Symphony X thread!

[bosk1]

I kind of get the comparison.  While SX aren't prog, they do long, complex songs that have a lot of elements that aren't "traditional" when it comes to metal.  And they often mistakenly get lumped into the "prog" genre because of that, especially by those who aren't all that familiar with the different related subgenres (or by those who simply don't care about the distinctions, which is fine too).  Years ago (2002 or 2003), I actually had them recommended to me for similar reasons.  "Oh, you like DT.  You should definitely check these guys out."  I ended up liking The Odyssey, so it's all good.

And I second Mora's suggestion on Underworld.  I consider it their best album by far.

[JLa]

Just listened to "To Hell and Back" - what a song! 

Actually not too familiar with SX. I picked up their live album when it came out and played it to death - it's brilliant. I used to love cranking up the volume just to hear the crowd going bonanza.  The Odyssey and Paradise Lost are also in my collection, but neither really 'clicked'. The title track on Odyssey is fantastic though.

People used to say "you like DT, you should check out SX!" but I never got the comparison. I mean, I guess they both play "prog metal", but they sound totally different.

You might like Underworld more than the two albums you mentioned because To Hell And Back is representative of the overall sound of that album.

I think people used to say that because SX was the second biggest prog band that at the same time did their own thing, DT clones were abundant in the late 90's and early 00's. Sorta like, hey, if DT isn't too crazy for you, welcome to the beautiful world of prog metal, have a Symphony X CD! 

Speaking of DT clones. The intro to "Through the looking glass"? One of the reasons why I kept coming back to that live album. New music that sounded awfully familiar! 

Might check out Underworld more thoroughly. I played it briefly at work today and it sounded like a good one.

[Zook]

Underworld is amazing.

Through the Looking Glass is what ultimately got me to check out DT. 2006 was a big year for me in regards to music.

[Lethean]

I totally consider Symphony X to be prog.   Which reminds me of when I took a friend to a SX show.  He wasn't much of a metal fan; didn't dislike it, just didn't listen to much, but he went because he felt like going to a show.  He's a huge Rush fan (as am I), and when the show was done, he said, "Now that's a *progressive* metal band" and mentioned how he heard Rush influences too.  I don't think people calling Symphony X progressive metal is a mistake at all.  I do however agree that just because one likes DT, it doesn't automatically mean they'll like SX.  It's not a bad recommendation though - there's a lot of overlap in the fan bases.

[MoraWintersoul]

Today I put together a "new SYX" playlist for my sister, who's pretty into all kinds of traditional and melodic metal but isn't a prog fan.

Went like this:
In My Darkest Hour
Without You
Run With The Devil
Paradise Lost
Electric Messiah
When All Is Lost

She told me it was great, so now it's time to give her some old Symphony X  That one is gonna be a little tricky, the power metal/neoclassical influences are close to stuff we like, like older Kamelot and Yngwie, but they go overboard with the song lengths and introduce so many cooky transitions in even the most straightforward songs. I'll let ya know how that went, suggestions are welcome!

[jjrock88]

One of my personal favorite SX song is "Fallen".  Just an awesome tune.

[JLa]

Accolade 2 from the Odyssey is a good one.

[bosk1]

Today I put together a "new SYX" playlist for my sister, who's pretty into all kinds of traditional and melodic metal but isn't a prog fan.

Went like this:
In My Darkest Hour
Without You
Run With The Devil
Paradise Lost
Electric Messiah
When All Is Lost

She told me it was great, so now it's time to give her some old Symphony X  That one is gonna be a little tricky, the power metal/neoclassical influences are close to stuff we like, like older Kamelot and Yngwie, but they go overboard with the song lengths and introduce so many cooky transitions in even the most straightforward songs. I'll let ya know how that went, suggestions are welcome!

I like the Iconoclast love.  It kind of gets panned as an album.  And to me, as an album, I don't find myself wanting to listen to it much either.  It's too "one note," and I just get bored because it is so constantly heavy, and it is the same kind of heavy, and it is long.  But that said, it has a lot of really good individual songs.

[MoraWintersoul]

I like the Iconoclast love.  It kind of gets panned as an album.  And to me, as an album, I don't find myself wanting to listen to it much either.  It's too "one note," and I just get bored because it is so constantly heavy, and it is the same kind of heavy, and it is long.  But that said, it has a lot of really good individual songs.

Have you ever listened to the shorter version of Iconoclast? It has all the seven songs off the first CD, two off the second and it ends with When All Is Lost (that ends the first CD in the digipak version the band insisted on). All respect to the band's original vision but I prefer the shorter version because there's less of this repetition you're mentioning, and When All Is Lost is the perfect closer. I think Spotify only features the longer version so you'd have to make the playlist yourself if you don't have the CD. I personally bought the digipak at the time because I wanted to support the band more.

[bosk1]

I have the 2 CD version.  The two different track orders really confuses me.

[PixelDream]

I don’t really know why, but to me there’s pre and post Paradise Lost SymX. The production got ‘better’ but also more machinal. I’m a big fan of Divine Wings up and until The Odyssey. I’ll take the cheesy neoclassical vibe over their ‘metal’ side any day. That all said, Underworld I think is definitely their strongest modern album.

[me7]

Agree with everything, except with the statement that the production got better. I love the production of Divine Wings.

[abydos]

The production did get more generic, imo.

[MoraWintersoul]

I think the old production sounds dated now, and the "new" production will sound dated in about five years if not sooner (because it's been there for a while). Having said that, I love that Jens Bogren sound and I think he mixes the best-sounding albums in metal today, and Romeo is a huge audiophile, so you can bet that the albums are coming out exactly as he envisions them while he's recording in his studio.

[me7]

I have to admit that Iconoclast sounds relatively dynamic and 'alive' within the limits of the style it goes for. Paradise Lost however is too emotionally flat.

[abydos]

Maybe it is dated but it's instantly recognizable, at least for me. I haven't heard albums that are sonically too similar to V, Twilight or TDWOD. Even The Odyssey, which I think marks the beginning of the "end" as they started moving in a more generic production sound. I really didn't like how the guitars sound at first, so muddy, but eventually, it grew on me.

[PixelDream]

Agree with everything, except with the statement that the production got better. I love the production of Divine Wings.

Yeah, that's why I said "better". I actually love the reverb-y production of V: The New Mythology Suite as well.

[Fritzinger]

I love the slim, sharp production of The Odyssey. Bass and snare drum sound beyond awesome. Guitars are not too loud and leave a lot of space for the keys.

Underworld, Iconoclast and Paradise Lost are completely overproduced, but I think it fits the music.

By the way bosk, I TOTALLY agree on your statement on Iconoclast. There are amazing songs on that record, but it's hard to listen all the way through. I personally love the title track, Reign In Madness and especially When All Is Lost.

[goo-goo]

Been spinning The New Mythology Suite the last couple of days. What a great album. I wish they played that album completely live. Can't believe it is almost 20 years old.

[EPICVIEW]

Sym X is awesome 

[Herrick]

I haven't read this whole thread so I'm not sure if the subject of Thomas Miller has ever come up. A few years ago I came across an interesting thread on Ultimate Metal about how Thomas Miller had a very large part in the song-writing and that's why the band changed so much after he left. It's mostly speculation but interesting none-the-less.

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/threads/thomas-miller-symphony-x.695213/

Here's a demo of his Thunder Majesty project. This came out years ago. I guess they never finished it. That's a damn shame because this sounds like good stuff. I'd love to hear a full album from these guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtMB4ZXqeOA

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea I actually remember reading about that previously. When you look at song credits of the early albums Miller is apart of alot of songs.

Thx for posting his project, never heard it. 

[Herrick]

Yea I actually remember reading about that previously. When you look at song credits of the early albums Miller is apart of alot of songs.

Thx for posting his project, never heard it. 

The vocals are a little "meh". Not bad at all but not quite my thing. It's almost like a better version of the guy on the first Symphony X album. It's hard to top Russel Allen. That dude has a fucktastic voice.

[Art]

Thomas Miller is a big part of the reason i like early SX mor than the modern SX. The guy was a beast.

[Dublagent66]

Here we go again in the 5th year of waiting for another SX album.  C'mon guys.  Life is short.  None of us are getting any younger.  Let's go before we all go deaf from old age. 

[Architeuthis]

Here we go again in the 5th year of waiting for another SX album.  C'mon guys.  Life is short.  None of us are getting any younger.  Let's go before we all go deaf from old age. 

At least in the meantime, there are some great solo projects from a couple of the band members. The bass player Mike Lepond put out two great albums from his solo band "Silent Assassins" which has a classic in your face metal vibe. Michael Romeo was in on that project with a few guitar parts and production.
 Michael Romeo also put out a really nice sounding solo album. 

[bosk1]

Well, yeah, they have a history of...let's say a "lack of urgency" when it comes to putting out new material.  But this time around, fans shouldn't exactly be waiting around with baited breath.  It's no secret that, while Russ hasn't quit the band, he has wanted to distance himself from it for awhile for a few different reasons.  So we shouldn't really be expecting any particular timetable.

That said, I've been revisiting Underworld recently, and I still absolutely LOVE this album.  I still easily consider it their best work ever.  If/when we do get a follow-up, I hope it is in the same vein.

[Architeuthis]

That said, I've been revisiting Underworld recently, and I still absolutely LOVE this album.  I still easily consider it their best work ever.  If/when we do get a follow-up, I hope it is in the same vein.

Agreed!  This is a fantastic album..

[goo-goo]

There were a few interviews over this year's tour in South America and Europe where Romeo said that they will write and record relatively soon. Russ wanted some time off because of the accident. But he is now in full gear with SyX and TSO. Also, since Romeo is the main writer, I'm not sure how he is going to proceed. He said he has like 75% recorded of the 2nd part of his solo album. Would not make sense to put it in the can for a long time, work on SyX and then revisit Part 2. So we'll see. I do think they are working on SyX maybe for a late 2020, early 2021 release date though.

[Herrick]

It's no secret that, while Russ hasn't quit the band, he has wanted to distance himself from it for awhile for a few different reasons.  So we shouldn't really be expecting any particular timetable.

I didn't know about that. Why does he want to distance himself from the band?

[bosk1]

"Distance" might not be the correct word.  He said he wanted to take a break from SyX and other music for awhile after the accident happened, as goo-goo noted.  He had also made a comment earlier that he was enjoying taking a break from SyX for a bit because he felt that the music he was doing at the time was more authentically him, whereas he felt like he was always "playing a character" when singing in SyX.  But I'm not trying to imply that he ever had any problem with SyX or what they do.  Just that he needed to take a bit to go in a different direction for at least a couple of different reasons.

[RuRoRul]

It's indeed likely to be a big gap between albums given the awful accident and Russell taking his time getting back into things. But Michael Romeo's release of War of the Worlds Pt. 1 at least went some way to filling the gap for Symphony X type music during this wait. The singer is no Russell Allen but a lot of the songs are similar to SX's sound and it's a solid album. As for War of the Worlds Pt. 2, I guessed Michael Romeo was sitting on it to spread out the 2 releases in the gap between Symphony X albums. But if Symphony X gets back to recording a new album quickly then maybe he will wait and return to it afterwards.

[Herrick]

"Distance" might not be the correct word.  He said he wanted to take a break from SyX and other music for awhile after the accident happened, as goo-goo noted.  He had also made a comment earlier that he was enjoying taking a break from SyX for a bit because he felt that the music he was doing at the time was more authentically him, whereas he felt like he was always "playing a character" when singing in SyX.  But I'm not trying to imply that he ever had any problem with SyX or what they do.  Just that he needed to take a bit to go in a different direction for at least a couple of different reasons.

I see. I didn't realize that accident was only a couple years ago and how serious it was.

[Grappler]

"Distance" might not be the correct word.  He said he wanted to take a break from SyX and other music for awhile after the accident happened, as goo-goo noted.  He had also made a comment earlier that he was enjoying taking a break from SyX for a bit because he felt that the music he was doing at the time was more authentically him, whereas he felt like he was always "playing a character" when singing in SyX.  But I'm not trying to imply that he ever had any problem with SyX or what they do.  Just that he needed to take a bit to go in a different direction for at least a couple of different reasons.

I see. I didn't realize that accident was only a couple years ago and how serious it was.

This is what was left of the tour bus:

[goo-goo]

He had also made a comment earlier that he was enjoying taking a break from SyX for a bit because he felt that the music he was doing at the time was more authentically him, whereas he felt like he was always "playing a character" when singing in SyX. 

Yes, he mentioned this a couple of times and prior to the accident, it looked like he was having a blast. Even though Amob was on the cheesy end of hard rock, their last tour was very long. They were putting the hard work in getting Amob off the ground.

 If anybody has heard Russell Allen's Atomic Soul (his only solo album), you can definitely hear his influences and how they are more leaning towards the hard rock sound.