Psychotic Symphony

The band kept their sound as simple as possible. When Soto tried out more sophisticated ideas the band decided to keep things simple and straight. When Portnoy and Sherinian started the band they thought it would go in a direction similar to Dream Theater only to realize it would end up completely different. Psychotic Symphony is influenced by: Deep Purple ("Divine Addiction"), Van Halen ("Coming Home") and U.K. When asked about it being a progressive rock album Bumblefoot said: Originally, the cover was to have two lions facing each other (each representing Portnoy and Sherinian) but the keyboardist suggested they replace his lion with an eagle. Most of the lyrics were written by Soto with some song titles were suggested by Sherinian. == Song information ==

"God of the Sun", was mostly written by Sherinian and was the first track to be recorded since it was the only song that was already sketched before the album sessions. "Coming Home" illustrates how Sons of Apollo is a contemporary progressive metal band influenced by classic rock bands. "Signs of the Time" was the first song written by the band together. "Labyrinth" is Portnoy's personal favorite on the album and features unusual time signatures and orchestrations. "Figaro's Whore" is a short keyboard instrumental track that serves as a prelude to "Divine Addiction" and was compared by Portnoy to Van Halen's "Eruption." According to Sherinian "the title comes from the fact that there's one part where I start shredding and when it starts going down low like: 'Fig-aro, fig-aro, figaro, figaro, figaro' –reminding me of The Barber of Seville. 'Whore' was added simply because it's a fun word to say". The use of the word "whore" in the title led to the track being labeled with an explicit lyrics warning on digital retailers, despite it having no lyrics at all. Sherinian and Portnoy noted the oddity of such a label on an entirely instrumental song. ==Track listing==

Loudersound's Fraser Lewry reviewed the album positively—stating that the band "is very much the sum of its parts. The musicians are as good as you'd expect, especially Portnoy, who almost seems to drag the rest of the band along with him, and Thal, whose playing veers from ugly metallic crunch to stunningly fluid solo.. (the album is) fierce, loud, bewildering, brilliantly performed and monstrously entertaining". In a less favorable review for Metal Injection, Jordan Blum felt the album was competent overall but lacked originality. He said the album was "filled with in-your-face intricacy, uninspired lyricism, and raucous vocals, [...] packed with impressive performances from start to finish, as well as a few standout moments; however, it also fails to go beyond mere sufficiency in every respect, resulting in a forgettable effort that’s lazily innocuous and overwhelmingly familiar." ==Personnel==

;Sons of Apollo • Jeff Scott Soto – lead vocals • Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – guitar, backing vocals • Billy Sheehan – bass • Derek Sherinian – keyboards, string arrangements on "God of the Sun" and "Labyrinth" • Mike Portnoy – drums, backing vocals ;Additional Musicians • Ashwin Batish - sitar and chanting • Keshav Batish - Tabla • Artyom Manukyan - cello • Armand Melnbardis - violin • Kiara Perico - viola • Enrico Cacace - additional orchestration ;Production • Mike Portnoy - production • Derek Sherinian - production • Jerry Guidroz - engineering • Greg Foeller - assistant engineering • Corey Mast, Brent Woods, Simone Sello, Thomas Cuce - additional engineering • Jay Ruston - mixing • Paul Logus - mastering • Thomas Ewerhard - artwork and cover illustration • Hristo Shindov - photography ==References==