ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust in the Wind’ to progressive epics like ‘Song for America.’

“The Absence of Presence,” released by Inside Out Music, features nine all new tracks written by the band, produced by Zak Rizvi, and co-produced by Phil Ehart and Richard Williams. KANSAS’s signature sound is unmistakable throughout. The album showcases Ronnie Platt’s towering vocals, David Ragsdale’s searing violin, Tom Brislin’s dazzling keyboards, Williams and Rizvi’s electrifying guitar riffs, Ehart’s powerful drums, and Billy Greer’s rocking bass.

This Autumn, KANSAS will be taking its very popular Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour to Europe for 13 dates in October and November. The Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour will include songs from “The Absence of Presence,” classic hits and deep cuts, and will culminate with the iconic album “Point of Know Return” performed in its entirety.

“We are really proud of the album ‘The Absence of Presence,’” comments KANSAS guitarist, producer, and songwriter Zak Rizvi. “Making a new KANSAS album sets a very high musical standard that is expected from our fans. From rockers, to progressive epics, to ballads, there is something on this recording for everybody.”

“It’s been a while since the band has been able to perform in Europe, where we have some very passionate fans,” adds KANSAS guitarist Richard Williams. “We are excited to take the Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour across Europe. Not only will they hear us perform that album in its entirety, along with other hits and deep cuts, but they will be the first fans to hear some of the songs from ‘The Absence of Presence’ performed live.”

Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour Dates

October 18 – London, England – Palladium

October 20 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle

October 21 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks

October 23 – Tampere, Finland – Tamperetalo

October 24 – Helsinki, Finland – Culture House

October 26 – Stockholm, Sweden – Cirkus

October 27 – Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene

October 29 – Berlin, Germany        – Tempodrom

October 31 – Brussels, Belgium – Cirque Royal

November 3 – Munich, Germany – Circus Krone

November 5 – Heilbronn, Germany – Harmonie

November 9 – Bochum, Germany – RuhrCongress

November 10 – Amsterdam, Holland – Carre Theatre

After wrapping-up current U.S. dates for the Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour this spring, KANSAS will debut a track from “The Absence of Presence” live, this summer, during the Juke Box Heroes 2020 Tour when the band will be touring with Foreigner and Europe.

Tickets for the KANSAS Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour will go on sale this week. Ticket and VIP Package information is available at KansasBand.com. Tickets for the U.S. Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour, Juke Box Heroes 2020 Tour, and KANSAS Classics dates are on sale now with ticket and VIP package information are also available at KansasBand.com.

For more information on KANSAS, The Absence of Presence, The Point of Know Return Anniversary European Tour, The Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour, or the Juke Box Heroes 2020 tour, please visit: www.kansasband.com

The Holy Road to Release 2 Track Download on ‘Piano Day’ – 28th March

These two tracks mark the fervent debut solo offering from erstwhile frontman/songwriter/misery troubadour Jonathan Stolber of the much loved To Bury A Ghost (“one of our favourite records of
 the year” – EchoesandDust.com)  

The Northampton based, former Abbey Road Masterclass graduate & twice-nominated BBC Weekender Artist returns this Piano Day with two deep cuts culled from forthcoming debut LP, “For The Blood Of England.”

The Minotaur (Mesto in A-Minor) is a majestic, blistering neo-classical piano-led instrumental that builds upon Stolber’s plaintive Michael Nyman-esque performance and will feature on this year’s Piano Day playlist. Backed by a searing string quintet, the song slowly evolves into a grandiose cinematic crescendo as a colossal thundering funeral march evokes an apocalyptic cacophony. The track is reminiscent in parts of Hope Of The States & Hans Zimmer and features live performances from some of the UK’s most talented string players, including David Dhonau (Her Name Is Calla) and Beni Weedon (Maybeshewill).

Slow It Down paints a different sonic picture. A dense symphony of discordant, glacial synths swell into an explosive wash of plucked harp and angelic, tumbling choir, whilst Stolber delivers his trademark vocal: a fragile, intimate croon that recalls early Elbow & ‘Kid A’ era Radiohead.

Mixed by Leeds producer James Kenosha (Grammatics / Dry The River) and mastered by John Davis
(Manic Street Preachers / Bloc Party / Joy Division).

Stolber has to date, had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many celebrated acts, including 65 Days of Static, James Yuill & Her Name Is Calla. The BBC, Drowned in Sound, Echoes & Dust, Gold Flake Paint, The 405, Sound Of Violence,John Kennedy and Gil Mills have all expressed support of his previous releases.

These two tracks serve as a gorgeous appetite-whetter ahead of the full debut scheduled for release later in 2020.

All proceeds from the Bandcamp download ‘The Minotaur’ will be donated in aid of mental health awareness : www.tinychanges.com


Heavy progressive masters ELDER stream new single – ‘Embers’

Heavy psych rock masters ELDER have released ‘Embers’, the first taste of their highly anticipated new LP Omens (released 24th April, Stickman Records), their first full-length since the globally-acclaimed Reflections of a Floating World.

Pre-orders for Omens are now available here: http://stickman-records.com/shop/elder-omens

The band have also revealed the album artwork for Omens, created by longtime collaborator Adrian Dexter.

In their own words: “‘Embers’ is doubtless one of the most energetic and upbeat songs ELDER has ever made, and really became the favorite to play while rehearsing to record Omens. It’s maybe the least traditionally heavy track from the record, but it’s certainly dense. Lots of interlocking guitar and bass lines, keyboards, synthesizer solos (thanks to our friend Fabio Cuomo!) – you can hear that we had plenty of fun making this album. Like any ELDER song, it’s best heard in context, and we’re excited to release the full record soon!”

Omens is perhaps the band’s most ambitious album yet – delving into deeper, more expansive, genre-pushing territories with five tracks of progressive, heavy, psychedelically evocative glory. Elements of OM, Pink Floyd, even Mastodon and Hawkwind combine to create a truly special record.

Formed in a small coastal town in Massachusetts in the mid noughties, ELDER have reinvented their sound over the course of five albums to grow from a stalwart of the stoner/doom scene into one of the most unique voices in the rock underground. Their long-scale compositions unfold as journeys, running the gamut of styles from the 70s to the present within a single song, with a penchant for “sheer gatefold-era grandeur” as described by Rolling Stone. After thirteen years, this is the first full-length recorded with a new lineup including guitarist Michael Risberg and new drummer Georg Edert, along with guest performances by Fabio Cuomo on Rhodes piano and synthesizers.

ELDER’s new album Omens answers any speculation about their new direction with an emphatic statement: evolution or extinction. Lush, intricately interwoven melodies grow and dissolve into spaced-out jams; massive riffs thunder down into a churning sea of psychedelic sounds and unpredictable grooves carry away the listener. ELDER paint pictures with their music, and Omens shows the band experimenting with an even more colourful palette – with good reason.

By continuing to incorporate new elements to their sound, ELDER’s output has repeatedly set benchmarks for their peers. Beginning with 2008’s Elder and 2010’s Dead Roots Stirring, ELDER made ripples in the stoner rock scene with their uniquely melodic approach to the genre. In 2015 they surprised again with Lore, a watershed moment in the band’s career (recently crowned “Album of the Decade” by TheObelisk) which brought in elements of post-, prog- and space rock into the ELDER sound. Despite several years of heavy touring surrounding the album, Reflections of a FloatingWorld was released just two years later, earning a spot at the top of many best-of lists including Rolling Stone (#5, 20Best Metal Albums Of 2017), Stereogum, acclaim from Metal Hammer, and more.

ELDER will be touring USA in May and throughout Europe in June and July.

A Genesis In My Bed Steve Hackett the autobiography publication date: 24th July 2020

July 2020 sees the publication of A Genesis In My Bed – the long overdue autobiography from guitar great and former member of Genesis, Steve Hackett.   As with his music, Steve has written a highly detailed, entertaining and embracing tome that charts his life in full, but with a firm emphasis on his years with Genesis that saw the band’s meteoric rise to become one of the most successful British bands of all time.

Steve talks candidly about his early life, his time with Genesis, and in particular his personal relationships with the other four band members, with great insight into the daily goings on of this major rock band.

Naturally, A Genesis In My Bed also regales stories of Steve’s career since leaving Genesis and the many different journeys that it has taken him on.   With his flair for the creative, and a great deal of levity, A Genesis In My Bed is also a riveting read.  Indispensable for Genesis fans but also essential for general music lovers and avid readers of autobiographies full of heartfelt and emotive tales.

1,000 copies individually numbered and signed by Steve are available to pre-order directly from the publisher & the artist:

https://www.wymeruk.co.uk/webshop/books/rock/genesis/a-genesis-in-my-bed/

https://store.hackettsongs.com

RIVERSIDE – Important Line-Up Announcement; European Tour starting this Month!

Polish progressive Rock masters RIVERSIDE are happy to share line-up news with all of you:

Riverside are a quartet again!

Dear friends, this is an incredibly important moment in the history of our band. From the beginning of February 2020, Riverside are officially not a trio any more, we are a quartet! It is with incredible joy that we would like to announce that the fourth official member of the band is…

Well, you can’t have expected anyone else? 🙂 

He’s been with us for over three years. He let us recover from the tragic loss we have all experienced, he helped us survive and become, from year to year, a better and better live band. He has been our friend and our brother. We are welcoming him in our midst with great joy, in which we hope you will also share! 

Ladies and gentlemen, on the guitars in Riverside: Maciej Meller!

Being a good guitarist and loving music is one thing, but being able to fit in with your personality, incredible modesty and humility, that’s an incredibly important thing in our band. Maciej meets all the criteria and we are truly happy that he wants to continue our journey with us.

***

We still remember. And we still go back to the moment when, after we lost Piotr, in 2016, the massive amount of your support made us continue as Riverside. We were not ready to invite anyone to our family at that time. “Wasteland” had to be recorded as a trio. We simply had to cope with the loss on our own.

Now, it’s high time for Riverside to have a guitarist in the line-up again, not only during live shows but also in the studio, when working on new material. So we are really pleased to let you know that after coming back from the final, spring edition of the Wasteland Tour 2020, together with Maciek, in the new line-up, we will start working on the eighth album. 

The upcoming spring concerts will have a different character, a different tone, and Riverside will sound mightier than ever before. We would really like to see you there!

Last but not least – Piotr Grudziński will always be in our hearts, we all still love him and we will never forget him. But we have to move on. We are on a journey, they are waiting for us. There is more to create in this life, more to see, more to know, more to save. We hope that you will decide to stay with us again and that you will let us help one another through all of this. 

We are here with you and for you.

Riverside

***

RIVERSIDE’s next touring run starts later this month and includes dates across Europe as well as an appearance at the Cruise To The Edge and shows in Latin America as follows:

RIVERSIDE – Wasteland Tour 2020
26.02. Madrid (Spain) – MON Live
27.02. Barcelona (Spain) – Salamandra 1
29.02. Milano (Italy) – Legend Club
01.03. Treviso (Italy) – New Age Club
03.03. Lubljana (Slovenia) – Kino Šiška
05.03. Zagreb (Croatia) – Tvornica Kulture
06.03. Novi Sad (Serbia) – Pozorište Mladih
07.03. Thessaloniki (Greece) – Principal Club Theater
08.03. Athens (Greece) – Gagarin 205 Live Music Space
10.03. Istanbul (Turkey) – Zorlu PAC
11.03. Sofia (Bulgaria) – Music Jam Club
12.03. Bucharest (Romania) – Quantic Club
13.03. Cluj-Napoca (Romania) – /FORM SPACE
15.03. Budapest (Hungary) – Barba Negra
27.03.-01.04. Miami (USA) to Belize & Honduras – Cruise To The Edge 2020

02.04. Mexico City (Mexico) – Auditorio Blackberry 
04.04. Guadalajara (Mexico) – C3 Stage 
07.04. Santiago (Chile) – Teatro Nescafe
09.04. Sao Paulo (Brazil) – Carioca Club

16.04. Wrocław (Poland) – A2

17.04. Gliwice (Poland) – Arena Gliwice

18.04. Kraków (Poland) – Studio

19.04. Warszawa (Poland) – Progresja / Sold Out!

25.04. Gdańsk (Poland) – Stary Maneż / Sold Out!

26.04. Poznań (Poland) – Sala Ziemi / Sold Out!

Ticket links: 

https://riversideband.pl/en/gigs

RIVERSIDE most recently released a special edition 2CD+DVD version of their current and highly successful studio-album “Wasteland” via InsideOutMusic. The ”Wasteland – Hi-Res Stereo and Surround Mix” 2CD+DVD comes as Digipak format with an additional Slipcase and includes a DVD bonus disc of “Wasteland” as Hi-Res Stereo 24bit version and as Surround Mix (4.1), plus 3 video clips. This edition also contains 5 previously unreleased acoustic tracks/versions on a separate CD. 

Order RIVERSIDE’s ”Wasteland – Hi-Res Stereo and Surround Mix” 2CD+DVD here: 
https://Riverside.lnk.to/WastelandHi-ResStereoAndSurroundMix

The acoustic tracks/versions of the “Acoustic Session” are also available as separate Digital EP here:

. https://Riverside.lnk.to/AcousticSessionEP

RIVERSIDE line-up 2020:
(From left to right on photo by Radak Zawadzki)

Piotr Kozieradzki – drums
Mariusz Duda – vocals & bass
Maciej Meller – guitar
Michał Łapaj – keyboards

Rise Twain launch video for “Prayers”

Philadelphia- duo Rise Twain released their debut self-titled album last year on InsideOutMusic. The union of Brett William Kull (producer, audio engineer, and member of Echolyn, Grey Eye Glances, and Francis Dunnery’s New Progressives) and J.D. Beck (The Scenic Route, Beck-Fields, author & playwright) bring their collective years of direct and varied experience in writing, performing and recording music together for their impressive first album.

Today, the band have launched their first ever official video for the beautiful ‘Prayers’.

The band comments: “Prayers is an elegy for love to come down from a forbidden height, to call from the night, to remember, wake, and live again. It sings a desperate melody to the lost so that they may find their way home.”

The album is available to order on Limited CD Digipak, 180g Black Vinyl LP + CD & as digital album here: https://risetwain.lnk.to/RiseTwain

Listen to some previously released tracks below:

‘Oh This Life’: https://youtu.be/XUWr1Vyg180

‘Golden’: https://youtu.be/15NnJ32GKfs

‘Everspring’: https://youtu.be/bsZu4GCRnrw

The track-listing is as follows:

1.     Everspring
2.     Golden
3.     The Range
4.     Lit Up
5.     Death of Summer
6.     Oh This Life
7.     Prayers
8.     Falling Skies
9.     Into A Dream
10.  That Is Love

Talking of how the duo came together: “I produced an album for J.D.’s original band, The Scenic Route”, says Kull, describing his first meeting with Beck in 2007. “They were a rocky, progressive kind of band, like a Jeff Buckley kind of thing. I was immediately drawn to his vocals. He’s such a strong singer.” Kull says he and Beck immediately hit it off, what he describes as an “inevitable connection.”

Adds Beck, “I just knew I had to work with Brett on a higher level. When I came in to cut the vocals on the Scenic Route album, the way we worked together…some people you just gel with, and then some people you have a barrier with. Brett and I gelled.” They spoke of one day collaborating on their own project, which finally surfaces as Rise Twain.

Discussing the album’s musical direction, Beck notes, “There’s not a typical structural theme that we use over and over and over. ‘Organic’ is a word that comes to mind. Seeking openness through simplicity and allowing the complexity of music to exist without the necessity of overly packing it or overly processing it. With that we were able to achieve such a broad spectrum of sound, and a colossal sense of its existence, without having to have a billion guitars and a billion things put over top. There’s some colouring with strings and other embellishments, but it really is something very simple and stripped down, and it’s awesome.”

Kull adds, “There’s a lot of complexity in this, but it’s not overt in the least bit. But yet, when you get into it, there’s all this really rich harmonic and dynamic stuff going on.”

RISE TWAIN are:
J.D. Beck: Piano, lead and backing vocals
Brett William Kull: Guitars, bass, keys, percussion, lead and backing vocals

IAMTHEMORNING SINGER-SONGWRITER – MARJANA SEMKINA PREMIERES NEW TRACK & VIDEO FOR “EVERYTHING BURNS”

TAKEN FROM HER DEBUT SOLO ALBUM – SLEEPWALKING  
(KSCOPE – 14TH FEBRUARY 2020)

With Marjana Semkina,Iamthemorning’s lyricist, singer and co-songwriter, set to release her spellbinding debut solo album, Sleepwalking on 14th February 2020 through Kscope, she has premiered the video for the track “Everything Burns”.

“The song ‘Everything Burns’ focuses on the demons that you take with you no matter how far you try to go; the fact is you just can’t run away from them. No matter how hard you try to change everything around you, they will stay with you unless you realise that the most important change, the one that is by far the hardest to achieve – the one that happens inside of you” Semkina explains the meaning behind the song. 

She continues by reflecting on how the clip, produced together with the long term collaborator of iamthemorning Eggor Kree, refences this side of the struggle “these toxic situations that we find ourselves trapped in seemingly, with no escape, you just have to find strength within yourself to put an end to it, even if this means you have to destroy something familiar & precious that you’ve been building for a while . Stepping into the unknown can be scary, but sometimes it’s (metaphorically) necessary to burn everything to the ground and start anew and work very hard to not fall into the same old patterns in this new life of yours.”

Sleepwalkingis available to PRE-ORDER HEREon CD / LP and digitally (with “Everything Burns” available as an instant download on digital pre-orders). Note to fans – Sleepwalking will be released under an alternative spelling – Mariana Semkina.

Sleepwalking will be available on CD / LP and digitally and is available to PRE-ORDER HERE

Sleepwalking tracklisting 

1. Dark Matter [03:12] 

2. Am I Sleeping Or Am I Dead [04:27] 

3. Turn Back Time [04:06] 

4. Ars Longa Vita Brevis [03:03] 

5. Invisible [03:07] 

6. Lost At Sea [04:59] 

7. Skin [04:52] 

8. How To Be Alone [02:50] 

9. Everything Burns [03:14] 

10. Mermaid Song [04:32] 

11. Still Life [04:08] 

Marjana Semkina is currently performing as Iamthemorning in support to The Flower Kings, in promotion of the band’s recent album The Bell.
10/12 – Columbia Theater, Berlin, Germany11/12 – Amager Bio, Copenhagen, Denmark12/12 – Brewhouse, Gothenburg, Sweden14/12 –  Kraken, Stockholm, Sweden 

SONS OF APOLLO LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘GOODBYE DIVINITY’; FIRST SINGLE FROM ‘MMXX’

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 ready to ring in the new decade with a sonic boom with their second studio album, appropriately titled, ‘MMXX’ (pronounced: 20/20).

Produced by The Del Fuvio Brothers (Portnoy and Sherinian), ‘MMXX’ will be released on the 17th January 2020 via InsideOutMusic/Sony as a standard CD package, Limited Edition 2 CD package (which includes instrumental mixes and a cappella excerpts), 2 LP + CD package, and on all digital formats.

Today they launch the Vicente Cordero-directed video for the albums lead single ‘Goodbye Divinity’. Watch it now here: 


Mike Portnoy comments: “From the minute we finished writing Goodbye Divinity, I knew we had our album opener and the first release off the album. I even remember posting on social media how excited I was about the song the day I tracked it!

The song has an immediacy that grabs you right away: great riffs, flashy playing and hooky vocal melodies. All of the elements that make up the SOA sound.

The video was directed by Vicente Cordero who I have now done over 20 music videos with and its look helps catapult the band from the Greek mythological past of the last album into the 21st century with this new album.“

Pre-orders are available from today, with digital pre-orders on iTunes & Amazon receiving an immediate download of ‘Goodbye Divinity’.

Pre-order now here:

https://soa.lnk.to/MMXX