Whom Gods Destroy: Insanium

With their second album arriving in back 2020, the slow demise of Sons of Apollo was more a confirmation of what we already thought to be true than the devastating blow it could have been. A veritable supergroup, SoA consisted Jeff Scott Soto, Billy Sheehan, Mike Portnoy, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Derek Sherinian, with those last two individuals deciding to move their progressive metal legacy forward into Whom Gods Destroy. The guitarist and keyboard player have recruited the latest hot vocalist on the block, Dino Jelusick (TSO, Whitesnake keyboard player and more) along with bassist Yas Nomura (The Resonance Project) and drummer Bruno Valverde (Angra), and while this line-up might not have quite the star-name pulling power of SoA, rest assured it has chops and talent to burn.

Opening track “In The Name Of War� leaves you in little doubt of the class on display, a darkly off-kilter keyboard intro from Sherinian being picked up by bulging guitars and hammering beats before Jelusick steps in and confirms why he’s been turning so many heads of late (his solo band’s debut is also worth checking out). With the authority of Russell Allen and the rasping reach to match, this youngster comes across like an immediate star and instead of being intimidated, or cowed by the experience around him, he takes the bull by the horns and wrestles it to the ground in no time at all. With Bumblefoot and Sherinian clearly revelling in this new configuration, the pair run amok with solo sections and twin-lead work spread evenly between them. In fact I’d go as far as to suggest that it sounds like they’ve been freed from their restraints and we all get to hear the benefits. Add in the exhilarating bass and drum work from Nomura and Valverde and this band really is a breathless, heavy, technical joy to behold.

Now, comparisons to what has come before isn’t always a fair thing to do but it can be fun and let’s be honest, we all do it, so listening for how this outfit rank alongside Sons of Apollo is something of an inevitable game. From where I’m standing, as the staccato burst and snarled vocals of “Over Again� rips up anything near it, Whom Gods Destroy just sound, well, more suited to these surrounds than the band they evolved out of. Harder, heavier, more intricate and interesting in the solo sections, and with a vocalist who is perfect for the music he’s fronting, suddenly the two perfectly excellent Sons of Apollo albums sound just a little pedestrian. Whether it’s that less space has been left for the likes of Sheehan and Portnoy to fill with their trademark flicks and tricks, or that Dino Jelusick is a more natural metal/harsh singer than JSS (who is one of my favourite vocalists of all time), the end results as “The Decision� lands like a prog-metal mid-paced boiler, or “The Crawl� surges in and out of melodic passages and fierce riffage, leave Whom Gods Destroy to instantly sound like a band and not a project.

Across the ten tracks on show the standard remains amazingly high and as I’ve lived with this album over the weeks, so its effect grows and grows, “Crucified� positively exploding with controlled aggression, “Keeper Of The Gates� hitting like a Dio era Sabbath snarler, while the title track adds a welcome and interesting edge of mystery. Admittedly, I’m not sure I really needed the almost power ballad of “Find My Way Back� landing right slap bang in the middle of it all, but if a kind of Coverdale crooner does it for you, then you won’t be too put out by what it has to offer. It’s not a bad song by any means, it just feels a little off kilter compared to the rest of the material, although the desire to mix things up is well placed.

That one small misstep aside, Insanium is quite a spectacular way of introducing Whom Gods Destroy. Those mourning the passing of Sons of Apollo, as I did, need not worry, not only does this album meet those expectations, for me it exceeds them and maybe even by some distance.

Track Listing
1. In The Name Of War
2. Over Again
3. The Decision
4. Crawl
5. Find My Way Back
6. Crucifier
7. Keeper Of The Gate
8. Hypernova 158
9. Insanium

Added: March 8th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
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Language: english

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