Tag: Andy Martongelli

Ellefson-Soto – ‘Unbreakable’ (2025) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic24 Comments

The debut Ellefson-Soto album was released back on October 7, 2022 and only 6 months later, David Ellefson and guitarist Andy Martongelli wasted no time in starting to write the next album. Starting April 2023, work began on the songwriting and over the next year and half the two would collaborate with Jeff Scott Soto on what would become the second Ellefson-Soto album called ‘Unbreakable’. Funny enough, it all started with a cover song. David suggest they cover and a Queen song and David knowing Jeff’s obsessive love of Queen, knew this would draw him back in. That cover was of “Death On Two Legs”. Then it was off to the races and squeezing things in when they could as these guys are always extremely busy. The band recorded the album at Rogue Studios in Wembley, UK by Alessio Garavello and produced by Chris Collier.

The band brings the veterans together with former Megadeth bassist and Grammy winner, David Ellefson and journeyman powerhouse vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto joining forces yet again to deliver something unique for the guys. Throw in the young guns of guitarist Andy Martongelli from Arthemis and drummer Paolo Caridi of Hollow Haze, The Bad Guy Experiment, and Cosmic Dead Ringers and the two dynamics merge to form a modern rock band that throws everything at you from thrash, to power metal, to even a little punk while still bring a heavy modern sound that takes this album to the next level.

The sound of this album is just as heavy as the first with a real modern rock sound. The band feels like they are way more comfortable with each other and they have developed their own sound and style and this whole album feels right. It feels collaborative as you can hear and feel all the elements that each member brings to the table. They also brought in a little help as well as we get not one, but two duets on the album. One with the great Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest) and another with the amazing Laura Guldemond (Burning Witches). It is not that Jeff can’t handle the vocals all by himself because we know he can, but It is a chance to spread their wings and show what this band is capable of doing while keeping things fresh for the listener.

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Ellefson / Soto – ‘Vacation in the Underworld’ (2022) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic16 Comments

Jeff Scott Soto has worked with some massive players so a hook up with David Ellefson, formerly of Megadeth, is no surprise. The two were working together back in March 2021 and had released a single which was a cover of Riot’s “Swords & Tequila” and I have to say it was pretty damn great. But two months later, Ellefson saw himself wrapped up on a major sex video scandal. The two decided to let things lie low for a long while and about a year later, they finally announced that a full album from the two would be coming soon. And finally on October 7, 2022, the album “Vacation in the Underworld” saw the light of day. But no “Swords & Tequila” sadly.

The two guys had a little help with Andy Martongelli on guitar. He is with the metal band Arthemis and he and David had been writing some songs together for a future project. David thought his long time friend, Jeff Scott Soto would be great for these songs. They needed a drummer so Paulo Caridi has played in Hollow Haze, The Bad Guy Experiment, and Cosmic Dead Ringers was brought in to complete the band. The sound of this band is heavy. It is a cross between Thrash, Metal and Melodic Rock. Jeff has a band that is for his metal side called Soto, but that band was missing the songs. Let me tell you, the songs are on here!!!

When this project was announced, I immediately went and pre-ordered the CD bundle which was signed by both David and Jeff as you can see from the top picture of this post. It also came with a 4×4 limited card, a couple stickers and a guitar pick as you can see below. And here is the thing. About 3 weeks before it’s release, I saw and ad for the album and I completely forgot I had ordered this already a few months earlier…so…I ordered it…AGAIN! Yes, I have two signed copies of the album. Man, I’m getting old. That was definitely a mistake on my part…but there is a mistake on the band’s part too. The back cover (above) shows 15 tracks…but there are only 14. Someone skipped track 12 and went from 11 to 13 on the track numbers…OOPS!! Enough, let’s get to the music.

The album opens with the title track, “Vacation in the Underworld”. The eerie, menacing guitar solo opens and when the drums hit, the power is even darker and more ominous. When the song kicks in, those double kick drums are so threatening and then Jeff finally comes in on vocals and all is right with the world or the underworld. The song is pure metal with a Power metal vibe to it. I love the heaviness and the power…it is a killer opener.

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