THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...WHOM GODS DESTROY – Insanium (InsideOut Music)

Reuniting the Sons Of Apollo soloists Derek Sherinian and Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, and fronted by Croatian multi-instrumentalist Dino Jelusick (whose credits involve Whitesnake and Trans-Siberian Orchestra) Whom Gods Destroy are an uncompromising progressive metal juggernaut. Add in a solid rhythm section in bassist Yas Nomura and drummer Bruno Valverde (moonlighting from the day job in Angra) and you’ve got a band of immense talent and technical expertise and an album whose material builds on the best of the progressive metal spectrum from the more likely candidates such as Dream Theater (where of course Sherinian first came to the limelight) to bands like Tool and Meshuggah. Nothing is ruled out in the WGD songbook, and as the songs develop in twists and turns nothing is as simple as it seems.

Whom_gods_destroy_by_greg_vorobiov

Photo by Greg Vorobiov

The songwriting dates back to pandemic days. Sherinian and Bumblefoot started trading ideas and recording parts in the enforced lay-off in 2020, although as a band Whom Gods Destroy didn’t officially come into being until Sons Of Apollo were acknowledged to have spilt in October 2023, by which time ‘Insanium’ was already complete. The most obvious starting point is Sons Of Apollo, but – intentionally or not – the overall vibe to this album (the lighters-in-the-air ‘Find My Way back’ aside) is belligerence, and in the main it’s a much more powerful beast than the two Sons’... releases. At times Jelusick appears to be spitting nails rather than lyrics, Bumblefoot shreds and shreds again and Sherinian lords over a range of keyboards, freed from the restrictions seemingly placed on him by other bands and pushing the instruments to their limits. It’s a great album across the board, but first among equals is the opener ‘In The Name Of War’, whose exquisite piano intro is trampled underfoot as Sherinian’s bandmates gatecrash the party. Subtle it is not, but arresting it most certainly is. Jelusick gets to put his feet up during the hyperactive ‘Hypernova’, while the epic title track and album closer allows everyone to stretch out and show what they’re made of. It’s truly exciting stuff.

‘Insanium’ is available on vinyl and CD, with a 2CD mediabook offering up a bonus track ‘Requiem’ and the album as an instrumental bonus disc.

Video clips:
‘In The Name Of War’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ie77apU0RA
‘Crawl’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARvSEzdqxnE
‘Over Again’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5BflG3oP0w