Myles Kennedy will release The Ides of March, his second solo album, this spring and has just debuted the epic title track which has prog rock leanings.
The second single off the forthcoming record comes on the actual Ideas of March — March 15 — the venerated day in ancient Rome which held religious significance and was also the day where all unfulfilled debts were due. More infamously, it was also the day in 44 B.C. when Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated.
Kennedy embraces the darker elements that shade the date in history and goes full on prog, opening with a prickly, morose acoustic passage and a deep, hushed premonition. Pounding drums shatter the still, but the song doesn’t explode from there and instead shifts to an ominous but swaying section that affords room for layered instrumentation and cinematic depth.
“Written quickly one night after having a few drinks, it was an attempt to sum up what so many of us felt during the beginning of the pandemic,” attested Kennedy. “We were bored, frustrated and self-medicating to avoid going stir crazy. What I like about the narrative, is it pushes the idea that if everything is going to Hell, at least try and do it in a celebratory fashion.”
Listen to “The Ides of March” below.
The new record will be released on May 14 through Napalm Records and pre-orders can be placed here. To listen to the first The Ides of March single, “In Stride,” head to this location.
