Symphony X thread!

[jjrock88]

I got into them around the time V was released.  Between Michael's guitar playing and Russell's vocals, it was a win right away for me.  The song "Fallen", was and still is, one of my favorites.

[bosk1]

Yeah, Fallen is pretty great.  That whole album is.

[Mebert78]

Sounds like SX might be done, at least for a while. Russell said there are no plans for future music or touring. He also said he feels like an actor playing a part in the band and more himself in Adrenaline Mob, which he's 100% committed to.

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=clJ-EYYr-dA

[Prog Snob]

Which sucks, because A. Mob is just empty and does nothing for me.

[Mosh]

Can't say I'm surprised. I don't know much about his background, but based on what he does outside of SX it seems like he's more of a straightforward rock/metal singer who just happened to end up in a prog band.

[Big Hath]

well, that would certainly suck

[Architeuthis]

If anything good comes out of this, it will give Mike Lepond (bass player) more time to devote to his own project "Silent Assassins" which is awesome!  I will miss Russel Allen with SX though. Bummer indeed!

[Prog Snob]

You're right. I've been listening to SyX since a friend played Twilight in Olympus for me. What a great album that is. It has one of my two favorite SyX songs, Through the Looking Glass. I guess we're getting to those times where a lot of bands we've listened to for the last couple of decades will start to retire or move on to different things. How many more albums does DT, Fates Warning, or Marillion have left in them? Rush is basically done (for now). It's going to start to get depressing. Thank the gods that we have some newer talent like Haken that kicks ass.

[Fritzinger]

You're right. I've been listening to SyX since a friend played Twilight in Olympus for me. What a great album that is. It has one of my two favorite SyX songs, Through the Looking Glass. I guess we're getting to those times where a lot of bands we've listened to for the last couple of decades will start to retire or move on to different things. How many more albums does DT, Fates Warning, or Marillion have left in them? Rush is basically done (for now). It's going to start to get depressing. Thank the gods that we have some newer talent like Haken that kicks ass.

This!
I got into SX only a few months after I got into DT. I hope this only means they won't do anything for the next few years or so. Underworld was going in a more straight forward metal direction but it was still pretty awesome.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

That sucks! SX usually takes their time between albums so waiting is nothing new but SX without Russell, that's very hard to imagine.
Honestly, I tried getting into A Mob but it's so damn generic.
Ditching SX for that is........ but yea if that's his thing, then it is what it is.

The only thing I could hope for is that this for some reason will make SX to go back to their old sound ala TDWOT and TIO with less focus on heaviness and more the Neo-classical metal style with more piano, synth and so on. Ethereal is the word I used to associate with SX, so be more like that SX.  Yea one can dream atleast.

[Prog Snob]

You're right. I've been listening to SyX since a friend played Twilight in Olympus for me. What a great album that is. It has one of my two favorite SyX songs, Through the Looking Glass. I guess we're getting to those times where a lot of bands we've listened to for the last couple of decades will start to retire or move on to different things. How many more albums does DT, Fates Warning, or Marillion have left in them? Rush is basically done (for now). It's going to start to get depressing. Thank the gods that we have some newer talent like Haken that kicks ass.

This!
I got into SX only a few months after I got into DT. I hope this only means they won't do anything for the next few years or so. Underworld was going in a more straight forward metal direction but it was still pretty awesome.

Well, a few months after my friend told me that Russell said no SyX for a while, he said they were working on something new, which wound up being Underworld. So, you really never know what will happen. Underworld was good, but not my favorite though.

[jjrock88]

I'm confident Symphony X will be back.

[ErHaO]

Well, shit. I actually casually like Adrenaline Mob, but Symphony X was always where it was at for me (that, and Star One + solo album in terms of Russel Allen material).

Well, in my dream scenario Romeo (and the others) will do a project in the vein of Avantasia. Romeo writes most of the SX material, as well as their lyrics and if they aren't going to tour I hope he will still produce music. A continuation SX without Russel will be hard to imagine. But then again, I have said the same for Kamelot and Nightwish in the past, and bands like Iced Earth and (Turilli's) Rhapsody also convinced me after a while. So we'll see.

[wolfking]

Sounds like SX might be done, at least for a while. Russell said there are no plans for future music or touring. He also said he feels like an actor playing a part in the band and more himself in Adrenaline Mob, which he's 100% committed to.

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=clJ-EYYr-dA

Fucking ouch!  Not good news at all.  I liked the first two AMob albums, but this new song is not good.  SX is lightyears ahead of AMob, but I guess whatever makes him happy.

At least we'll see another Allen/Lande also.  Hopefully with Karlsson and not Tolkki obviously.

[Mladen]

If I'm hearing it correctly, Russell never said Symphony X disbanded. He just said there are no plans for the future at this very moment. Maybe in two or three years, they'll get back together.

But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, they don't have to. They haven't released a great album in 15 years and whatever they had to say, they had already said it. It's been a solid ride.

[wolfking]

They haven't released a great album in 15 years and whatever they had to say, they had already said it. It's been a solid ride.

Wow.

[Prog Snob]

Hmm Paradise Lost was great. The concept alone is not an easy undertaking. I'll say it has been ten years since they released something great.

[jjrock88]

Underworld is an outstanding album and one of my favorites from SX.  That's why I was really hoping for a live album from this tour because I think some of the songs from UW are the best the band has ever released.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea Underworld is definitely the best album they've done in recent years.

[me7]

They haven't released a great album in 15 years and whatever they had to say, they had already said it. It's been a solid ride.

Agreed.

[Zook]

Except Underworld is fucking fantastic.

Also, shitty news is shitty.

[aprilethereal]

Damn, I thought Underworld was great, and I really cannot imagine SX without Russell, who is probably my favorite (metal) vocalist out there. Glad I saw them on the last tour.

[Architeuthis]

Underworld is Indeed fantastic! That's why it seems strange that Russel Allen is losing interest on such a high note. That album highlighted his vocals more than any other SX release imo..

[MirrorMask]

Symphony X going dormant for a while = nothing new.
Russell having more fun with A-Mob than his own main band = didn't see it coming. And bad news also!

[wolfking]

Underworld at first I was a bit lukewarm to, but as it has aged, I think it's fucking brilliant.

[goo-goo]

Underworld is Indeed fantastic! That's why it seems strange that Russel Allen is losing interest on such a high note. That album highlighted his vocals more than any other SX release imo..

Not sure where the losing interest is coming from. There has been no indication of this whatsoever. I think the band how it works is Romeo writes the music, then Romeo and Russell get together for lyrics and melodies, and then tracking begins. I'm assuming Romeo is working on music right now since the band has been a bit quiet. Just because Russell has other projects, that doesn't mean he is losing interest in the band.

[jjrock88]

Underworld at first I was a bit lukewarm to, but as it has aged, I think it's fucking brilliant.

Yes it is brilliant!!

[Polarbear]

Underworld at first I was a bit lukewarm to, but as it has aged, I think it's fucking brilliant.

Yes it is brilliant!!

Underworld is indeed a great listen!

If the other SX guys want to make more music at some point, i don't think they should wait for Allen. There are a lot of great singers around, i don't think the seat would be vacant for long..

If Russel prefers to be beating a dead horse with the A. Mob, they should let him...

[jjrock88]

That would be major shoes to fill.  I'm sure everybody would prefer to have Russell still front the band, but I don't think anyone wants to wait around another five years or more for the next release. 

[Grappler]

Underworld is indeed a great listen!

If the other SX guys want to make more music at some point, i don't think they should wait for Allen. There are a lot of great singers around, i don't think the seat would be vacant for long..

If Russel prefers to be beating a dead horse with the A. Mob, they should let him...

Pretty sure that it's the other way around.  I haven't listened to the interview, but I'd guess that Russell doesn't want to sit around and wait for Symphony X to write another record.  They tend to take long hiatuses between albums, so he fills his time with other projects like Adrenaline Mob and the TSO winter tours each year. 

[mikeyd23]

Except Underworld is fucking fantastic.

Also, shitty news is shitty.

This sums up my thoughts nicely.

[goo-goo]

Underworld is Indeed fantastic! That's why it seems strange that Russel Allen is losing interest on such a high note. That album highlighted his vocals more than any other SX release imo..

Not sure where the losing interest is coming from. There has been no indication of this whatsoever. I think the band how it works is Romeo writes the music, then Romeo and Russell get together for lyrics and melodies, and then tracking begins. I'm assuming Romeo is working on music right now since the band has been a bit quiet. Just because Russell has other projects, that doesn't mean he is losing interest in the band.

I apologize for my statement. I hadn't heard the interview that was posted earlier in the thread..
Damn, this sucks. LOL. Trading Symphony X for AMob? 

[bosk1]

Good interview.  Yeah, bummer on Symphony X.  But I don't get the sense that he is sort of "abandoning" Symphony X for Adrenaline Mob.  I think he definitely is fully invested in AMob right now, and that's cool.  They do absolutely nothing for me, but that's fine.  But as far as SX is concerned, I get the feeling that he just isn't into trying to predict when they'll next get something together given Romeo's habit of taking so long between albums.  I have no clue what he is involved in that he spends his time on day to day, but the lengthy gaps between albums and lack of effort in trying to promote SX just seems like such a huge waste of talent.  So after all this time, I get it if Russ feels like he wants to devote his attention elsewhere in the mean time. 

Oh, and Underworld is brilliant.  Album of their careers, IMO.

[Zook]

The vocals can be replaced, but not the charisma.

[Fritzinger]

So after the release of Psychotic Symphony I have gotten into some prog *metal* again and started listening to a lot of the newer Symphony X stuff again. I haven't listened to this music this intensely for two years now.
Paradise Lost has always been a very under appreciated album in my opinion. Sure, it's way heavier and darker than their previous albums, and it's more on the metal side than on the prog side compared to, say, The Odyssey. It might be because it was my first SX album, but I think it's full of great hook lines and melodies. Especially the final piece, Divus Pennae Ex Tragoedia, which reveals that the whole album seems to be somewhat of a sequel of the Divine Wings Of Tragedy song.
Iconoclast was always a bit too heavy for me, it had no ballads at all. But the more melodic songs are absolutely stunning in my opinion, especially When All Is Lost and Reign Of Madness.
Underworld went in a more pop-oriented direction as I see it, and I LOVE that direction. Nevermore, Run With The Devil, Without You, Swan Song, To Hell And Back and most of all Legend have hook lines and choruses that could be radio-fitting if they were arranged differently. The structures of the songs are a lot more conventional than on Iconoclast, which makes them easier to listen to.
Sometimes I miss the all-to-obvious classical and baroque references of Damnation Game and Masquerade, but the new direction of the music suits the band very well I think. Plus, I just can't stop to rock out while that "Aaaah"-bridge  from Legend plays.