I have sucked at updating this, because of moving and settling into college. Many apologies. Also apologies for the retarded-looking thread title. What can you do.
During the tour of
Twilight in Olympus, Thomas Miller felt that touring wasn't what he wanted to do, and left Symphony X. According to Michael Romeo, even the band themselves are quite unsure as to exactly why he felt the need to do this. Thomas Miller had been an integral part of the sound of the band since day one, so it was interesting to see how the arrival of bassist Mike LePond - now the third Michael in the band - would shape the band's sound. Thomas Walling left as well, after playing only on one album, but since Jason Rullo returned behind the drum kit, that change wasn't actually that severe. After signing onto the major label Inside Out in early 2000, Symphony X released...
V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)01. Prelude (1:07)
02. Evolution (The Grand Design) (5:20)
03. Fallen (5:51)
04. Transcendence (Segue) (0:38)
05. Communion and the Oracle (7:45)
06. The Bird-Serpent War / Cataclysm (4:02)
07. On the Breath of Poseidon (Segue) (3:01)
08. Egypt (7:04)
09. The Death of Balance / Lacrymosa (3:42)
10. Absence of Light (4:58)
11. A Fool's Paradise (5:48)
12. Rediscovery (Segue) (1:24)
13. Rediscovery (Part II) - The New Mythology (12:01)
This is the band's first try at a concept album, and one of and-and-a-half concept albums in their discography (the general populus seems divided as to whether
Paradise Lost should be counted in this category as well), and is also the first album of theirs to feature the now-costumary opening track. Just like many concept albums, it features segue tracks, and a pretty great flow. The lyrical concept has
something to with Atlantis and... stuff, I guess. I haven't found much on it, and I won't be sitting down with the lyrics anytime soon, so that's all I've got.
Out of all Symphony X, this definitely has the most references to and quotations from classical music, featuring excerpts from Verdi's
Requiem, Mozart's
Requiem a Bach concerto, a Bach cantata and even some Bartok. While neoclassical aspects of metal often come across as cheesy, no-one does it as well as Symphony X, and on the whole, the classical references are pretty damn well done.
The production is pretty good, and might be one of my favourite Symphony X productions. Every instrument is given the proper room to breathe, with only the bass not standing out quite as much, but that's mainly because LePond's playing just isn't as versatile and interesting as Miller's was - he's often doubling guitar lines - and no production fault.
Anyway, enough preamble. Onto the songs.
"Prelude" is a one-minute intro track, pretty much lifted straight from Mozart's "Requiem", but that's okay. It sets the mood nicely, and it's one of the better versions of "Dies Irae" that I know, so I'm not complaining.
"Evolution (The Grand Design)" is the first real track, and it's glorious. Thundering riffs, enough time-signature changes to make your head spin while sounding perfectly natural and what is probably one of the best Symphony X choruses in the history of forever, this is an amazing opener. Really, it's got everything you want from a 5-minute Symphony X song, including an awe-inspiring vocal performance and a brief, face-melting solo section.
"Fallen" is a little slower and a little less immediate, but equally good. The chorus is an true work of beauty and the instrumental section is one of my favourites. While this one was one of my least favourites initially, it grew on me like no other song did and it's now one of my favourites. It leads directly into "Transcendence (Segue)" - indeed, the two are combined on Symphony X's live album
Live on the Edge of Forever into one track - which is a serviceable segue, but nothing more.
"Communion and the Oracle" is one of the fan-favourites from this album, but I'll admit that it has never really truly grabbed me like other songs have. To me, it's just a slightly lesser version of "The Accolade" and its successor, and a little too long for its own good. The two solo sections are pretty damn sweet though, and the "Raise your hands up to the sky" section is one of my favourite vocal moments on the album. It's just the shame that the rest of the song leaves me rather cold.
"The Bird-Serpent War / Cataclysm" a straight-up headbanger, much like "Evolution", but it lacks the catchiness to be as good as the opener. There are some lovely vocal moments and quite a few outstanding melodies, especially in the chorus, but the other instruments are too run-of-the-mill to make this anything more than a good song. Romeo's solo is a good example of this - it's technically impressive and pretty cool when you hear it, but there's just not a lot memorable offered here.
"On the Breath of Poseidon (Segue)" is, like the title implies, a segue. The problem is that it's too long for that, and it suffers from that. While this one, unlike "Transcendence" actually features the band, it's pretty clear that it's just a transitionary track, and a little aimless, especially for being a whole damn three minutes. This is one of the few songs where I prefer the live version, because it's slightly lengthened, but also made about ten times more interesting by featuring some truly inspired soloing by Romeo. However, the studio version of this one doesn't really do anything to me, and it's the final track off what I'd consider to be this album's quality slump.
"Egypt" is something special. There is some great sitar work in the intro, and it works amazingly. While the riffs after that feel a little more familiar, they are inspired enough and don't detract from what truly carries this song - Allen's amazing vocals, especially in the chorus (anyone recognising a theme here?), but also Pinella's inspired key playing, like that piano outro. The instrumental section of this song is remarkable in its sense of melody and its restraint, with it featuring next-to-no shredding from either Romeo or Pinella and being a whole lot better for it.
"The Death of Balance" starts out with some classical instruments but quickly segues into the most technical song on the record, with some insane time-signature switches, some awesome drumming and quite a few awesome shredding licks thrown in there for good measure. Despite all that, the song remains cohesive and interesting enough, which is probably helped by the fact that it's actually quite short. It leads quite nicely into "Lacrymosa", another classicaly lifted piece, and it serves as a nice counterpoint to the insanity of "The Death of Balance" in its calmness. The two work together very well - a lot better than "The Death of Balance / Candlelight Fantasia" that can be found on the live album.
"Absence of Light" is one of the less-talked tracks here, and that's a shame. It's not my absolute favourites, but it's a very good song, especially - you said it - in the chorus, which has some of the best backing vocals in the album. If the whole song were as good, then this might even be my favourite on the album, but sadly, the rest is rather a little more pedestrian, though by no means boring or bad.
"A Fool's Paradise" is probably the most underrated track in the band's whole discog, and my favourite on the album. Everything about this song is just amazing - that tight riffing, the verses, that chorus... Plus, that whole Verdi quote is the best use of classical music in metal, ever. It's just awe-inspiring a perfect lead into a goddamn amazing instrumental section. The only thing that I'm not a fan of is the outro, though it works in the context of the album. This, more than any other song in their catalogue, is the perfect description of their sound - at least outside of the epic framework - and my #3 Symphony X song of all time.
"Rediscovery (Segue)" is a serviceable segue, but, again, not a whole lot more. The real meat lies in...
"Rediscovery (Part II) - The New Mythology" is a good song, on the whole. The problem that I have with it is that I expected it to better, both because Symphony X are pretty damn great with longer tracks, and because it's supposed to be the culmination of the album. I find that it meanders too much and is the least cohesive of their epics. It has a few moments of brilliance - first and foremost the "Bow down to me" part and the ensuing piano part, but most of the rest is just too standard Symphony X to truly stand out, and this album deserves a better conclusion than that.
On the whole, this is a pretty good album. There are no real stinkers here, but quite a few songs that I feel fairly indifferent about, which are - sadly - also some of the longer tracks on the album. The flow is great, and I enjoy listening to this album, but the real gems are just too few and too far between to consider this one of the band's best, especially judging against that back catalogue.
1. A Fool's Paradise
2. Egypt
3. Fallen
4. Evolution (The Grand Design)
5. Absence of Light
6. The Death of Balance / Lacrymosa
7. Communion and the Oracle
8. Rediscovery (Part II) - The New Mythology
9. The Bird-Serpent War / Cataclysm
10. Prelude
11. Rediscovery (Segue)
12. On the Breath of Poseidon (Segue)
13. Transcendence (Segue)