Favorite Michael Pinnella Moment

I love the whole keyboard solo section in "Awakenings" where he cycles through different instrument sounds..Such a beautiful and exciting section! One that REALLY blew me away (how many of you remember this?) was his solo tradeoff with Romeo in Analog Kid off the "Working Man" Rush tribute album! That was actually the first time I'd heard Pinnella and Romeo. After an exhaustive web search I then discovered SyX!
 
..as an aside, I used to refer to Awakenings as "Keyboard Explosion" before I could remember the song's actual name! ;-)
 
I must say that one of the only weaknesses on Paradise Lost for me was the lack of lots of Pinnella solos. He cut back on The Odyssey, and he has like 3 on Paradise Lost (while Romeo's solos are always front and center). I love MJR as much as the next guy, but I miss the solo duels that peppered the classics like Of Sins and Shadows, Fallen... and even Inferno and Wicked!
 
Best solo: Smoke and Mirrors - he goes toe to toe with MJR in some of the most bad ass duel/dual soloing ever.

Most flawless compositional move: the very VERY end of Rediscovery Pt. II where the whimsical little piano line trickles off into the distance and the low string line subtly hits the partially dissonant cadence as if to say 'something remains unfinished'. I would rate that moment as in the top 5 musical statements of all time. Could easily go on for HOURS about that 10 seconds of music being utter perfection.

Coolest subtle detail: check for this one because it is VERY hard to pick up as there is a lot going on at the time and the timbre is purposely meant to be very midsy just to add body. In Evolution, in the build up before the primary bridge, just before 'Now we shall live forever" he ascends two scales in the strings and in context they sound so clever and unique and work that transition perfectly. Where any other band would have had nothing more going on there than the even B quarter notes on guitar and bass, X textured that section beautifully into something truly moving and powerful.
 
The very last section of Communion and the Oracle, when the band cuts out and it's just Mike Pinnella. That has to be one of the most atmospheric and creepy sounding outros, going from mysterious-sounding to downright ominous (keys, then low strings, and that dissonant chord with the "voice" patch).
 
I love the haunting key sound In Pharoah starting at @ 00:30 + the peice @ 2:08("mystic gods of the stars,i summon the from afar").Does anyone know if they've played Pharoah live?I dont believe they have but i think it would be killer to add to their set list!
 
Well, i like his works in "V" , "Paradise Lost" and maybe some single songs in the previous albums
 
Seaoflies07 said:
I love the haunting key sound In Pharoah starting at @ 00:30 + the peice @ 2:08("mystic gods of the stars,i summon the from afar").Does anyone know if they've played Pharoah live?I dont believe they have but i think it would be killer to add to their set list!
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They have never played it live, and I doubt they ever will. Pharaoh, along with The Witching Hour, are considered the weakest songs on Divine Wings by most.
 
I might get flamed for this but the only song that i dont fully like off of divine wings is the epic title track ...now let me explain...i feel its strung out to long and could be condensed into a 10 or 15 minute track .I used to feel the same about pharoah and The witching hour but ive grown to love them both.
 
I actually agree w/ the above statement. That song definitely has some of the most memorable SyX moments for me, like the part "Looking up to the HEA-VENS" - but after the beginning, I don't like the heavier part that's like "duh.duh.duh.dadadaduh.duh.blahblahblahbla" it just sounds really random and unimportant. You can't win 'em all, and making great music requires steps. Symphony X rules.
 
TDWOT is by no means a bad song I like it but as i said i think it was drawn out to long.back on topic 2:20 in the bird-serpent war/cataclysm is sick, Egypt @ 6:27...its breath taking.3:23 in absence of light and also 3:49 where pinnela/romeo shred ...if you cant tell i just got through listening to V :)
 
Seaoflies07 said:
TDWOT is by no means a bad song I like it but as i said i think it was drawn out to long.
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I agree that some parts are a bit drawn out. For example, I could live without the minute-and-42-second choral intro. Also, there are few parts (near the end of the instrumental section) that just seem to throw solos in for the sake of it.
 
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