2015 Symphony X Album News
- Thread starter iceandfire84
- Start date
I really like the slew of opinions we are getting here. I feel compelled to attempt to rank the SX albums IMO:
Underworld > Odyssey > V > DWOT > Twilight>= PL > Damnation > Iconoclast
Can't stand original album.
Curious what other people think!
I'm starting to agree that Underworld could have been longer, though I don't necessarily agree it should have been. The chorus is so cool I'd have liked to hear it another time.
Underworld > Odyssey > V > DWOT > Twilight>= PL > Damnation > Iconoclast
Can't stand original album.
Curious what other people think!
I'm starting to agree that Underworld could have been longer, though I don't necessarily agree it should have been. The chorus is so cool I'd have liked to hear it another time.
Phanto
Alalalalalalalala.
I think it's their weakest effort.
Nothing memorable. Lacks strong melodies, especially from the keyboards which sometimes feel unnecessarily prominent at times (when it's just chords and layers).
Riffs feels like it's all chugga-chugga-chugga. Good guitar playing but that truly counts for nothing.
Relatively (note -- relatively) poor vocals. Lyrics feel re-hashed. Same shit about scorching the earth and wanting to fly etc.
Lacks orchestrations. It's SYMPHONY X, no?
Quick song-by-song:
Overture - It's just an intro.
Nevermore - Nice speed, decent Odyssey filler-like verses, poor bland chorus. 3/5
Underworld - Boring heavy verses, decent bridge/chorus. 2/5
Without You - Uhhh gay. 1/5
Kiss of Fire - Another Odyssey filler-like song. Blast beats make it sound like Teen-rated black metal at times. 2/5
Charon - Decent song. Some V-vibes. Lacks climax or memorable chorus. 3/5
To Hell And Back - Decent, but way too long considering nothing ever really happens. 2/5
In My Darkest Hour - Simple and boring. Obvious filler. 1/5
Run With The Devil - Adrenaline Mob bullshit. 1/5
Swansong - Best song on the album. 3/5
Legend - Corny lyrics, but a decent song. 3/5
New Mythology Suite > Divine Wings > Twilight/Odyssey/Damnation > S/T > The rest > Underworld
EDIT: I'm being a bit unfair. I'd say it's on par with Paradise Lost and that other one.
Nothing memorable. Lacks strong melodies, especially from the keyboards which sometimes feel unnecessarily prominent at times (when it's just chords and layers).
Riffs feels like it's all chugga-chugga-chugga. Good guitar playing but that truly counts for nothing.
Relatively (note -- relatively) poor vocals. Lyrics feel re-hashed. Same shit about scorching the earth and wanting to fly etc.
Lacks orchestrations. It's SYMPHONY X, no?
Quick song-by-song:
Overture - It's just an intro.
Nevermore - Nice speed, decent Odyssey filler-like verses, poor bland chorus. 3/5
Underworld - Boring heavy verses, decent bridge/chorus. 2/5
Without You - Uhhh gay. 1/5
Kiss of Fire - Another Odyssey filler-like song. Blast beats make it sound like Teen-rated black metal at times. 2/5
Charon - Decent song. Some V-vibes. Lacks climax or memorable chorus. 3/5
To Hell And Back - Decent, but way too long considering nothing ever really happens. 2/5
In My Darkest Hour - Simple and boring. Obvious filler. 1/5
Run With The Devil - Adrenaline Mob bullshit. 1/5
Swansong - Best song on the album. 3/5
Legend - Corny lyrics, but a decent song. 3/5
New Mythology Suite > Divine Wings > Twilight/Odyssey/Damnation > S/T > The rest > Underworld
EDIT: I'm being a bit unfair. I'd say it's on par with Paradise Lost and that other one.
Progbass
Member
I would have to say I like the album better than Iconoclast, maybe on par with PL. The riffs and vocal melodies are just too similar sounding than the last 2 albums. But good thing about it is that it has some diversity and keyboards are more present.
My favorite songs so far on it are Swansong and Charon, they kinda have similar vibe than the Odyssey album.
My favorite songs so far on it are Swansong and Charon, they kinda have similar vibe than the Odyssey album.
fire_angel
Timboooooo
I've had a chance to listen to the album a few times and I'm definitely a fan. It's quite derivative and each song reminds me of at least another, but it's still all very enjoyable.
It's got a lot more PL and Odyssey to it than Iconoclast, and that is a huge improvement in my books. It's clear that Symphony X will never return to their neoclassical roots and that this is now their path, but I was pleasantly surprised with alot of the great content on the album.
Underworld and To Hell and Back are two of the strongest tracks on the album. The singles are enjoyable enough but not up to par with the rest (to be expected surely). Run with the Devil and Charon are the duds; I never did like Pharoah.
It is probably worth stating that both Swansong and Legend seem hugely overrated, and i don't really like either; Swansong is too plain and the production of Legend just doesn't seem right to me (reminds me of ANATO-era Blind Guardian). I'm hopeful my opinion on these tracks will change. Walls of Bablyon went from my most hated PL track to my absolute favourite Symphony X track over the natural course of time, so who knows.
Tl;dr: A great album with some potential growers. Better than Iconoclast and a positive sign for the future.
It's got a lot more PL and Odyssey to it than Iconoclast, and that is a huge improvement in my books. It's clear that Symphony X will never return to their neoclassical roots and that this is now their path, but I was pleasantly surprised with alot of the great content on the album.
Underworld and To Hell and Back are two of the strongest tracks on the album. The singles are enjoyable enough but not up to par with the rest (to be expected surely). Run with the Devil and Charon are the duds; I never did like Pharoah.
It is probably worth stating that both Swansong and Legend seem hugely overrated, and i don't really like either; Swansong is too plain and the production of Legend just doesn't seem right to me (reminds me of ANATO-era Blind Guardian). I'm hopeful my opinion on these tracks will change. Walls of Bablyon went from my most hated PL track to my absolute favourite Symphony X track over the natural course of time, so who knows.
Tl;dr: A great album with some potential growers. Better than Iconoclast and a positive sign for the future.
Phanto
Alalalalalalalala.
I like the album, but I think its my least favorite of the last three albums where they adopted a more traditional metal vibe than their previous albums. I have listened to it twice now, and it has already grown on me the second time, and I think it will continue to do so. These are my impressions after listening to it twice.
Overture: I like the intro, but its not as diverse or captivating as PL's intro (Oculus ex Inferni) or V's intro (Prelude).
Nevermore: I like the speed, but at times it seems almost to have too much melody... the entire song is pretty much a guitar solo (Romeo's playing is impressive, but I think he could have toned it down a bit on this song). Also the lyrics aren't great in the chorus.
Underworld: Its heavy, which I like. We haven't really heard Russel ever go that hard on the vocals yet, nor have we really heard blast beats from Symphony X. Though I wouldn't have expected SX to use either of those, it works well with this song.
Without You: I really like this song. I like how it combines both electric and acoustic fairly seamlessly. I think this is a good combination of their earlier styles and their more modern styles
Kiss of Fire: I don't know how I feel about this one. If it wasn't Symphony X, I think I would like it more. I just think they diverged so much from their usual sound in a lot of places in this song. I like the risk they took, but the blast beats and dissonance do make it seem more death metal-ish at times. Though still a solid song, its kind of weird coming from SX.
Charon: Probably one of my favorite songs on the album. This one strikes me as being similar to the Odyssey. Good rhythm and catchy. I really like the chorus. The only thing that bugs me is that it sounds a LOT like Nevermore in the beginning, just a different time signature and not as many notes crammed in. Play the beginnings of the two songs one after another. You will see what I mean.
To Hell and Back: The beginning of the song is amazingly intriguing and beautiful. I like this one, though I don't think some of the chords in the verse fit well with the song.
In My Darkest Hour: Not a bad song. I like it, but its predictable and the lyrics are cliche.
Run With the Devil: Decent. Catchy chorus. I like the keyboard solo followed by the guitar solo. Both solos are well written.
Swan Song: Beautiful, but I don't like the rhyme structure. Reminds me of The Sacrifice on PL, but not quite as good.
Legend: My favorite song on the album. I think its mainly because of the keyboard-heavy chorus, which has a really good chord progression. I think this song has everything that you know and love about SX in it.
Overall, a solid album, but I definitely have more criticisms than I thought I would. I am slightly disappointed, though I think it will grow on me. I think my disappointment spurs from Symphony X saying they had returned heavily to a style more similar to their earlier albums, yet I think its their heaviest yet. So I guess it wasn't what I was expecting based on what SX made the album out to be.
p
Overture: I like the intro, but its not as diverse or captivating as PL's intro (Oculus ex Inferni) or V's intro (Prelude).
Nevermore: I like the speed, but at times it seems almost to have too much melody... the entire song is pretty much a guitar solo (Romeo's playing is impressive, but I think he could have toned it down a bit on this song). Also the lyrics aren't great in the chorus.
Underworld: Its heavy, which I like. We haven't really heard Russel ever go that hard on the vocals yet, nor have we really heard blast beats from Symphony X. Though I wouldn't have expected SX to use either of those, it works well with this song.
Without You: I really like this song. I like how it combines both electric and acoustic fairly seamlessly. I think this is a good combination of their earlier styles and their more modern styles
Kiss of Fire: I don't know how I feel about this one. If it wasn't Symphony X, I think I would like it more. I just think they diverged so much from their usual sound in a lot of places in this song. I like the risk they took, but the blast beats and dissonance do make it seem more death metal-ish at times. Though still a solid song, its kind of weird coming from SX.
Charon: Probably one of my favorite songs on the album. This one strikes me as being similar to the Odyssey. Good rhythm and catchy. I really like the chorus. The only thing that bugs me is that it sounds a LOT like Nevermore in the beginning, just a different time signature and not as many notes crammed in. Play the beginnings of the two songs one after another. You will see what I mean.
To Hell and Back: The beginning of the song is amazingly intriguing and beautiful. I like this one, though I don't think some of the chords in the verse fit well with the song.
In My Darkest Hour: Not a bad song. I like it, but its predictable and the lyrics are cliche.
Run With the Devil: Decent. Catchy chorus. I like the keyboard solo followed by the guitar solo. Both solos are well written.
Swan Song: Beautiful, but I don't like the rhyme structure. Reminds me of The Sacrifice on PL, but not quite as good.
Legend: My favorite song on the album. I think its mainly because of the keyboard-heavy chorus, which has a really good chord progression. I think this song has everything that you know and love about SX in it.
Overall, a solid album, but I definitely have more criticisms than I thought I would. I am slightly disappointed, though I think it will grow on me. I think my disappointment spurs from Symphony X saying they had returned heavily to a style more similar to their earlier albums, yet I think its their heaviest yet. So I guess it wasn't what I was expecting based on what SX made the album out to be.
p
better than I expected :charon,swansong,Legend,to hell and back,without you among the others but all the album is worth listening,and now find me another metal band that after 20 years is able to make a record like this because I can't find it
Postulate
Have a nice day! :)
- Jul 17, 2008
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First impressions:
Overture - aight m8
Nervermore - Not crazy about it, but I like some of the vocal melodies. Dead Pinnella.
Underworld - Interesting mix of vocal styles for Russ. Thrashy. Pinnella confined to the role that keyboards usually have in metal bands w/o full-member keyboardists, then that little almost-solo hits, with a weirdly neo-prog sound for SX. It's alright.
Without You - It's a Nickelback song with bells and whistles. Dead Pinnella. Skip.
Kiss of Fire - Not what I was expected! To me, the name evokes Yngwie Malmsteen. But this almost a death metal track in places. Interesting choice, pretty out there for SX. Dead Pinnella.
Charon - It's solid. Would fit on the Odyssey. Dead Pinnella, except he doubles the guitar for a little while (why not alone?).
To Hell and Back - I...don't get it, I guess. It's like one of those 9 minute power metal songs. If you want to hear a really good one, check our Astral Doors' Die Alone! That one will knock your socks off! Almost, almost a keyboard solo, otherwise dead Pinnella again.
In My Darkest Hour - I'm not feeling it. Dead Pinnella.
Run With the Devil - A nu metal track, not totally unprecedented but I don't think they've ever played it straight up like this. I don't really dig it. But holy shit, MICHAEL PINNELLA PLAYS ON THIS TRACK! IT TOOK NINE TRACKS, BUT MICHAEL PINNELLA PLAYS A SHORT SOLO! And then goes back to doing nothing.
Swan Song - A 'classic' SX song, the only one on the album. A real rhythm guitar rather than just riffs, real instrumentation, real vocal melodies, a real instrumental, that kind of thing. Pinnella plays a little too, though not prominently. It's good, but I don't know if I'm crazy about it. Seems like it might grow on me.
Legend - Hey, this is pretty cool! I really like LePond's part, this is a really sweet prog-power track. Fast furious and fun, yet weirdly intricate in parts too. MICHAEL PINNELLA, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, with A GUITAR-KEYBOARD DUEL! Though very short, there it is, it exists! This track might be my favorite.
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Conclusion: For the most part, dead Pinnella. Everyone who said otherwise was lying or listening to a totally different album.
I'm not crazy about the album, won't buy it I think.
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Right now, V > DWoT/TiO/DG > SX/Odyssey > PL/IC/UW
Overture - aight m8
Nervermore - Not crazy about it, but I like some of the vocal melodies. Dead Pinnella.
Underworld - Interesting mix of vocal styles for Russ. Thrashy. Pinnella confined to the role that keyboards usually have in metal bands w/o full-member keyboardists, then that little almost-solo hits, with a weirdly neo-prog sound for SX. It's alright.
Without You - It's a Nickelback song with bells and whistles. Dead Pinnella. Skip.
Kiss of Fire - Not what I was expected! To me, the name evokes Yngwie Malmsteen. But this almost a death metal track in places. Interesting choice, pretty out there for SX. Dead Pinnella.
Charon - It's solid. Would fit on the Odyssey. Dead Pinnella, except he doubles the guitar for a little while (why not alone?).
To Hell and Back - I...don't get it, I guess. It's like one of those 9 minute power metal songs. If you want to hear a really good one, check our Astral Doors' Die Alone! That one will knock your socks off! Almost, almost a keyboard solo, otherwise dead Pinnella again.
In My Darkest Hour - I'm not feeling it. Dead Pinnella.
Run With the Devil - A nu metal track, not totally unprecedented but I don't think they've ever played it straight up like this. I don't really dig it. But holy shit, MICHAEL PINNELLA PLAYS ON THIS TRACK! IT TOOK NINE TRACKS, BUT MICHAEL PINNELLA PLAYS A SHORT SOLO! And then goes back to doing nothing.
Swan Song - A 'classic' SX song, the only one on the album. A real rhythm guitar rather than just riffs, real instrumentation, real vocal melodies, a real instrumental, that kind of thing. Pinnella plays a little too, though not prominently. It's good, but I don't know if I'm crazy about it. Seems like it might grow on me.
Legend - Hey, this is pretty cool! I really like LePond's part, this is a really sweet prog-power track. Fast furious and fun, yet weirdly intricate in parts too. MICHAEL PINNELLA, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, with A GUITAR-KEYBOARD DUEL! Though very short, there it is, it exists! This track might be my favorite.
----
Conclusion: For the most part, dead Pinnella. Everyone who said otherwise was lying or listening to a totally different album.
I'm not crazy about the album, won't buy it I think.
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Right now, V > DWoT/TiO/DG > SX/Odyssey > PL/IC/UW
Liampie
Member
- Jan 10, 2009
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I've listened to the whole album once now. I was sceptic (didn't like PL and Iconoclast), but I must say this album is a pleasant surprise. I already heard more good moments than on the aforementioned albums, which makes me confident I'll end up liking this album better than those. Like others have said, it's much more varied. When it gets heavy, it gets really heavy. When it gets 'soft', it gets soft and not pesudo-soft like When All Is Lost with that shitty aggressive guitar solo. Everything else falls inbetween, but with slightly more keyboards to 'colour' the songs. There are a couple of mid-lenght songs that might not sound that distinct, but to my surprise I woke up with Charon's chorus in my head this morning. Not the awesome bits of Swansong, To Hell and Back or Legend, but Charon. Almost every song has something good to offer, apparantly. Two more things: there are a lot of clean vocals on this album, and Michael Romeo apparantly remembers to play not only eighth and sixteenth notes.
Tl;dr: more variation. slightly more keys. clean vocals. more restrained romeo. overall a more nuanced album!
I'm happy that the album appears to be decent.
Tl;dr: more variation. slightly more keys. clean vocals. more restrained romeo. overall a more nuanced album!
I'm happy that the album appears to be decent.
Liampie
Member
- Jan 10, 2009
- 189
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Symphony X's newest album, Underworld. I'll name some of the keyboard highlights. There aren't many compared to the pre-PL Symphony X albums, but there's more than on PL and Iconoclast in my perception.
Underworld: has a lot of keys. The intro is carried by Pinella. He's there during the choruses I think, as well as during the instrumental section and he has a solo.
Without You: has that TDWOT-esque instrumental section where the piano is equal to the guitar.
Charon: keyboard solo
To Hell and Back: the keys in the first few minutes make the song. Has a keyboard solo.
Run with the Devil: keyboard solo
Swan Song: no explanation needed
Legend: soaked with keys, like the THaB intro.
On Iconoclast, Pinella was either on the foreground or absent completely. Moments where the whole band played together were really rare, only When All Is Lost and Reign in Madness did that well. I think Reign in Madness was the only song where the keys played a role during both the verses and choruses, and had the only keyboard solo. Not sure on the solo count, but I know Underworld has more keyboard solos. More solos, more band moments during verses/choruses. I don't see how you can deny that!
edit: Let's move the discussion to the other thread!
Underworld: has a lot of keys. The intro is carried by Pinella. He's there during the choruses I think, as well as during the instrumental section and he has a solo.
Without You: has that TDWOT-esque instrumental section where the piano is equal to the guitar.
Charon: keyboard solo
To Hell and Back: the keys in the first few minutes make the song. Has a keyboard solo.
Run with the Devil: keyboard solo
Swan Song: no explanation needed
Legend: soaked with keys, like the THaB intro.
On Iconoclast, Pinella was either on the foreground or absent completely. Moments where the whole band played together were really rare, only When All Is Lost and Reign in Madness did that well. I think Reign in Madness was the only song where the keys played a role during both the verses and choruses, and had the only keyboard solo. Not sure on the solo count, but I know Underworld has more keyboard solos. More solos, more band moments during verses/choruses. I don't see how you can deny that!
edit: Let's move the discussion to the other thread!
I listened to it once was quite surprised how much I enjoyed it...
I'll give it a few more listens than cut a few songs to make something that I'll listen to again unlike the last couple they put out...
I read out here that the same person has done the production of the sound for the last three so maybe that plays into my dislike...
I'll give it a few more listens than cut a few songs to make something that I'll listen to again unlike the last couple they put out...
I read out here that the same person has done the production of the sound for the last three so maybe that plays into my dislike...
There are a ton of keyboards on the album, but they are too quiet...Also, why are people still discussing the album in this thread!
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