I thought both of their albums were OK (the first was better than the second). Nothing to write home about by any means. But I've seen them live 3 times, and it was a solid, fist-pumping metal show each time. Nowhere near the greatest shows I've seen, but the band was clearly into it, and everyone on stage seemed to be enjoying themselves. Their songs aren't good enough that I would run out the day they released a new disc, but their live shows are fun enough that I'll give the disc a listen if they're touring in my area (which they have on all 3 of their tours so far). Their attendance has indeed gone down... the most recent show I saw last month in the Tampa area had an audience of maybe 60 (on a Thursday night, and only 1 opening band to draw additional locals). Near as I can tell, they booked smaller venues this time because Mike Portnoy's departure meant a certain contingent of fans would no longer show up. Oddly enough, I saw The Winery Dogs a couple weeks later, (also on a Thursday), and their attendance was considerably greater (I'm guessing 200 - 300), and at double the ticket price. Of course, that's not just Portnoy's fans, but also Kotzen and Sheehan. But anyway, I can understand Russell Allen looking to do something between Symphony X cycles... Symphony X is not exactly a prolific band at this point, and when they do put something out, most of the songwriting credit (and I assume profit) goes to Michael Romeo. Even before starting Adrenaline Mob, Allen mentioned in interviews that he is a fan of classic non-prog hard rock and metal. So it's not really a huge surprise that he teamed up with Mike Orlando and is playing this style of music. As for being profitable, I imagine they're not raking in the cash right now, with the low ticket prices and sketchy concert attendance. But it seems like they may be doing a decent job building momentum, what with their recent stint opening for Avenged Sevenfold.
