After the release of
The Damnation Game, Symphony X slowly started working on their follow-up to their first album with Russell Allen. Unlike with their previous albums, they recorded at least parts of it in Michael Romeo's home studio, affectionately nicknamed The Dungeon, which they would use again in the future for numerous other releases. It was the first time that the band had done so, and while it is never explicitly stated, I do believe that the fact that they could take as much time as they wanted is one of the reasons of the sudden increase in quality between the album that they went on to record and its two predecessors. This album was released in 1997 - two years of
The Damnation Game - and was titled...
The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997)
01. Of Sins and Shadows (4:58)
02. Sea of Lies (4:18)
03. Out of the Ashes (3:40)
04. The Accolade (9:51)
05. Pharaoh (5:28)
06. The Eyes of Medusa (5:26)
07. The Witching Hour (4:15)
08. The Divine Wings of Tragedy (20:42)
09. Candlelight Fantasia (6:45)
Popular reception for their previous two albums had been poor to mediocre, with relatively few albums being sold and 1.5 or 2 star reviews being given by popular sites and magazines such as AllMusic. This album was different, with it receiving almost unanimous praise and boasting higher sales than any of their previous releases. Eventually, it would go on to be heralded as one of the best albums in the progressive metal genre, with the magazine
Rock Hard even giving it a place on their list "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time" (#433).
While this isn't my favourite Symphony X album, I will say that all the credit that it receives is more than earned. Everyone in the band was firing on all cylinders - Russell Allen is at the top of the vocal game, especially on the two long tracks, Romeo has dialled the shredding back a bit to become even better at working his riffs, solos and licks into the song - there is not one of his many guitar solos here that feels like showing off or out of place, and given how fast he shreds, that's truly an achievement - Thomas Miller is at the top of his game as one of my favourite bassists ever, especially in the title track and Michael Pinella lays down some gorgeous piano playing in places, and his synth patches are pretty bearable. The only member who I don't think it a lot better on this release is drummer Jason Rullo, but he's always been good, so that's no knock.
The album opens up with the ferocious riffing of "Of Sins and Shadows", with a great verse melody, an awesome chorus, a brief choral interlude an a nigh perfect trade-off section, where both Romeo and Pinella get their first of many chances to shine on this album. It's one of the band's most popular songs and has been played at pretty much every show the band has played since this album has come out, and it's easy to see why - the ferocious energy and the chorus make it an ideal candidate for a live setting.
"Sea of Lies" follow, and yet again the band ups the tempo. Opening with a great bass lick, it isn't long until the full band enters and Allen belts his way through a great verse and an awe-inspiring chorus. The instrumental section here isn't as good as the previous one, but it's still one that other bands would kill for. I'm not a big fan of the outro, but the rest of the song is stellar.
"Out of the Ashes" is a similarly fast-paced number, which features one of my favourite Allen performances ever, especially in the chorus. On the downside, the riffing is a little pedestrian, but three scorching guitar solos (one in the intro, one after the first chorus and one in the instrumental section after the second chorus) more than make up for that. The ending is pretty much perfect as well - many Symphony X songs have, I feel, a slightly awkward outro, but this song shows that the band can do a lot better than that.
"The Accolade" is the first of two long-tracks on this album, clocking in a nearly ten minutes. It's also considerably slower than the opening trio of songs and has a more unconventional structure - even though there is a clear chorus, this song has abandoned the traditional verse - chorus structure in favour of a more winding structure with plenty of turns, breaks and instrumental sections. A special mention has to go to Russell Allen here - the chorus might just be his best vocal performance of his whole career, which is not a claim to make lightly. For quite a while, I preferred "Accolade II" to this one, but it has recently grown on me quite a bit and it is definitely one of the standouts on a great album.
With "Pharaoh", we have one of two songs that prevent this album from being my favourite Symphony X album, which is a shame, because this song does so many things right - awesome vocals, some great bass playing and an astounding instrumental section, but somehow it doesn't work together quite as well as I'd hope. It probably doesn't help that I'm no big fan of the vocal melodies in the chorus, they just sound... off to me somehow.
Luckily, "The Eyes of Medusa" brings things back on track quickly. Like many songs on this album, this one deals with mythological or historical topics, and while there are few Symphony X songs where I actively enjoy the lyrics, this is one of them. The music is brilliant as well, especially the main riff and the guitar solo, which is one of Romeo's less shreddy solos and all the better for it. The middle section took a while to grow on me, as I found the transition quite abrupt the first few listens, but it doesn't bother me now, and the actual section is brilliant - it's just the transitions in and out of it that are a little iffy.
The opening of "The Witching Hour" is quite good, but feels a little like "been there, done that". It's also the best part of the song. I can't pin down very well why I don't like the rest of the song - it might be the awkward vocal melodies - but this is the only song on this album that I would not sweat it, where I never to hear it again. It's not bad, per say, but quite bland and boring.
A 20-minute epic is something that pretty much every self-respecting prog band has to attempt at least once, but few bands manage create something as good as the title track here, and even fewer manage to do it on their first attempt. "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" is a journey into John Milton's "Paradise Lost", the tale of Adam and Eve's fall from paradise. It is also brilliant. Opening with a choirs that will send chills down your spine, only to transition into a "Mars, Bringer of War"-ish intro, from where it twists and turns over catchy vocal passages, guitar solos, mellow sections, bass leads into a calm an serene finish that is a worthy ending to such a glorious track. I won't describe every aspect of this song, because I doubt I can, but suffice to say that this song is absolutely magical in a way that only few tracks are.
The album closes out on a quieter note with "Candlelight Fantasia", a beautiful and haunting song about an artist, living in a world that doesn't appreciate his works. It's slow and simple and all the more powerful for it, especially when Allen reaches the chorus that he belts out, charged with emotion. The instrumental work here is good, but for me, Allen is the star of this one, and it's one of his finest vocal performances.
In summary, I'll say this: Symphony X proved with
The Divine Wings of Tragedy, beyond all doubt, that they would become one of the big names in progressive metal, and deservedly so. If it weren't for two unfortunate songs, this would be a 5/5 album for, and definitely my favourite Symphony X disc. I can easily understand it when people herald this as the band's best. Anyone reading along to this thread looking for an introduction to Symphony X - this is where you start out. If you don't like this (though I don't understand how anyone could), then Symphony X isn't the band for you. If you do, they totally are.
1. The Divine Wings of Tragedy
2. Candlelight Fantasia
3. The Accolade
4. Of Sins and Shadows
5. Out of the Ashes
6. The Eyes of Medusa
7. Sea of Lies
8. Pharaoh
9. The Witching Hour
Topic: Symphony X: Iconoclast (2011) (Read 20487 times)
